Hampshire and Lancashire remains evenly poised

Keaton Jennings scored 1,163 runs from 19 games in all competitions for Lancashire last summer

Vitality County Championship Division One, Utilita Bowl (day two)

Hampshire: 367: Dawson 86, Prest 85; Lyon 3-110

Lancashire: 233-4: Jennings 85*, Wells 55

Hampshire (4 pts) lead Lancashire (3pts) by 134 runs

Match scorecard

Keaton Jennings put behind his disappointment at missing out on England’s Test tour to India by beginning his County Championship campaign with an unbeaten 85.

Lancashire ended the day on 233-4, 134 runs behind Hampshire’s first-innings total of 367 on a placid Utilita Bowl pitch.

Jennings and Luke Wells gave Lancashire a solid foundation and the latter needed just 65 balls to reach his half-century – the 68th of his career.

Wells fell to end an 87-run partnership, of which he had notched up 55 when he clipped Mohammad Abbas to Tom Prest at short midwicket.

Jennings was dropped at point on 36 by Nick Gubbins before slowly closing in on a 57th first-class half-century – which eventually arrived in 122 balls.

Josh Bohannon made 30 out of 38 with Jennings before chopping James Fuller onto his own stumps.

Jennings then teamed up with George Balderson in an 86-run stand but Balderson recklessly slogged to deep midwicket for 38 before Tom Bruce was brilliantly caught at first slip by Liam Dawson to give Ian Holland two wickets in two balls to turn the momentum.

George Bell narrowly avoided edging the hat-trick ball before surviving to the close with Jennings.

Earlier, Hampshire added 62 runs to their overnight score as they extended their first innings by an hour and a half, with three batting points pocketed.

Dawson had gone to bed on 61 and continued to tick along with Holland and Fuller in 38 and 45-run partnerships.

Holland fell leg before to Will Williams before Fuller edged a drive off Wells to Jennings at first slip, while Dawson fell for 86 to a smart catch behind off Tom Bailey.

Nathan Lyon completed the innings when Kyle Abbott was caught at long on by Jennings – the Australian ending with 3-110 from 38.1 overs.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters’ Network