DAY 3 Hampshire (7-0) need another 274 runs to beat Notts

Sean Ervine claimed his best bowling figures for five years to give Hampshire a chance of beating LV= County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire today.

The all-rounder claimed 4 for 31 as Notts were bowled out for 315 - setting Hampshire a target of 281 for their first win of the season.

Having hit a career-best 237 last week, Ervine is now making encouraging progress as a bowler, five years after an outstanding debut season ended with a major knee injury.

After Notts began their second innings 35 runs behind, Ervine limited the home side’s progress with a miserly first spell (7-1-8-2), in which he claimed the big wickets of opener Neil Edwards and Samit Patel.

And he ended the day with a double wicket maiden, completing the innings with the dismissals of tail enders Darren Pattinson and Charlie Shreck, who will provide two of the biggest obstacles to Hampshire’s hopes of victory today.

Dominic Cork also claimed four wickets on his return to the east midlands, including that of 21-year-old Alex Hales (136), whose maiden first-class century means Notts are confident of a fifth successive Championship win.

Cork took 4 for 85 to silence the Notts members who taunted the former Derbyshire stalwart all day, but it was James Tomlinson who made the first breakthrough, a diving return catch to see off Bilal Shafayat (14) before two wickets in three purposeful Ervine overs put Hampshire on top.

Edwards edged a back foot drive and Samit Patel also got a thin nick through to Nic Pothas.

After a below-par opening spell, Cork returned to dismiss dangerman Steven Mullaney (7) with the last ball before lunch, when Notts were 79 for 4.

But Hales proved harder to dislodge.

Only playing because Hashim Amla’s stint as Notts overseas player is over and Mark Wagh has a law exam, Hales showed the eye for a ball that once helped his grandfather take Rod Laver to five sets at Wimbledon.

He shared in stands of 46 with Ali Brown (15), who was the only wicket to fall in the afternoon session, and 95 with Chris Read (27), whose middle stump was sent cartwheeling by David Balcombe in the tenth over after tea.

Hales received a standing ovation when he reached his maiden Championship ton by lofting Rangana Herath for a straight six in the penultimate over of the middle session.

The tall right hander from Buckinghamshire added a further 43 with Paul Franks before prodding a slower ball from Cork into the grateful hands of Chris Benham at short extra cover.

Hales has already made two rapid one-day hundreds but showed he has the capacity to succeed in both forms by facing 254 balls while batting for five hours.

All rounders Franks and Andre Adams frustrated Hampshire by smashing some quick runs down the order.

Franks bashed four fours against Cork in the first over with the second new ball before the Hampshire veteran ended the left-hander’s run-a-ball 45.

Adams' unbeaten 26 from only 22 balls included two pulled sixes against Tomlinson, the second of which was enormous.

But he ran out of partners thanks to Ervine. Pattinson played on and Shreck popped up a simple catch to Vince at gully.

Overall, it was a good effort by Hampshire’s bowlers but Rangana Herath’s failure to take a wicket in this match again questions his signing.

The cold weather has not helped the Sri Lankan but after three Championship matches apiece, his record is worse than that of the slow left armer he replaced: 19-year-old Academy product Danny Briggs.

Both have taken eight wickets, but Briggs’s have each cost five runs less.

In Herath’s defence, the grassy Trent Bridge wicket is very seamer-friendly so Hampshire should be grateful for the absence of ICC World Twenty20 heroes Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad, who would have wreaked havoc.

Hampshire closed on seven without loss after two overs of their reply and need a further 274 in 96 overs today.

If they bat all day they will surely get them and in doing so put to bed the bad memories of their last Championship run chase.

Needing 248 to beat Essex in the opening game of the season at Chelmsford a month ago, Hampshire lost all their wickets in the final session and lost by 62 runs.

Hampshire bowling: Tomlinson 23-6-90-1, Cork 23-2-85-4, Ervine 15-2-31-4, Balcombe 18-1-60-1, Herath 13-3-38-0