Hampshire secure safety

Cork: Four wickets

LV County Championship - Division One
Canterbury
Hampshire 204 (J H K Adams 84, C M Bandara 4-42) & 355-9 dec (J M Vince 68 no, M A Carberry 56, J H K Adams 52, L A Dawson 50, C M Bandara 4-99) v Kent 182 (J A Tomlinson 4-59) & 247 (S A Northeast 71, D R Briggs 4-93, D G Cork 4-43)
Hampshire (20pts) beat Kent (3pts) by 130 runs

Related links

Teams

• Hampshire
• Kent

Also see

• Sky Sports experts
• Scores
• £5 Free Bet
• Fixtures/Results

Hampshire left in until the last minute to secure their Division One status after completing a nail-biting 130-run victory over relegation-haunted Kent.

Kent can still avoid the drop but they are now left needing a bagful of bonus points and a win against Yorkshire next week and for Hampshire to beat Warwickshire.

A thrilling relegation battle at Canterbury went right to the wire before James Tomlinson finally ended the match in Hampshire's favour after he had tail-ender Simon Cook caught by Jimmy Adams at short leg.

Hampshire had declared their second innings on 355-9, leaving James Vince on 68 not out, and they made swift inroads into the Kent order, as Dominic Cork and Danny Briggs took four wickets apiece.

Opener Sam Northeast provided some stern resistance with 71 while Darren Stevens hit 45 and Alex Blake 46 as Kent clung on to see out the minimum number of overs.

But there was still time left on the clock and Tomlinson wrapped up a dramatic victory for Hampshire to leave Kent on the brink of joining Essex in Division Two.

Day Three

Hampshire closed day three of the crunch clash with Kent at Canterbury on 272-6 - giving them a lead of 294 over their relegation rivals.

Openers Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams both hit patient half-centuries for the visitors before falling lbw to leg spinner Malinga Bandara.

The duo shared a first-wicket stand of 92 before Adams departed for 52, the left-hander having hit three fours and two sixes. Carberry was the second wicket to go down having taken 174 balls for his 56 runs.

Australian Phillip Hughes contributed 38, his best score so far for the county in first-class cricket, while Liam Dawson made an even 50 before becoming the first of three wickets to fall to the medium pace of Darren Stevens.

The all-rounder also had Sean Ervine caught by James Tredwell for a golden duck to make it two wickets in successive balls and then later managed to get Michael Bates caught behind for 26.

However James Vince's unbeaten 38 helped move Hampshire, who currently sit seven points clear of their opponents, in a strong position with a day remaining.

Day Two

Hampshire pace duo Dominic Cork and James Tomlinson shared seven wickets to dismiss relegation-rivals Kent for just 182 on day two at Canterbury.

The disciplined bowling display, combined with an extra 16 runs added before the close, gives the visitors a slender 38-run advantage with all second innings wickets remaining.

Resuming the delayed second day on 16-1, Kent made steady progress before captain Rob Key was bowled by opposite number Cork for 19.

But it was the dismissal of fellow opener Joe Denly for 42 which sparked a dramatic collapse either side of tea.

Geraint Jones (8), Darren Stevens (13), Alex Blake (0) and Martin van Jaarsveld (41) all departed as Kent crashed from 90-2 to 139-7.

Left-armer Tomlinson (4-59) then claimed two further wickets before all-rounder Sean Ervine (2-35) wrapped up the disappointing home innings by removing James Tredwell.

Hampshire openers Michael Carberry (7 not out) and Jimmy Adams (9no) looked to increased the advantage but rain limited their progress to 16-0 at stumps.

Day One

Jimmy Adams made a crucial 84 to save Hampshire from being shot out cheaply by relegation rivals Kent on day one at Canterbury.

The opener hit 12 fours in his 222-ball knock in the battle between two struggling sides in Division One of the LV= County Championship.

Without Adams Hampshire would have made much less than the 204 they eventually ended up with. Having won the toss they made slow progress to reach 37 without loss before losing three wickets for 31 runs.

James Vince weighed in with 36 while skipper Dominic Cork made 20, his innings coming to an end when he was trapped lbw by leg spinner Malinga Bandara, who was the pick of the Kent attack with 4-42.

Fellow slow bowler James Tredwell and seamer Simon Cook picked up ywo wickets apiece, the former finally ending Adams' resistance.

Kent found runs equally hard to come by when it came to their turn to bat. They lost Sam Northeast early but Joe Denly and Rob Key, coming in at number three dug in. The duo were both on seven as the hosts closed on 15-1.