Despite Hampshire's resilience in the face of formidable opponents, Surrey emerged triumphant at the Kia Oval. The match, which commenced in the early hours of the morning, saw Hampshire concede three top-order wickets in the 32 overs bowled. The rain that fell overnight and in the morning further compounded the team's difficulties.
Hampshire's second innings score was 177 runs behind at 31 for 2 when play resumed on the third day of their Vitality County Championship fixture. They reached 116 for 5, still 92 runs behind before play was stopped due to bad weather.
James Vince and Tom Prest were dismissed within four balls of each other after a 20-over stand of 46 runs, following the early loss of Nick Gubbins, caught in the cordon off Dan Worrall.
Prest, who was dropped head-high by Pope at second slip off Atkinson on 22, had only added one run when he was dismissed for 23. This time, he was caught in front of his face by Pope as he pushed hard at a ball from Atkinson that had deviated from its original line just outside off stump.
And then former England Test batsman Vince, who reached 26 after resuming on four not out, was beaten by an in-swinger from Kemar Roach and departed leg-before, leaving Hampshire's second innings in real trouble at 87 for 5.
Surrey's response to his dismissal demonstrated the significance they placed on removing the Hampshire captain, given Vince's assiduous defence and the quality of his strokes, including an early clipped four off his pads off Jordan Clark and a lovely back foot force to the square cover boundary off Atkinson.
Vince also demonstrated resilience following an on-field incident with the Hampshire physio. He was struck on the shoulder by a vicious Atkinson lifter when on 21.
In a somewhat ironic twist, the majority of the single session had been played in bright sunshine, despite the gloomy weather conditions earlier in the day. However, the Oval floodlights were on by the time Liam Dawson, on 18 not out, and Ben Brown, unbeaten on seven, saw out the final overs with Surrey's seamers still very much on top.
The scheduled start time of 4:30 PM was delayed due to heavy overnight rain, which prevented any cricket before lunch. Further light showers in the early afternoon further delayed the mopping up operations.
Worrall only required ten balls to add to his overnight scalp of Ali Orr, with Gubbins edging one angled across him to second slip, where Pope fell to his right to scoop up a fine low catch.
Gubbins, out for 10, had added only four runs. Prest was beaten first up by a particularly challenging delivery from Worrall, which lifted and left him when he came in on a king pair.
To his credit, Prest demonstrated resilience and was soon able to reach double figures with driven fours off Clark and Worrall. He and Vince worked tirelessly for over an hour to challenge Surrey's four-pronged pace attack.