Hampshire 129 for 7 (Bailey 51, Holland 34*, T Curran 3-21) trail Surrey 200 (Patel 81, Foakes 47, Dawson 4-22, Edwards 3-70) by 71 runs
Liam Dawson finished with four wickets © Getty Images
England U-19 batsman Ryan Patel rode his luck to make his highest professional score in testing circumstances at the Ageas Bowl and give Surrey the upper hand against Hampshire.
Tom Curran and Jade Dernbach toppled Hampshire’s top order but George Bailey and Ian Holland battled back to even up their Specsavers County Championship match with Surrey at the Ageas Bowl.
New ball fast bowlers Curran and Dernbach restricted the hosts to 31 for five in a devastating spell with the new ball. Curran boasted figures of three for 21 and Dernbach two for 15 in their first spells to leave Hampshire in a mire – after Surrey had been bowled out for 200.
But Bailey and Holland fought back for Hampshire as they added 69 for the seventh wicket to leave the hosts on 129 for 7 at the end of the second day.
It was Dernbach who started the wicket taking as he bowled Joe Weatherley, making his Ageas Bowl debut in the Championship, with a stunning yorker. Tom Alsop followed his former academy teammate back to the dressing room two overs later, in the sixth over, when he was plumb lbw to Dernbach.
Curran, who is making his first appearance in almost a month due to a back injury, then took over the wicket taking. The 22-year-old had Jimmy Adams and James Vince leg before and then Sean Ervine caught brilliantly by Ben Foakes – the wicket-keeper diving one-handed to his left.
The pair exited the attack, but Rikki Clarke entered to have Liam Dawson flailing across the line to offer a good low catch to Ollie Pope at short mid-wicket.
Captain Bailey steadied Hampshire, alongside fellow Australian Holland with an 81-ball fifty but departed for 51 as he was lbw to Gareth Batty in the penultimate over of the day.
It had been the quicks of Fidel Edwards and Kyle Abbott who had done the early damage to the Surrey batting line-up.
South African Abbott dismissed Rory Burns, who had scored of 122, 101, 219 not out and 68 in four of his previous five innings against Hampshire, as the batsman edged to Vince at third slip.
Edwards and Abbott combined at either end to have Scott Borthwick and Jason Roy lbw for ducks.
Patel had been going about his work at the other end with a watchful quality as he put on 74 with Foakes. Foakes was caught by Vince at straight mid-wicket – but Patel reached his maiden professional half century from 99 balls.
The teenager was dropped on 31 and 58 in his innings and was lucky not to be given out when he flicked to Bailey, who claimed a low catch, before the umpires gave him a controversial reprieve.
Dawson, who had struck to dismiss Foakes, then started to run through the away side as Pope came down the track and picked out Bailey at mid-wicket.
Patel’s hopes of a first century disappeared when he was yorked by Edwards before Clarke followed him back to the pavilion in a similar manner as his off-stump was dislodged and Curran was clean bowled by Gareth Berg.
Dawson wrapped up the innings by having Batty lbw and Dernbach caught and bowled. But Hampshire’s poor batting meant they ended the day trailing by 71
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo