Saqlain returns to boost Surrey

Hampshire 190 v Surrey

Saqlain Mushtaq returned to action for Surrey in some style yesterday, claiming his second five-wicket haul of the summer as he and his spin partner Ian Salisbury bowled out a wobbly Hampshire side and put the Championship leaders firmly in the driving seat in their quest for the title.

All day Surrey had shown the patience and persistence of predators as they prowled around the Hampshire batsmen, encircling their opponents as a pack of wolves might harass a herd of a caribou and restricting their run-making with some tight and mean bowling. It reduced options hugely, cramping the Hampshire batsmen's style and wearing them down inexorably throughout an attritional day that had begun an hour late because of the day-night match and a late finish the previous evening.

It brought out the best in the Hampshire wicketkeeper, Nic Pothas, who ground his way to a stubborn half-century, without which his team-mates would have been without a paddle up the proverbial creek. Pothas needed a slice or two of luck, though, starting with the second ball of his marathon innings when he edged a James Ormond delivery to third slip where Ian Ward appeared to miss the chance and the ball went for four.

Some two and a half hours later the Greek passport holder finally succumbed after an epic innings – at least in relation to his team-mates. By then he had passed fifty for the fourth time this season having hit a six and five fours in the 113 balls he had faced. It was his wicket which presented Surrey with maximum bowling bonus points, thus maintaining the leaders' 100 per cent record in this department in the Championship this season.

Pothas fell to the wiles of Saqlain, who had returned from arid north Africa, where he had been taking part in the Morocco Cup, to a pretty dry looking and not especially quick Oval pitch, which is likely to become more awkward as the match progresses. His early entry into the attack – the Surrey captain, Adam Hollioake, called up the Pakistani off-spinner to bowl the 14th over of the innings – certainly suggested that the wicket was already turning under the noonday sun.

With one short break just before tea, Saqlain had then proceeded to wheel away from the Pavilion End right the way through the afternoon and evening sessions, the bulk of the latter one an all-spin affair with Salisbury sending down his leg-breaks and googlies effectively enough from the Vauxhall End to pick up three wickets himself.