Ollie Pope took his first-class common again previous 50 with scores of 91 and 122 not outLV= County Championship Division One, The Kia Oval (day 4):Hampshire 254 & 258: Gubbins 84; Worrall 5-40Surrey 270: Pope 91 & 247-1: Pope 122*, Sibley 79*Surrey (20 pts) beat Hampshire (4 pts) by 9 wicketsScorecard
It is just the County Championship’s second week however Surrey’s spectacular nine-wicket victory towards Hampshire on the Kia Oval was a resoundingly highly effective assertion of intent from final season’s champions.
Needing to attain 243 from 72 overs after ending off Hampshire’s second innings on 258, Ollie Pope’s scintillating unbeaten 122 from 102 balls sped them to a 20-point win with 16.4 overs in hand, whereas Dom Sibley performed an excellent anchor function with 79 not out.
The pair added an unbroken 193 in 30 overs for Surrey’s second wicket with, by the top, full freedom.
Hampshire, nevertheless, for a lot of final 12 months Surrey’s closest challengers for the title, totally contributed to a terrific toe-to-toe contest over the 4 days however, ultimately, as overhead circumstances eased and the pitch remained good, Surrey’s all-round power noticed them draw back in devastating fashion within the ultimate session of the match.
Pope was irritated to overlook out on an eleventh Oval first-class hundred within the first innings, regardless that he had saved Surrey within the sport with a hard-fought 91 when batting was far tougher, and he handled a good-sized Sunday crowd to a stream of memorable strokes after a strong opening stand of 54 between Sibley and Rory Burns.
A unprecedented six off quick bowler James Fuller was struck tennis-fashion over the wicketkeeper’s head and one drilled straight drive for 4, from a skip or two down the pitch towards the identical bowler, will reside lengthy within the reminiscence.
Pope struck three sixes and 14 fours in complete, ending the match in fashion by lofting Felix Organ’s off-spin for successive sixes, after cruising to his half-century from 60 deliveries, whereas Sibley confronted 144 balls, hitting 10…
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