Tom Prest has suggested that 2024 will be his breakthrough season by scoring an impeccable 85. Hampshire edged day one of their Vitality County Championship clash with Lancashire.
Prest, a former England under-19 captain, hinted at his first-class talents with his maiden ton towards the end of last season. He has now opened his account this year with a high-quality knock.
Four Hampshire batsmen, including Nick Gubbins, James Vince, Liam Dawson, and the subject of the article, scored half-centuries, contributing to a total score of 305 for six. This was achieved in front of the highest first-day-of-the-season crowd in over a decade.
Nathan Lyon, playing for Lancashire, took two wickets during the 32-over day, conceding 97 runs.
Skipper Vince won the toss and elected to bat first, providing debutant Ali Orr with an immediate opportunity to impress the Hampshire supporters following his winter transfer from Sussex.
Orr's partnership with new opening batsman Fletcha Middleton may require some work, as Middleton was run out in the ninth over due to a miscommunication, with George Balderson delivering a direct hit.
Orr was dismissed four overs later when Tom Bailey cut him in two with a wicked in-jagger, resulting in a caught behind. However, Hampshire regained their fluency and built partnerships despite the overcast conditions.
Vince had played a lot of white-ball cricket during the winter, travelling to Abu Dhabi, Australia, Dubai, and Pakistan.
He finished last season's Championship campaign with 56 runs and began the new season in similar form, scoring another half-century in just 62 balls. However, he did not play any aggressive shots.
He finished last season's Championship campaign with 56 runs and began the new season in similar form, scoring another half-century in just 62 balls. During an 84-run partnership with Gubbins, Vince played a cover drive and kept the ball under control to move the score away from a worrying 26 for two.
Gubbins, who had scored twin centuries on Lancashire's previous trip to Utilita Bowl, provided a steady and aesthetically pleasing knock to support Vince before helping Prest lay the foundations for his innings.
Lyon, the Australian spinner, was set to play for Hampshire in 2020 but was unable to arrive due to Covid. During his first-class debut on what would have been his home ground, he took a wicket in his seventh over when Vince turned the ball to leg-slip.
Lyon was the only front-line spinner, with England left-armer Tom Hartley omitted after playing in the rain-affected draw against Surrey. The 36-year-old also induced Gubbins into an edge behind with a drive after reaching a 112-run 50. However, the most intriguing passage of the day was Lyon's battle with 21-year-old Prest.
The cricket match started with a sharp chance at short-leg, followed by a maiden over where every ball landed on the same spot. Prest replied with a pair of reverse sweeps. The battle ended with 33 runs and 34 dots in 51 balls, including the day's only maximum on the slog sweep.
Prest is a player to watch this season after his maiden century in the penultimate fixture of last season, where he defeated Simon Harmer in style.
His fifty off 76 balls demonstrated quality and confirmed his reputation, but he fell short of a century when he gloved a sweep to slip, three balls after Lyon had dropped a difficult chance on the dive. This ended a 93-run partnership with Dawson.
Ben Brown fell soon after when Will Williams secured an edge to third slip with the second new ball. Dawson remained unbeaten on 61, despite being dropped on 51 before the close.