HAMPSHIRE II.....156 all out and 369 all out

ESSEX II...............157 all out and 206 all out

(Hampshire won by 162 runs)

(Second Eleven Championship)

Essex suffered an unexpected defeat at Halstead as they fielded probably their strongest side of the season.

The visitors won the toss and batted on a perfect strip, and at once Essex were in trouble as David Thompson broke down after only two overs and was unable to bowl again in the match.

This was followed by the breakdown almost immediately after lunch of Mark Ilott who was also unable to bowl again.

However, in the pre-lunch period Essex did well, taking four wickets for just 101 runs with stand-in seamers Graham Napier and Justin Bishop bowling well.

After the interval four more wickets fell quickly and only a ninth wicket stand of 36 enabled a single batting point to be gained as Essex took maximum bowling points with Napier (4-46) returning the best bowling figures.

Essex commenced their first innings at 3.27pm, but it only lasted two and a half hours, and from 69 for seven, they struggled to a single run lead, thanks to a 79 run stand for the eighth wicket by Jamie Foster (40) and Andy Clarke (41).

With 11 overs left in the day, Hampshire were 23 for three at the close, 23 wickets having fallen in the day, with some poor batting by both sides.

On the second day luck favoured the visitors. They struggled to 94 for five, then fought back to 176 for seven, but with the Essex bowlers tiring and aided by some spilled catches, Francis and Brunnschweiler added 182, with both batsmen making centuries.

Hampshire's 369 total showed that the pitch was totally devoid of devil, but Essex lost a wicket in the remaining eight overs and closed at 21 for one.

The final day was notable for some more ineffective batting on an excellent pitch.

Zoheb Sharif made 38 and top scored as Essex were bundled out for 206 before tea to lose rather heavily with a performance that can only be described as mediocre.

Essex took just five points from the match, while Hampshire gained 17 for their emphatic win.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.