Leicestershire on go-slow as Hampshire push home advantage

On a day truncated by heavy isolated showers, Hampshire made good progress in an attempt to gain revenge for the innings defeat at the Rose Bowl at the beginning of the season.

Replying to Hampshire's overnight 311 all out, Leicestershire dawdled to 44 for 4 in 37 pre-lunch overs. The first of the four to fall, Trevor Ward, edged a delivery from Alan Mullally to keeper Nic Pothas without scoring - his dismissal coming with the home side 0-1 from six overs.

Stand-in skipper Iain Sutcliffe and former England batsman Darren Maddy slowly added 26 as Dimitri Mascarenhas proved virtually impossible to hit, so to Mullally.

Maddy was Pothas' second dismissal, when he snicked Chris Tremlett and Sutcliffe's 94-ball 18, including four fours came to an end when Neil Johnson superbly snapped him up at third slip off Mascarenhas.

Darren Stevens, on course to travel with the England Academy this winter, lasted just five balls before Shaun Udal ensured he joined the one-wicket each party before rain during the lunch interval brought the first of five stoppages in the day.

It stunted Hampshire's progress somewhat as Aussie import Michael Bevan and winter signing from Gloucestershire, Rob Cunliffe added 45 when play resumed at 3.20pm.

Bevan was uncharastically stoic for his undefeated 29 (127 balls, four fours) as Mascarenhas, who bowled 20 overs and took 2-17 in a miserly spell of bowling that also included 13 maidens, eight of which came in succession, broke Cunliffe's middle stump with the total at 81.

The medium-fast bowler in fact conceded just seven scoring strokes from his 120 ball analysis.

Neil Burns joined Bevan to see out play, via two short ten minute and a longer 45 minute stoppage to see out the day, ironically in glorious sunshine - but Leicestershire's run-rate, which did not exceed 1½ runs per over all day, was the overriding factor of the stop-start second innings at Leicester - closing on 98 for 5 from 63 overs.

They still require 64 to avoid the follow-on, and it is still possible with better weather forecast.