Hampshire v Yorkshire: Scores & match report

Match scores (Ageas Bowl)

Match drawn

Hampshire 1st inns: 455 all out (Vince 147, Berg 99*, Ervine 48, Alsop 40; Coad 3-49, Patterson 1-42)

Yorkshire 1st inns: 231 all out (Ballance 108;  Berg 4-62, Dawson 2-25)

Yorkshire 2nd inns (following on): 399-6d (Ballance 203*, Lees 70; Abbott 3-65)

Day four report

Gary Ballance compiled his highest Specsavers County Championship score with a stunning double century to salvage a draw for Yorkshire against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl.

Captain Ballance was at his best as he totted up an unbeaten 203 - bettering his previous best of 174 and continuing a fine start to the season after being discarded by England over the winter following four successive single-figure scores against Bangladesh.

Hampshire have born the brunt of the 27-year-old's resurgence; Ballance made scores of 120 and 55 against them in the season-opener at Headingley and had already scored 108 in the first innings.

Having outshone England Test duo Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, Ballance started the day on 78 not out and turned that into three figures mid-way through the morning off 210 balls as Yorkshire, who had been made to follow-on after conceding a first-innings deficit of 224, blunted Hampshire's chances of forcing victory.

Hampshire struggled to create chances on a flat pitch and were also hindered as, for the second game in succession, they lost a front-line bowler to injury, with Brad Wheal nursing a side strain.

With seven wickets in hand and trailing by 46 runs overnight, Ballance and Australian Peter Handscomb shared an 88-run stand.

Handscomb went too early with a flick to the leg-side on 40 to chip a leading edge back to bowler Liam Dawson.

The new ball worked immediately as Kyle Abbott forced Bairstow into a thick edge with the first delivery with the fresh cherry, James Vince taking the catch.

Yet Ballance seemed untroubled with the shiny and harder ball and continued to drag the game towards a draw.

Tim Bresnan joined him in a stoic stand of 94, although the all-rounder rode his luck twice as he was dropped by Vince at third slip on 10, and again on 14 - this time by Jimmy Adams at second slip with a tough low chance.

Bresnan fell shortly after tea when Reece Topley found his outside edge to feather behind to wicketkeeper Lewis McManus for 37.

Ballance cut away to the boundary to bring up a double century from 384 balls and with that shook hands with Vince to finalise the result, the left-hander having occupied the crease for almost 13 hours across the match.

Unbeaten Hampshire came out the clash with 11 points to Yorkshire's eight.

Day three report

Gary Ballance gave Yorkshire a fighting chance of saving a draw against Hampshire with a century and half-century on day three of the Specsavers County Championship Division One match.

Ballance's century in the first innings could not save Yorkshire from following-on as they trailed by 224 after both sides had batted once.

But the former England man's unbeaten 78 and 150-run partnership with Alex Lees second time around handed the visitors a lifeline going into the final day at the Ageas Bowl.

Ballance began the day turning his overnight score of 63 into three figures, helping guide the struggling visitors to a more uplifting position following morning stands with Adil Rashid, David Willey and Steven Patterson.

He added 60 runs with Rashid before the spinner went for 34 when he drilled Brad Wheal to James Vince at mid-off - the Hampshire skipper taking a good catch above his head.

Willey never looked settled despite the flat track, but accompanied Ballance to a 35-run partnership before he was bowled by Liam Dawson for eight.

Ballance eventually brought up his three figures with a tap and go off 190 deliveries - in an innings which had seen him pass 8,500 first-class runs.

But he departed on 100 as Dawson found his edge, with first slip Sean Ervine produced a stunning catch to bring up maximum bowling points.

Reece Topley finally got his first wicket as a Hampshire player, after missing almost the entirety of 2016 with various injuries, when he had Ben Coad caught at first slip for five, bringing the first innings to a close 74 runs adrift of the follow-on target.

An innings win was looking on the cards when Yorkshire lost Adam Lyth in just the fourth over, though, as he tickled Gareth Berg behind to depart for six - giving the fast bowler his fifth scalp of the match.

Hampshire then managed to eke out the prized wicket of Joe Root when he was leg before wicket to Kyle Abbott for two - the England Test captain beginning his season with a pair of single digit scores.

But Lees and Ballance began a severe rebuilding process which saw the duo share centre stage for 47 overs.

Lees was lucky to remain at the crease at tea when he edged Reece Topley behind on 26, but wicketkeeper Lewis McManus spilled a chance to his left.

But the pair both scored half-centuries, Ballance off 106 balls and Lees off 136, before starting to accelerate as the ball softened.

Lees did depart for 70 with five overs left to bowl as Abbott returned for a sharp burst to find a thin edge behind - ending a 150-run stand - but did not overly weaken the away team's position.

