Liam Dawson Helps Hampshire Crush Lancashire

Liam Dawson had a day to remember at Emirates Old Trafford as Hampshire secured a dominant victory over Lancashire by an innings and 37 runs, with a full day to spare in their Vitality County Championship clash.

Hampshire had earlier dismissed Lancashire for 200 in their first innings and, enforcing the follow-on, bowled them out again for just 152. Dawson was the star, claiming five wickets for 52 runs in the second innings, bringing his match total to 10 for 99. His heroics with the ball complemented his first-innings century. Mohammad Abbas also contributed significantly, taking three wickets for 18 runs, while Luke Wells was the only Lancashire batter to offer substantial resistance, scoring 53.

Hampshire earned 22 points from this comprehensive win, while Lancashire managed to collect just three.

This victory marked only Hampshire's third win by an innings over Lancashire in 158 matches, a record dating back to 1870. The previous two such victories came in 1922 at Bournemouth and 1973 at Southport. For Lancashire, this defeat followed a similar loss at The Oval, making it the first time since 1907 that they have suffered back-to-back innings defeats in the County Championship.

More concerning for Lancashire is their precarious position in Division One, where they remain ninth out of ten teams, teetering on the brink of relegation to the second tier of English domestic cricket.

The day began with Hampshire's bowlers needing just nine deliveries to wrap up Lancashire's first innings. George Bell was caught behind off John Turner for 35, and Tom Aspinwall was trapped lbw by Dawson for a duck, leaving Dawson with his best figures of the season, five for 47 from 28.3 overs.

Armed with a commanding 189-run first-innings lead and mindful of potential thunderstorms on Sunday, Hampshire chose to enforce the follow-on. This decision paid off almost immediately as they quickly removed two key Lancashire wickets. Keaton Jennings, unable to advance down the wicket with Ben Brown standing up to the stumps, was pinned on the crease by Abbas and given out lbw for one. Just three overs later, Josh Bohannon was also out lbw, this time to John Turner, for a 12-ball duck, leaving Lancashire reeling at 12 for two.

Luke Wells and Rocky Flintoff managed to steady the ship slightly, guiding Lancashire to 34 for two at lunch after 25 overs. However, Lancashire's resistance crumbled early in the afternoon session, losing two more wickets within 30 minutes. Flintoff, who had battled for nearly an hour, was caught behind off Abbas for eight, and Matty Hurst was bowled by Dawson for a 19-ball duck just five overs later.

Bell and Wells attempted to dig in, adding 44 runs in a gritty stand that doubled Lancashire’s score over 20 overs. But Bell was caught at short leg by Fletcha Middleton off James Fuller for 21, and Wells, having just reached his half-century, was bowled by a slower ball from Dawson five deliveries later.

After tea, George Balderson and Venkatesh Iyer adopted a more aggressive approach, but Dawson quickly struck back, dismissing Iyer for 36 after the Indian batter chopped the ball onto his stumps. In the next over, Balderson was caught at slip by Tom Prest off Abbas for seven, and seven overs later, Tom Hartley was bowled by Dawson for 10. The match concluded when Bailey skied a ball from Dawson to Kyle Abbott at midwicket, sealing a remarkable game for Dawson, who finished with 10 wickets and a century, a feat he also achieved last season against Middlesex.