Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Utilita Bowl (day four)
Hampshire 238 & 336: Gubbins 83, Brown 66, Lehmann 50; Gregory 5-42
Somerset 288 & 288-8: Abell 101*, J Rew 59; Baker 5-62
Somerset (20 pts) beat Hampshire (3 pts) by two wickets
Somerset stalwart Tom Abell's 22nd first-class century maintained his side's unbeaten start to the County Championship season with a thrilling two-wicket victory over Hampshire.
Former captain Abell controlled a chase of 288 with a flawless 101 to give Somerset the spoils in a match which had veered one way then the other.
Sonny Baker made things tricky by taking his third career five-wicket haul, but Abell held his nerve, and won both the match and scored his hundred at the same time.
Somerset earned 20 points and extended their lead at the summit – albeit having played a game more than Nottinghamshire and Sussex – after starting the season with two away wins and a draw.
Day three: Rew steers Somerset towards win at Hampshire
Day two: Hampshire fight back well against Somerset
Day one: Bowlers & Rew help Somerset get on top against Hants
Somerset needed 148 runs to win on the final day, but they certainly did not hold down the accelerator to get to their target.
The old adage of slow and steady wins the race was the mantra in the morning session, with Hampshire accurate in their bowling to pile the pressure on and claim the remaining seven scalps.
Only two runs had been added in the first 16 minutes of the day before James Rew – who had seemed the great hope for a serene chase – edged behind.
Rew's departure – which left him with an average of 75.8 after five knocks this season – also meant that a sixth innings had been cut short between 50 and 100 in the match.
The 21-year-old had chipped off 89 runs with Abell, but the wicket didn't change the calmness that Abell exuded at the crease.
Hampshire bowlers found a tight channel to prevent easy runs and added further questions to the batters with variable bounce when bowling from the Rod Bransgrove Pavilion End. Only 34 runs were scored in the first hour, and just 84 came before lunch.
Will Smeed earned a life when Codi Yusuf couldn't hang onto a diving catch at backward point, but when Jake Lehmann moved to field in the same position, he didn't make the same mistake.
However, the 49 runs Smeed had contributed with Abell kept Somerset pointing in the right direction, although when Craig Overton was bowled, missing a hack, it soon appeared the hosts might have clawed back the momentum of the day.
Gregory, who had already contributed 8-87 with the ball in the game, was the last recognised batter, and another 91 runs wouldn't have been guaranteed with the tail. It wouldn't be plain sailing.