Date-stamped : 22 Sep97 - 06:22 Hick piles on the agony for Hampshire By D J Rutnagur at Southampton First day of four: Worcs 428-2 v Hants HAMPSHIRE chose the season`s last match to blood two young pace bowlers in Thomas Hansen, a left-handed Dane, and Simon Fran- cis, a local boy. The debutants were wreathed in smiles as they started out on a lovely morning but, by lunch, they must have wished their first ap- pearance had been delayed until next season. Within 16 minutes of the start, Simon Renshaw had Phillip We- ston caught at slip, off bat and pad and Hampshire, who lost their ninth toss in 10 matches, were then confronted by the ruthless Graeme Hick. Hampshire`s uneven battle was unfinished at the end of the day, Hick having scored 253, his 11th double century and the 96th three- figure innings of his career. To add to their agony, Tom Moody scored a prosaic century and the two, without being separated, put on 328, Worcestershire`s highest third-wicket partnership against all comers. The previous holders, Martin Horton and Tom Graveney, were present to see the feat. Hick and Moody came together just after noon, when Reuben Spiring, at- tempting to work Shaun Udal to mid-wick- et, was leg before. Monumental scores and the breaking of batting records were in- evitable, for the pitch was as sublime as the weather and the Hampshire attack became as bland as it has been all season. It must be said to Hampshire`s credit that though they were hopelessly beleaguered, they delivered the mandatory requirement of overs per day with 15 minutes remaining. Hick`s innings was typical of the man. It was not aesthetical- ly exciting, but admirable for his concentration over 366 minutes and the power and precision of his strokes, 40 of which hit the bound- ary boards and two of which sailed over them. For style and method, Hick`s innings was uncomplicated. He drove anything overpitched in the arc between cover point and the bowler`s stumps and pulled anything short with power. He progressed at even pace, reaching his century off the 129th ball he received and his 200 off the 240th. With Hick in full flow, Moody, his partner, had little need to assert himself. He did not hit his first four until he had played 66 balls and was 128 minutes to his 50. His hundred, his third of the summer, took the Australian 217 balls to complete, with nine fours and a six. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Four more of the best for prolific Hick By D J Rutnagur at Southampton Second day of four: Worces-tershire (538-2) v Hampshire HAMPSHIRE remained unable to break the gigantic partnership between Graeme Hick and Tom Moody yesterday as four more records were shattered and a fifth was brought within close range. Hick`s 303 not out became the highest individual score against Hampshire, beating by one run Percy Holmes`s total that had stood for 77 years. The unbroken partnership of 438 left behind by 14 runs the previous best third-wicket stand in the County Championship, between Bill Edrich and Denis Compton, for Middlesex against Somerset in 1948. The highest mark for the third wicket in all first-class cricket, between Martin Crowe and Andrew Jones, of New Zealand, in a Test match at the Basin Reserve against Sri Lanka in 1991, now lies only 29 runs ahead. The Hick-Moody association is now the most productive for any Worcestershire wicket, beating 393 for the fifth between Ed- ward Arnold and William Burns against Warwickshire in 1909. Off the 29 overs bowled before rain intervened 12 minutes be- fore lunch lasting long enough to rule out further play, Hick and Moody added 110. Hick, no doubt anxious to reach 300, was not as tyrannical as on the previous day. Instead, Moody was more belligerent and, at one stage, hit three sixes on the pick-up in one over from off-spinner Shaun Udal. Having batted for 6hr 40min, he remained undefeated with 180. Hick said: "Since scoring 405 against Somerset I`ve missed a few opportunities to get a big score. "The pitch was superb and the chance was there for the taking. I never felt there were any problems." At the start of play the second new ball was only five overs old and with the sky overcast, Hampshire`s bowlers at last achieved some movement. The bowler to make the most of the conditions was one of their new recruits, Thomas Hansen, who came to the county with a recom- mendation from his Danish compatriot, Ole Mortensen, formerly of Der- byshire. Bowling left-arm at fast-medium pace, he bent the ball inwards and asked Moody some searching questions during an impres- sive spell of seven overs, five of which were maidens. Despite being once pulled for six by Hick, he conceded only 12 runs in this fine stint. Thanks to the restraint Hansen imposed, only 50 runs were added in the first hour. Most of them were scored off Simon Ren- shaw, Hamp- shire`s spearhead, although Simon Francis, the other debutant, who bowls with unbridled enthusiasm and a nice, fluid action, also came in for some rough treatment. It was in trying to hook a bouncer from Francis that Hick played his first false shot, making contact with the top edge. Neverthe- less, it went over the fine leg boundary on the second bounce. Not long afterwards there was a short stoppage for rain and imme- diately on the resumption Francis moved one away to pro- duce the first instance of the ball passing Hick`s bat in almost sev- en hours. On gathering the ball, wicketkeeper Adrian Aymes went up in a mock appeal and Francis`s moral victory provoked a burst of ap- plause. Hick`s response was to drive him imperiously through extra cover before the end of the over. Hick was palapably guarded as he approached 300 and it was with a gingerly push to midwicket for two that he reached the land- mark. Hick said afterwards: "It was nine years ago that I made that 405 against Somerset. I have missed out on several opportunities to get a really big score since then and I wasn`t going to lose this chance, when the wicket was so good." It would seem that Moody had intentions of continuing the in- nings after lunch for, when a photographer asked Hick to pose for a picture in front of the scoreboard, he said: "Oh no, there is some more batting to be done." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Hampshire reached 285 for seven at Southampton in reply to Worcestershire`s daunting first-innings total of 538 for two declared. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)