Mohammad Abbas bowls Hampshire to opening-round victory

Abbas took his hundredth wicket for Hampshire before Fletcha Middleton made his second half century of the match

Southampton (third day of four): Nottinghamshire 185 & 177, Hampshire 231 & 132-2 - Hampshire win by eight wickets

Hampshire put their LV= Insurance County Championship title marker down with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire.

Hampshire are aiming to win their first Championship for 50 years, after two near misses, and chased down 132 with ease thanks to Fletcha Middleton's second half century of the match.

Middleton scored 65 and Nick Gubbins unbeaten on 54, after a 111-run second wicket stand – as Hampshire continued their 2022 form, where they won more games than any other team.

Mohammad Abbas claimed his 100th Hampshire wicket to return match figures of 9 for 116 in the process of bowling Notts out for 177 – as their arrival back in Division One earned them just three points to Hampshire's 19.

^{Ben Duckett made a second-innings half century but came out on the losing side (Getty Images)}

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Southampton (second day of four): Nottinghamshire 185 & 146-6, Hampshire 231 - Nottinghamshire lead by 100 runs with four second-innings wickets in hand

Ben Duckett taught his Nottinghamshire teammates some of his learnings from his winter with England before Kyle Abbott shrunk the visitors on day two at the Ageas Bowl.

Opening batter Duckett grabbed a quickfire 51 which brought a whiff of the panache he showed during his hectic winter with England to the LV= Insurance County Championship.

But Hampshire, who had quickly seen their first-innings of 40 wiped out, reaffirmed their position on the front foot through Abbott's 4 for 30 – which included three wickets in eight balls.

Newly promoted Notts ended the day on 146 for 6 – with a lead of 100 on a pitch that isn't getting harder to bat on.

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Southampton (first day of four): Nottinghamshire 185, Hampshire 119-3 - Hampshire trail Nottinghamshire by 66 runs with seven first-innings wickets in hand

Hampshire's Mohammad Abbas provided his relentless best to bowl Nottinghamshire out for 185 on their return to the LV= Insurance County Championship Division One.

Pakistan fast bowler Abbas claimed 6 for 49 as he ripped out the Notts top order before coming back to deal with the tail.

Only Joe Clarke and Tom Moores' 47 and 49 stood up to Hampshire's imperious attack, with James Fuller also picking up a pair of wickets.

^{Mohammad Abbas took six wickets in the first innings for Hampshire (Getty Images)}

Championship debutant Fletcha Middleton then kept the response in order with an impressive 56 not out as Hampshire ended the day on 119 for 3 – 66 runs shy of Notts' first innings score.

Abbas has been a menace for Championship batters since arriving at Hampshire in 2021 – with wicket tallies of 41 and 50 coming at an average well under 20. That hasn't persuaded Pakistan to bring him back into their Test side for the first time since August 2021, with his exile coming after a run of indifferent form, but international cricket's loss has been Hampshire's gain. 

Olly Stone later marked his Notts debut with a wicket with his ninth delivery, as Felix Organ was caught at second slip, while two further wickets reduced the hosts to 57 for 3.

Middleton – son of former Hampshire player and current batting coach Tony – was making his County Championship debut and unleashed his innings with a trio of boundaries in a Stone over to get over any potential nerves and he looked in little bother as he was joined in an unbroken 62-run stand with Liam Dawson.

He reach his fifty in 88 balls just before bad light pulled the players off seven overs early – having previously been unblemished by conditions.

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