Date-stamped : 06 Sep97 - 06:08 Dowman does the necessary for Notts By D J Rutnagur at Trent Bridge First day of four: Notts 252-6 v Hampshire AS the scoreline implies, the day`s honours were evenly split and that is how it should be for the wicket struck a fair bal- ance be- tween bat and ball. It gave the bowlers purchase in the morning and the ball went through with a good carry and bounce. However, neither side made the most of their virtues, reflect- ing the shortcomings that have kept both lingering in the lower reach- es of the table. Hampshire opted to bowl first but, early life in the pitch notwithstanding, were confined to just one wicket in the morn- ing and it was not until an hour after lunch that they began to make headway. For their part, Nottinghamshire, although well served by Math- ew Dowman, who has thrived since his promotion to the top of the order, made slow progress. To an extent, this was because a lot of the bowling was too wide of the mark to be played at. But there was also a hint of batsmen lacking the confidence to attack and the Nottinghamshire score was boosted by 44 extras. Dowman batted four hours for his 74, passing 50 for the sev- enth time this season, while Tim Robinson gave the innings a good foun- dation. Robinson is not one to gift his wicket, but it was from flail- ing at a short, widish ball from John Stephenson that he succumbed be- fore lunch. Although watchful, Dowman was not dour and the bulk of his runs were from pleasing, adroitly placed shots through the cov- ers. Guy Welton supported him for 20 overs and then fell lbw to Simon Renshaw. In the midst of a long and economical second spell, Shaun Udal struck twice in rapid succession - his figures at that stage two for 20 in 20 overs. He had Dowman caught at short midwicket, then bowled Lyndsay Walker, who was playing his first champi- onship innings of the season, with his arm ball. When Stephen- son had Johnson and Chris Tol- ley lbw with consecutive balls, Hampshire were briefly on top. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Stephenson pins Notts By D J Rutnagur at Trent Bridge Second day of four: Notts (291) v Hampshire FOLLOWING a 2pm start, only 15.3 overs were bowled on a day which, for its gloom and force of winds, was more appropriate to Novem- ber. However, this short ration of play sufficed for Hampshire to seize Nottinghamshire`s four remaining wickets, all of which fell to John Stephenson and boosted his catch for the innings to six. Apart from his seven for 51 against Middlesex in 1995, his first year with Hampshire, these were the best figures of Stephenson`s career. All but one of his six victims were leg before, which was a remarkable occurence considering that 16 of the 54 runs he conceded were accounted for by wides, not to speak of being the cause of the muddied state of wicketkeeper Adrian Aymes`s clothing. Aymes should be proud at having allowed no more than one bye as he had to leap and dive far on either side of the wicket to pre- serve his reputation. A surfeit of lbws is most times an indi- cation of the bounce being low. This factor did not apply on this occasion, however. The outcome of Stephenson`s feat was that Hampshire, for only the third time this season, dismissed the opposition in the first innings for less than 300. They also had cause to cele- brate the rare capture of full bowling points, the last of which was claimed in the concluding elligible over. More than Hampshire`s bowling potential, the approach of Notting- hamshire`s batsmen made these achievements possible. Usman Afzaal batted 201 minutes and faced 164 balls, but could accu- mulate no more than 35. Ninth out in trying to work Stephenson to leg and missing, the young left-hander did strive to keep the tail away from the bowling but eked out just seven runs from the 10 overs preceding his dismissal. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Bowen spot on but Udal hits back By D J Rutnagur at Trent Bridge Third day of four: Notts (291 & 94-2) lead Hants (260-6 dec) by 125 runs TWO balls in a span of four from Mark Bowen found a malevolent spot on a good length at the Radcliffe Road end to cause severe damage to a well-founded Hampshire innings, which then went into decline. But a spirited and robust, if charmed, innings of 54 not out by Shaun Udal gave it back its poise and John Stephen- son declared in arrears to keep open a rain-affected match. The victims of those two brutal balls from Bowen - who, with fellow pace bowler Chris Tolley, was capped yesterday - were Matthew Hayden and Robin Smith. Hayden, who made 74, was caught at slip off a glove. Smith was more unfortunate. He played forward to the third ball he received and was hit on the back of the left hand. The blow inflicted a fracture and ended Smith`s season. At that point, Hampshire, who were 108 when they lost their first wicket, were effectively 146 for three. They suffered three more casualties in reaching 178 before the cavalry arrived. Hampshire`s substantial opening stand was dominated by Laney, who passed 50 for the fifth time this season without making a hun- dred. Laney comfortably outscored Hayden, whose valuable innings was a curate`s egg. Indeed, it was faultless, but he was not always on terms with his timing. But he accepted the limitations that lack of touch placed on him and batted with discipline for 156 min- utes. Mathew Dowman, the only Nottinghamshire batsman to complete 1,000 runs, must have wondered why he was not part of the cap- award- ing ceremony at teatime. His response was to rattle off glorious cover drives and pulls when the side batted again for the concluding 24 overs. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Hampshire stay in the slow lane By D J Rutnagur at Trent Bridge Hants (260-6 dec & 114-2) drew with Notts (291 & 253-4 dec) THE extension of tea by 10 overs due to a downpour did not af- fect the course of a match which, badly disrupted by the weather on the second day, was already destined to fizzle out. Having profited from a challenging declaration in Notting- hamshire`s previous match against Gloucestershire, Paul Johnson, closing at lunch, set Hampshire a very similar target, asking them to make 285 in a minimum of 64 overs. Considering that Notts`s chances of bowling out the opposition in four hours on a pitch still firm were slim, Johnson was not un- gen- erous. However, in view of the fact that Robin Smith was out of ac- tion, having fractured his hand the previous day, Johnson might have been a trifle more liberal. Notts` opening bowlers, Mark Bowen and Andy Oram, bowled su- perbly with the new ball, which swung. Their accuracy backfired on Notts, however, for it forced Jason Laney and Matthew Hayden to concentrate on keeping their wickets intact instead of trying to go directly into sprint mode. It took them 20 overs to reach fifty, at which point Hayden, again hard put to find his timing, was rapped on the pad by Chris Tolley and umpire Ray Julian`s condemning finger rose for the ninth time in the match - a personal record. Six overs and 15 minutes later, Laney, who had preyed on the few bad balls he received, pulled violently at a ball that was not short enough and had his stumps rattled by David Evans. By then, however, the target had receded well out of Hamp- shire`s range and Giles White and Matthew Keech batted for time. The preliminaries, free of any force-feeding of runs, were enter- taining for an exciting innings of 93, off 88 balls, by Johnson who, for the second match in succession, deprived himself of a century by declaring. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)