Ervine ton revives hope of precious draw

Sean Ervine has been a cornerstone of Hampshire's success for the past decade and he played a special innings on the third day against Kent, his first Championship century since May 2012, to move his side closer to promotion. A draw, and five more points, is now in sight to give Hampshire a cushion ahead of the final week of the season.

"Our meaty Rhodesian" was one member's description in the pavilion atrium of Ervine, now ingrained in the south coast; this is his tenth season at the club. He marshalled the tail, picked his moments to attack perfectly, and earned enough luck to deliver three batting points Hampshire were not expecting from 225 for 8.

Ervine made 82 in 90 balls with the last two batsmen for company and significantly reduced a deficit of over 300. He could not quite save the follow-on but forced Kent into making Hampshire bat again with only four sessions of the match remaining by the time the second innings of the game was concluded.

Significantly buoyed, the hosts played with far more care to see out the day only one wicket down. The pitch is yet to deteriorate sufficiently to cause major alarm but several deliveries did keep low in the final hour of the day. Seven wickets fell to spin in Hampshire's first innings but that is perhaps more a reflection on the Kent seamers' lack of incision than the state of the surface.

Initially, Hampshire were whittled away, losing five wickets in the morning. Someone even used the word "chokers", referencing Hampshire's poor run of three consecutive semi-final defeats and now playing dangerously with what was a 44-point advantage over Essex at the start of the month. It will only be a maximum of 10 at the end of this match.

That the gap could be double figures is of Ervine's making. First a handy 28-run stand for the ninth wicket with Imran Tahir - reported to be suffering with illness - delivered a second batting point. Ervine then realised his predicament and struck a mighty slog swept six off Adam Riley into the Shane Warne stand. A four in the same direction saw him past a half-century in 99 balls.

It forced Kent into taking the second new ball but it became easier for Ervine to score. He immediately advanced down the wicket to drive Mitch Claydon past extra cover. James Tomlinson helped himself to a lavish straight drive but he otherwise defended gamely for 43 balls, expertly given one or two to keep out at the end of an over and applauded every time. The tenth wicket was worth 98.

Ervine's assault needed fortune. Several swings into the outfield landed short of deep fielders. Another attempted heave sent a flying edge over the slips. Four more were cut before a gentle angle to third man brought the 300 up. Ervine continued. A reverse sweep from Riley got him to 98 before his fourth six - lumped down the ground - brought up a masterful century. It took him past 6500 first-class runs for Hampshire. More importantly, time was taken from the game and Kent's bowlers were sent back into the dirt.

Drama was averted by Will Smith, a canny winter recruit from Durham to fill the hole vacated by Neil McKenzie, who went past 1000 Championship runs in a season for the first time during his 98-ball fifty - a quite surprising statistic for a player who has been part of four Championship winning sides in 10 proper seasons of first-class cricket.

It was a hard session for the visitor's attack would have fancied their batsmen to afford them a decent break for at least some of the remainder of this game. It looked likely as James Tredwell struck twice in the first hour. James Vince, pressing outside off, edged to Sam Billings having only added six to his overnight score. Adam Wheater, who had enjoyed some success sweeping, tried the same stroke and top-edged to Darren Stevens at first slip.

Tredwell wheeled away for 23 overs unchanged from the Northern End either side of lunch. A third wicket followed as Chris Wood offered no stroke to be lbw. Tredwell's younger colleague Riley removed Tom Alsop for 33 on his first-class debut. He shuffled down the wicket to lift Riley for six to bring up Hampshire's first batting point but pushed too firmly at the same bowler in his next over and gave a low caught and bowled chance, prompting a slide that Ervine was required to rescue.