Five star Kyle Abbott takes three wickets in four balls to wrap up Hampshire’s second innings victory of the LV= County Championship season at Kent

Hampshire today completed their second innings victory in their opening three LV= Insurance County Championship matches.
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After hammering Somerset in their first competitive game of the 2022 campaign, they routed Kent by an innings and 51 runs at Canterbury, after dismissing the hosts for 296 in their second innings on day four.

Kyle Abbott took 5-29, mopping up Kent’s tail with three wickets from four balls, while Felix Organ span his way to 3-63 as the visitors secured a maximum 24 points, while Kent managed just four.

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Ben Compton and Jordan Cox had given Kent hope of a draw after batting through the morning session on day four, but they were out for 89 and 64 respectively after lunch.

Kyle Abbott took three wickets in four balls to wrap up Hampshire's Championship win at Canterbury todayKyle Abbott took three wickets in four balls to wrap up Hampshire's Championship win at Canterbury today
Kyle Abbott took three wickets in four balls to wrap up Hampshire's Championship win at Canterbury today

Cox’s dismissal was particularly contentious as he was given caught off a delivery that seemed to hit his thigh. But having been outplayed for most of the match, Kent could have few complaints about the final result.

Abbott said: ‘It was a pretty tough first session and starting to drag out there a bit, but we knew we were putting enough balls in the right area and it was a matter of time.

‘As soon as we cracked open a fairly fragile middle-to-lower order we were in with a shot. It was great to come here, get the job done and come away with 24 points.’

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Home hopes of avoiding a second consecutive defeat seemed to hinge largely on Compton, the Championship’s leading run scorer.

He’d scored 37 of the hosts’ overnight tally of 78-3, but Kent were still 269 behind when play resumed.

Mohammad Abbas found his edge when he was on 49, but the chance didn’t carry and he took a single from the next ball to reach his half-century.

Cox, on three overnight, played and missed at Keith Barker when on 13 and a googly from Mason Crane somehow eluded his stumps and went for four byes. But otherwise he offered few chances and at lunch Kent were 161-3, with the visiting bowlers getting increasingly frustrated.

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Barker broke through 15 minutes into the afternoon session when Compton was given out caught behind to a leg side delivery. Whether it was out of disappointment or anger, Compton was shaking his head as he trudged back to the pavilion.

Ollie Robinson was out for nine in the next over. The skipper hit Organ for boundaries off the first two balls but edged the third to Ben Brown.

By now Organ was extracting some serious turn, but Darren Stevens brought up 200 for Kent when he swiped him for six and Cox hit Abbas through cow corner to pass fifty for the second time in the match.

Stevens should have been out when he hit a rank full toss from Crane straight to Liam Dawson, but the fielder spilled the catch.

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The game’s most controversial moment came when Cox was given out, caught at short leg by Joe Weatherley off Organ, to a ball that replays showed had initially hit him halfway up the thigh.

Abbas then accounted for Matt Milnes, who misjudged a pull shot and was caught by Weatherley for 13.

Hamid Qadri joined Stevens and survived till tea, at which point Kent were 287-7, but he fell to the third ball after the restart, edging Abbott behind for 11.

Abbott’s next ball removed Nathan Gilchrist for a golden duck, caught by Weatherley at short leg.

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Jackson Bird hit Abbott’s hat-trick ball for four but was lbw to the next delivery, leaving Stevens unbeaten on 41 as Hampshire celebrated raucously.

On taking three wickets in four balls, Abbott remarked: ‘It was very weird, it almost felt like the over took about 20 minutes.

‘When I look back at taking three for nine in one over it seems a little silly, but to be quite honest I had a bit of a sore body after tea. It's quite a sapping pitch, it's mentally sapping, there's not much in there for the bowler, so every time you come in it's a hundred percent or nothing.

‘I was just a little bit off in the first couple of balls and obviously with the hat-trick ball I had to go for the stumps. The bowling coach tells me I don't bowl enough bouncers. - I say it takes too much out of me at times!

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The idea (for the bouncer to Gilchrist) came from Dawson. I managed to get it quite well directed and Joe took a great catch.

‘It was nice to get the job done. It was set up incredibly by the batters yesterday, to give the bowlers a full day off and get so far ahead.

‘It's great for us as a team, we're pretty chuffed all round.’

Dawson (161), Brown (157) and skipper James Vince (111) had all starred in a mammoth Hampshire score of 652-6 declared in reply to the hosts’ first innings 305.

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Vince said: ‘Right the way from the start, having lost the toss on one of the flattest wickets in the last few years, to be able to bowl them out was a massive effort.

‘Every day we've done what we needed to do.

‘It's good batting conditions but you've still got to get them, so 650 really set the game up.

‘Today we knew it was going to be hard, but we had options with Felix and we didn't expect to happen quite that quickly with that over from Abbo after tea, but we got rewards for a lot of hard work and persistence we showed over four days.

‘He's bowled really well and the last couple of games he's maybe not got the wickets his bowling deserved, but he deserved that.’