Burns steady after Surrey bundle Hampshire out cheaply

A dramatic opening day at the Kia Oval, dominated by swing and seam, ended with Ryan Patel and Rory Burns guiding Surrey to 123 for 5 after they had earlier dismissed Hampshire for 151.

Patel, coming in to join Burns with Surrey stuttering at 44 for 4, unfurled some regal strokes in his 41 from 94 balls while opener Burns dropped anchor in nuggety fashion against the moving ball to reach an unbeaten 39 in almost three and a half hours' batting. Together they put on 75 in 25 overs before Patel was bowled by one from Mohammad Abbas that kept wickedly low.

Hampshire, who finished third last season, have been one of Surrey's closest challengers as they have won successive titles in the past two years, but they have still struggled on this ground in recent times. After being put in, Hampshire would no doubt have been thinking of the three heavy defeats they have suffered previously at the Oval in April in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

But they fought back strongly with the ball despite their first-innings demise against the Surrey quicks, with Dan Worrall, Jordan Clark and Gus Atkinson finishing with three wickets apiece.

Kyle Abbott plucked Dom Sibley's off stump out of the ground in the second over of Surrey's reply, the former England Test opener going for 4, and James Fuller then forced Ollie Pope to play on for 13 as he attempted to withdraw his bat from an outswinger.

Jamie Smith, keeping wicket in this game with Ben Foakes rested on England management orders, was bowled on the stroke of tea for 13 by another beauty, this time from Brad Wheal, and Abbott returned after the interval to have Dan Lawrence leg-before for 2 with a ball that shaped back into his pads.

At the start of the day, Surrey's first wicket took only eight balls to arrive, Fletcha Middleton edging Worrall to second slip immediately after nicking the bowler's first delivery of the match through the cordon for four, and for a while Ali Orr took the fight back to the champions with some lovely strokes against the new ball.

On 26, however, Orr flicked Clark's third ball to square leg and soon Hampshire's innings was in disarray as Worrall dismissed James Vince and Tom Prest with successive balls in the last over of a superb seven-over opening spell of 3 for 21.

Vince, undone by a leg-cutter that was pitched just a little bit shorter than the previous two deliveries that he had met with the middle of his bat, edged to second slip on 5 while Prest was caught at third slip as he pushed defensively at a perfect out-swinger.

Liam Dawson calmly punched Worrall's hat-trick ball through mid on for two but on 3 he was beaten by Atkinson's pace and bounce and edged to first slip.

Clark then surprised Ben Brown with some extra bounce, as he continued an eventual eight-over spell from the Pavilion End, and the Hampshire keeper's attempted pull merely resulted in a spliced easy return catch.

Nick Gubbins, who had survived a sharp high catch to first slip off Clark when nine - the flashed edge flying through Sibley's upstretched fingers and away for four - was then joined either side of lunch by Fuller in a defiant partnership of 61 in 17 overs.

On 91 for 6 at the interval, Hampshire were happy to see Gubbins and Fuller steady the ship until the former was bowled for 45 by a fine inswinger from Kemar Roach, operating from around the wicket to the left-hander.

Then, eight runs later, Fuller was gone too for a punchy 39 from 55 balls when he uppercut Atkinson to deep cover where Roach ran in ten yards to take an excellent sprawling catch.

And, when Wheal edged Atkinson behind on 12 and Abbott mishit Clark to Roach at long on, Hampshire had been bowled out in 44.4 overs.