Hampshire 352-6 Surrey: Benham adds momentum to pedestrian Hampshire

It was perhaps appropriate on "Walk to Work Day" that Hampshire's progress here was fairly pedestrian for much of yesterday.

It bordered on the boring, but never quite descended to that, being redeemed by the cat-and-mouse feel to proceedings, some tentative batting and some probing bowling.

Overall, the batsmen had the edge although despite three fifty-plus partnerships, Hampshire supporters would have left feeling that their men had fallen short.

There was a procession of batsmen, who patiently played themselves in, only to fall when within sight of significant landmarks.

There is little doubt that Hampshire possess a potent batting line-up, one which knows how to lay the foundations on which the middle-order strokemakers can build a substantial total.

In the main, the Hampshire runs were acquired chiefly by twenty-somethings - two of them scored forty-something, one made eighty-something and the fourth, Chris Benham put together a breezier, freer, seventy-something that did much to add some zip to the innings, and simultaneously checked Surrey.

Benham, 24, who was born in Surrey, scored all round the wicket, but was particularly strong square of it. That proved his undoing, as an attempted cut off Rikki Clarke flew like a shell, head-high, to Mark Butcher and the Surrey captain clung on for a critical breakthrough late in the day.

Benham, who had aspirations of a career in football, had trials with Swindon Town and Crystal Palace and was close enough to a maiden first-class hundred to feel pain as he departed. That might explain why, when out of contract over the winter, Surrey were rumoured to have made a strong pitch to sign him until he agreed a new two-year deal with Hampshire.

His departure, after an hour and three-quarters and 14 fours, came when he had helped put on 99 for the fifth wicket with the South African-born Nic Pothas.

Benham had scored his runs late in the day, when the Surrey attack was flagging slightly. Runs had been a lot harder to come by early on, with Mohammad Akram in particular looking very good.

Jimmy Adams, 26, and the 27-year-old Michael Brown compiled a solid opening stand of 82 before the latter pushed at a wider ball he could have left and was caught behind eight short of 50.

John Crawley came and went, which brought together Adams and Michael Lumb, 27, the winter signing from Yorkshire. Again due diligence and respect was shown, but gradually the batsmen prevailed, but again, just when things were going swimmingly, a wicket fell.

Adams was tempted into whipping a long hop from leg spinner Ian Salisbury. The ball flew like to Butcher at backward square leg, and if he had not caught it, the impression was that it would have taken his head off.

That ended a four-hour innings in which Adams had smacked a six and a dozen fours off the 190 balls he received.

Lumb, too, got close, gloving Salisbury to be smartly taken by Jonathan Batty down the leg side.