Day two report

Gareth Berg scored an unbeaten 99 before destroying the Yorkshire top order as Hampshire took command on day two at the Ageas Bowl.

All-rounder Berg equalled his best score for Hampshire as the tail ground down the visitors before eventually they were bowled out for 455.

But Berg, who ended the day with figures of four for 32, produced an unbelievable spell with the ball which saw off England star Joe Root.

The day had started with James Vince unbeaten on 143 overnight - following his opening-day brilliance with the bat to score his first ton in a year.

He only managed four more runs before Ben Coad cleverly delivered from wide of the crease to find his inside edge.

That sparked a mini-collapse as Hampshire lost three wickets for two runs.

David Willey got in on the act in the next over to strangle Lewis McManus down the leg-side - another fine catch from the keeper - and in his next over managed to jag one back to strike the dangerous Liam Dawson in front.

Kyle Abbott and Berg counter-attacked for Hampshire - putting on 44 - before the former was run out as they chased a bonus point.

But that was the end of the home side's woes with Berg grabbing the initiative.

He had been dropped on 43 by Adam Lyth but continued to bat Yorkshire further out the game with an 89-ball half century.

He was ably assisted firstly by Reece Topley - who reached his highest first-class score for the second time in two innings for Hampshire.

He scored 16 before Adil Rashid had him lbw following a 41-run stand with Berg.

Berg continued, and smashed a huge six over long-on, in a frustrating 68-run partnership with Brad Wheal before the latter fell on 13 when he edged Root to Lyth to bring tea and the end of the innings.

The pitch had seemed to flatten out throughout the Hampshire innings but the hosts disproved the theory with a stunning blitz.

Abbott produced pressure at the Pavilion End while Berg knocked them over at the other.

The former Italy international started by striking Alex Lees on the pads before forcing Lyth to chop onto his own stumps at the other end.

England Test captain Root was given a tough going-over with extreme seam movement before he edged Berg behind to McManus.

Abbott got in on the act by having Australian Peter Handscomb lbw - leaving the visitors 19 for four.

The pressure did not relent as Topley bowled for Hampshire for the first time but despite a number of close shouts it was Wheal who made the next key breakthrough - picking up the prized scalp of Jonny Bairstow leg before.

Skipper Gary Ballance dug Yorkshire out their slump with Tim Bresnan - but the latter became Berg's fourth victim when he was caught behind.

Ballance reached stumps on an unbeaten 63 with Yorkshire 327 runs behind.

Day one report

Joe Root wore his England number but spent a day in the field as Yorkshire endured a frustrating opening day against Hampshire in Specsavers County Championship Division One.

Root wore his international number 66 for his first match on English soil since being appointed Test captain in February but it was Hampshire's James Vince who proved the star of the show, unbeaten on 143 at the close of play.

Sealing his century in a rare Root over of bowling after tea, Vince gave the new England skipper an up-close demonstration of his talents as Hampshire finished on a commanding 281 for four.

Vince last played for England's Test team against Pakistan in August and Root will surely have been impressed as the 26-year-old hit 20 fours in 233 balls.

He was ably supported by Tom Alsop (40) and Sean Ervine (48), while Ben Coad was the pick of the Yorkshire attack, continuing his excellent start to the season with three for 49.

Root's return was fairly muted on day one but he did raise some eyebrows here by donning his England number, despite being listed under his usual club number five on the official team-sheet.

The stadium announcer confirmed the correction to a sparse crowd at the Ageas Bowl as Yorkshire used the uncontested toss to field, a decision they may have regretted by the end of the afternoon.

On a cool and cloudy day on the south coast, their seamers did enjoy some movement in the early exchanges but the pitch quickly turned friendlier and Hampshire's batsmen settled in.

Michael Carberry chased a wide Coad delivery in the sixth over, edging through to the grateful hands of Jonny Bairstow, but Jimmy Adams and Vince played through the rest of the morning session without loss.

It was not until the first ball after lunch that Yorkshire made their second breakthrough and again Coad was the instigator, his straight ball nipping back onto Adams' pads and leaving the opener plum in front for 29, and Hampshire 75 for two.

Vince was fortunate to escape another edge into the slips on 39 but he was at ease thereafter, punching away a short ball in the 39th over for his first 50 of the season.

He began to enjoy himself alongside the talented Alsop, the pair guiding the hosts to 157 for two before Alsop was pinned lbw by Steven Patterson.

Vince moved into the nineties shortly before tea and in the first over after the restart, against the spin bowling of Root, he grabbed his hundred with a fine cut to the boundary.

Ervine and Vince guided Hampshire to 258 when the match was stopped for 20 minutes due to bad light.

When they returned, there was just enough time for Ervine to nick Coad into the slips. The incoming Liam Dawson then passed 6,000 career first-class runs as he finished unbeaten on eight when the umpires finally called time.