Adams shines in relegation scrap (From Daily Echo)

Adams shines in relegation scrap

6:30pm Tuesday 7th September 2010 in

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Make no mistake, Hampshire are in the midst of a relegation scrap.

Before Hampshire’s penultimate LV= County Championship game of the season, only seven points separated them from Kent, who are just below them on the wrong side of the relegation threshold.

But by the close of the first day at Canterbury, Kent had narrowed the gap to five points by dismissing Hampshire for 204. And that after Dominic Cork had won the toss.

Once again, Jimmy Adams showed more stickability than any of his teammates.

Having batted for a record ten-and-half hours at Liverpool last week, he occupied the crease for another four-and-a-half hours as teammates fell around him.

Unlike last week, Adams did offer one chance - Martin van Jaarsveld could only get his fingers to the ball at first slip when the left-hander had made five – but he went on to make an invaluable 84.

Adams faced 222 balls and hit 12 fours before he eventually gloved a sweep against England off-spinner James Tredwell in the final session.

Only Yorkshire pair Adam Lyth and Jacques Rudolph and Somerset duo James Hildreth and Marcus Trescothick have scored more first division runs than Adams’ 1,278 this season.

But Phil Hughes, a left-hander with Test experience at the age of 21, is yet to justify his signing.

Chris Benham, who is out of contract at the end of the season and seemingly on his way, would surely not have done any worse than the Australian, who has registered 32 runs in three Championship innings since beginning his brief stint.

Hughes – the first of four catches for Van Jaarsveld – edged an irresponsible charge at Tredwell soon after Michael Carberry (15) had got a nick during a miserly spell from his former Kent teammate Darren Stevens (16-7-24-1).

Medium-pacer Stevens took the new ball as Kent are without several frontline seamers missing for various reasons.

Being without Robbie Joseph (shoulder), Ashley Shaw (shin splints) and Azhar Mahmood (Ramadan) made the decision to leave out Sussex-bound Amjad Khan hard to fathom.

In their absence, Kent prepared a spin-friendly track on which Sri Lankan leg–spinner Malinga Bandara thrived.

Liam Dawson, playing his first Championship game since the innings-and-111-run win against Kent at the Rose Bowl two months ago, nicked Bandara’s first ball – the last before lunch – to Van Jaarsveld at slip.

James Vince scored 36 out of a 48-run fourth-wicket stand with Adams before he slashed Kent seamer Matt Coles to Van Jaarsveld midway through the second session.

Soon after Vince’s cameo, Simon Cook (2-46) dismissed Sean Ervine, caught at mid-wicket, and Michael Bates, bowled playing across the line, in the same over.

Cork (20) helped Adams add another 44 for the seventh wicket before Bandara trapped him lbw.

And after Tredwell accounted for Adams, Bandara completed the Hampshire innings by seeing off Chris Wood and Danny Briggs.

Previously nondescript in the Championship this season, Bandara had taken ten wickets at 60 apiece before claiming 4-42.

He ensured Hampshire had to settle for a solitary batting point, but the visitors’ innings will not be put in context until Kent complete theirs.

It began well for Hampshire.

Kent prodigy Sam Northeast, having asked to open the batting, was promoted ahead of his captain Rob Key before playing on against Cork in the first over of the reply.

Key and Joe Denly then batted out 11 maidens from the 16 overs that remained as Kent closed on 15-1, still 189 behind.