Ollie Pope scored a magnificent century as Surrey beat Hampshire by nine wickets at The Kia Oval
Needing to score 243 from 72 overs after finishing 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, while Dom Sibley played a superb anchor role with 79 not out. The pair added an unbroken 193 in 30 overs for Surrey’s second wicket with, by the end, complete freedom.
Hampshire however, for much of last year Surrey’s closest challengers for the title, fully contributed to a terrific toe-to-toe contest over the four days but, in the end, as overhead conditions eased and the pitch remained good, Surrey’s all-round strength saw them pull away in devastating style in the final session of the match.
Pope was annoyed to miss out on an 11th Oval first-class hundred in the first innings, even though he had kept Surrey in the game with a hard-fought 91 when batting was far more difficult, and he treated a good-sized Sunday crowd to a stream of memorable strokes after a solid opening stand of 54 between Sibley and Rory Burns.
An extraordinary six off fast bowler James Fuller was struck tennis-fashion over the keeper’s head and one drilled straight drive for four, from a skip or two down the pitch against the same bowler, will live long in the memory.
Pope struck three sixes and 14 fours in total, finishing the match in style by lofting Felix Organ’s off spin for successive sixes, after cruising to his half-century from 60 deliveries, while Sibley faced 144 balls, hitting 10 fours.
Earlier, Dan Worrall’s 5 for 40 from 17 overs provided the main cutting edge in a five-man Surrey pace battery that, to a man, played its part in the win that followed a high-scoring draw with Lancashire at Old Trafford in the opening week. There were also two wickets apiece for Kemar Roach and Tom Lawes.
It took Surrey 22 overs, at the start of the day, to finish off Hampshire’s second innings after they had resumed on 198 for 5. With 14 overs still to be bowled before the second new ball was due, the onus was on Hampshire to press on in that first hour, but their cause was not helped when Nick Gubbins edged a fine ball from Lawes to first slip with just ten runs added to the overnight total.
Gubbins had made only five more on day four but his 84 was a mature, responsible innings that had rescued Hampshire from the depths of 34 for 3, and then 58 for 4, midway through the third afternoon.
Ian Holland, on 25 when the final day began, continued his own excellent innings and with new batsman Fuller put together another valuable 33 for the seventh wicket.
Fuller, with clear instructions to attack the bowling, had slashed his first ball, from Lawes, high over the slips for four and he also clipped the 20-year-old powerfully to the mid wicket ropes, but on 23 he fell to Roach in the first over of the second new ball.
After lofting a drive just short of a diving Burns at mid off, and getting two runs for it, Fuller again aimed to hit Roach’s third ball on the up and this time succeeded only in lobbing a gentle catch to cover.
Keith Barker made six before getting in a tangle trying to hook Worrall and splicing to keeper Smith and Holland was left unbeaten on 46 when last man Abbas was pinned in front by Worrall to go for a duck.
Surrey’s chase was given the perfect, measured start by Burns and Sibley, who initially blunted the Hampshire pace attack with careful application studded by the occasional stroke of authority – such as Sibley’s whipped four to mid wicket off Mohammad Abbas and leg glanced and extra cover driven boundaries by Burns off Barker and Abbas respectively.
The opening stand had occupied 25 overs when Kyle Abbott was finally rewarded for some classy, probing bowling from around the wicket to Burns, having him well held for 35 at first slip by James Vince after beating him several times off the pitch.
Pope, however, then arrived at the crease and – suddenly – a potentially awkward victory target began to shrink to something easily attainable in the time still left in the game.
“I was really pleased with how I played”
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) April 16, 2023
As well you should be @OPope32 👏
Ollie Pope speaks to @backandacross after a breathtaking innings on a brilliant day of cricket!#SurreyCricket 🤎 pic.twitter.com/9603jE6GpC
