Adams, Wheater see Hampshire to safety

Hampshire 336 (Carberry 107, Dawson 89) and 290 for 5 dec (Adams 70, Wheater 57*) drew with Middlesex 361 (Malan 121, Simpson 65, Harris 57, McLaren 4-74, Tomlinson 4-74) and 55 for 2
Scorecard

Half-centuries for Jimmy Adams and Adam Wheater made sure both Hampshire and Middlesex secured a third draw in three County Championship fixtures. Adams, on his first appearance of the season, led the charge with 70 before Wheater, alongside Ryan McLaren, took the sting out of the match, with an unbeaten 57.

Hampshire resumed with a lead of 26 knowing they needed to bat out the majority of the final day to make sure Middlesex could not force a win.

Adams, with skipper James Vince, started solidly enough - the latter again showing some flair - as the pair added 81 for the second wicket. But Vince somewhat gave his wicket away by steering fast bowler Toby Roland-Jones to Sam Robson at gully.

Will Smith provided little assistance to the cause when he was adjudged leg-before to Tim Murtagh less than ten overs later - the first of two blips for the hosts. Adams, meanwhile had reached a 140 ball fifty as he proved a valuable anchor, before he loosely swung at a ball outside the off stump to first slip - a rare mistake in a mostly flawless knock.

Alarm bells rang two overs later when Liam Dawson, on 19, was comprehensively bowled by a Steven Finn delivery which kept very low, on a pitch which offered variable bounce throughout. But a 104 run stand for the sixth wicket between Wheater and McLaren eased the game back to its natural conclusion of a draw.

Wicketkeeper Wheater kept the game moving with a half-century from 74 balls, with just eight of the runs coming from boundaries in a busy innings. McLaren also batted to quickly take the possibility of defeat away, ending the innings on an unbeaten 46 as Vince declared at tea, with Hampshire keen to get the over rate into minus figures.

There was still time for nerves for the visitors as Robson fell for a three ball duck - he edged Tino Best behind for the West Indian's first Hampshire wicket.

Best was bowling at impressive pace and was close to getting Nick Compton lbw before Nick Gubbins was leg-before to James Tomlinson - the visitors effectively 19 for 3, with Adam Voges absent, and 20 overs still on the board. But first-innings centurion Dawid Malan and Compton saw Middlesex home - as Vince and stand-in Compton shock hands at exactly 5pm - Middlesex taking 12 points, Hampshire one fewer.