6:16pm Sunday 22nd July 2012
JAMES Tomlinson emerged as Hampshire’s hero as they collected a thrilling two-run victory over Essex in their LV= County Championship Division Two clash at Chelmsford.
The left-arm fast bowler took 5 for 86 including the wicket of Adam Wheater (pictured) who was last out for 98 as the hosts fell tantalisingly short of their 360-run target.
Wheater’s swashbuckling innings spanned 111 deliveries and contained four sixes plus a dozen fours before he holed out to Sean Ervine on the long-on boundary.
Earlier Tomlinson seemed to have put the visitors in sight of a comfortable triumph when he roared in after lunch with three quick wickets.
Essex, who had resumed on 102 for 2, reached the interval on 184 for 4 after losing overnight pair Mark Pettini and Billy Godleman to Dimitri Mascarenhas in the first hour.
A half-century partnership between Ryan ten Doeschate and Greg Smith revived Essex and sent them into lunch with the match nicely poised.
But then Tomlinson dismissed them both for 42. First, Smith drove to Jimmy Adams at extra cover and ten Doeschate then cut into the hands of Neil McKenzie in the gully.
Soon afterwards and with 12 runs added, Graham Napier drove into the hand of Adams to give Tomlinson his third success with his 22-ball spell costing only five runs.
That left Essex 222 for 7 and defeat staring them in the face, but they were to stage an exciting fightback through the heroics of Wheater and the aggression of Harbhajan Singh.
They put on 68 in 16 overs before Harbhajan was stumped for 40 — having struck seven boundaries including a six — by Michael Bates after giving left-arm spinner Danny Briggs the charge.
That was the signal for the stocky Wheater to step up a gear and after David Masters fell lbw to Briggs, he scored all 40 of a last wicket partnership with Tom Craddock that included two successive
sixes out of the ground against paceman David Balcombe.
But just when a famous victory beckoned, the wicketkeeper found the hands of Ervine to leave the Hampshire players jumping around in celebration.
Wheater looked crestfallen as he made his way off the field, no doubt aware that his failure to take Essex to the winning post had dealt a severe setback to their hopes of promotion.
They came out of the game with three points while Hampshire collected 19 to keep alive their dreams of returning to the top-flight at the first attempt very much alive.
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