SURREY captain Gareth Batty has criticised Hampshire for over-bowling Mason Crane.

The 19 year-old leg-spinner took 3-210 from 51 overs - a record in one innings at The Ageas Bowl - during the first two days.

After taking 6-51 to win Surrey the game, veteran off-spinner Batty said: “I thought he bowled really, really well. But you hear Warney talk a lot about how spinners are used and I thought he was thrown under the car, to be honest.

“For a young fella to be bowling 50-odd overs and senior bowlers only bowling 20... that wouldn’t be happening under my watch.

“I look after my young fellas, particularly if it was a spinner. He’s got a lot to offer and he showed a lot of heart.

“Credit to him, to bowl 50-odd overs when we were in the ascendancy pretty much the whole time...fair dos to the lad and hopefully he goes well in the next game.”

When asked about Crane’s workload, Hampshire captain Will Smith said he “couldn’t get the ball out of his hands.”

Batty continued: “I get that but at times you have to do what’s right for individuals within your group.

“It’s as much about looking after yours as anything else. You look after them and they look after you in the long run.

“When the game had gone and they were just looking for a declaration, that’s possibly a time to be saving him."

Smith, who lacked spin options with Liam Dawson on England Lions duty, added: “Mason just wanted to bowl. He saw it as an opportunity in dry conditions and knew it was his job, as the main spinner, to bowl as many overs as he could. I’m incredibly proud of the effort he put in.

"I bowled a few but without Daws' here the way he stepped up to the responsibilty in first-innings conditions, holding up an end for the seamers to rotate... for the most part he was unbelievably good at restricting their rate. He went at threes for most of his overs.

"Bowling those 50 overs, and the experience he’ll get with every over, is paramount."