Cricket: Gower shows his power

Hampshire 364

Lancashire 145-4

IT HAS been a long time coming - since 3 June, in fact, against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge - but David Gower finally completed his second century of the season for Hampshire yesterday. There was an England selector here, too, and lurking pretty close, the new captain Mike Atherton enjoying, if that is the right word with Lancashire on the receiving end, a bird's eye view of this one from the slips.

On a turning wicket Hampshire, at least, were grateful of Gower's impressive innings, which besides helping to accumulate four batting points that also put them in a strong position matchwise. Then came the inevitable questions, along the lines of: 'What do you think your chances are, David, of earning a Test recall?'

It is enough to make you squirm, but Gower is an expert at fielding this sort of stuff. 'It's up to other people to make their own judgement,' he said. 'It's a tough job and just another piece of information to go into the computer.' Atherton's presence? 'Mike has to make up his own mind. I don't assume anything.'

As for the century itself, Gower said: 'Well they don't come along that often, as you probably noticed, so you have to make the most of them. Instead of getting a quick 10, I got a slow hundred.' Quite, and an important one in the context here, Gower addding 36 to his overnight 81 in two hours eight minutes before top-edging Mike Watkinson to Nick Speak running in from square leg.

Gower came in when Hampshire were 102 for 2 and they were 318 for 7 when he left. Watkinson, bowling his spinners, next removed Malcolm Marshall and Kevin Shine with successive deliveries to make it nine down for 332, but Adrian Aymes and Darren Flint had added 32 for the last wicket before Watkinson claimed his fourth victim for 26 in 55 balls.

Atherton's answer to the day's events came via the bat. John Crawley, taken sharply at slip by Paul Terry off Shine, had departed depressingly early. But Gehan Mendis, who besides registering a fierce hit on the forehead of Mark Nicholas - 'a little nick and a big headache,' the Hampshire captain said after receiving attention - made a half- century. He and Atherton (56) put on 113 for the second wicket.