Double Dutch for Notts as Holland drives home Hampshire advantage

Under leaden skies, on a still treacherous pitch, the batters came and went until Ian Holland took a hand. By an hour after lunch at Trent Bridge, 24 had succumbed in all, their average life expectancy 30 balls, the average partnership 14.8 runs. But for the second time in the match Holland regained control, paving a path for Liam Dawson's punishing dash at the other end.

Following his four late Nottinghamshire wickets on Wednesday, Holland's application in an invaluable, un-Bazball like 138 not out from 251 balls was complemented by Dawson's 82 from 111 during a fifth-wicket alliance of 150 that grasped this LV= Insurance County Championship game for Hampshire. Rubbing it in, James Fuller swatted a violent unbeaten 52 at the end before a declaration with two overs left.

Resuming earlier, Nottinghamshire survived three overs before their remaining five wickets were suddenly swept away for as many runs in 35 balls by Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas. Blink and another had fallen. Out for exactly 100, they trailed by 66 on first innings.

From 89 for 4 when Hampshire batted again, however, as the pitch slowly yielded its demons, Holland, the opener, resolute at one end, and Dawson prospered in afternoon sun to help set a target of 411 by the close reached with Nottinghamshire on 11 without loss. Holland's staunch five-hour hundred was his first for 27 months.

There are some niche distinctions in the game but Holland is undoubtedly the sole player in cricket history to be born in Wisconsin, raised in Australia, carrry a British passport via his father and yet boast a fourth nation as his surname. He watched as Fletcha Middleton offered a defensive bat to Dane Paterson's second ball only for it to drop and roll agonisingly on to the stumps, barely dislodging a bail.

Paterson then undid Nick Gubbins and James Vince either side of lunch before the skittish Ben Brown skipped out to drive Brett Hutton to mid-off and bring in Dawson, the lead standing at 155. Negating seam movement by advancing to attack, Dawson helped pull the game away from Nottinghamshire through 36 overs spanning tea.

With Holland bedded in but putting the bad ball away, he grew ever more aggressive, surviving a chance off Paterson when 56. Though his partner had enjoyed a 34-run start, Dawson was on the verge of catching him when finally he sliced a lavish drive to slip. After a poor start to the Championship campaign, he has now made 483 runs at 60.37 in his last six matches.

Fuller arrived to take up the punishment before a shower intervened just before 6pm and just after Holland's landmark from 224 balls. With four more overs lost, Nottinghamshire took the new ball on resumption but Fuller charged to his fifty from 41 balls in a withering late assault, now merrily joined by Holland, that passed 100 for the sixth wicket in only 83 balls before the surprise Stokes-like closure.

The home side's paltry performance at the start was not as unusual as may be thought: there have been six lower all-out tallies in the first division this season, five of them indeed involving one of these two sides.

Nottinghamshire were dismissed only three innings previously for 92 in Taunton and Hampshire fell for 97 at home to Warwickshire in early May. Hampshire knocked over Kent for 95 and both teams annihilated Northamptonshire, out for 72 and 56. The latter, inflicted by Hampshire, remains the division's most abject score this summer.