Jamie Overton, bowling with pace and fire, took his first five-wicket haul for Surrey and then added three further second innings wickets as Hampshire were routed by an innings and 17 runs inside three days at the Kia Oval.
All-rounder Jordan Clark’s 4 for 55 completed his own fine match with the ball in Surrey’s first win of the LV= Insurance County Championship season, while 21-year old rookie seamer James Taylor also impressed with 3 for 56 as Hampshire slid to 227 all out second time around after being dismissed for 223 in their first innings and being asked to follow on.
Overton, who joined Surrey late in the 2020 season, more than made up for the absence of West Indies Test quick Kemar Roach by grabbing the mantle of attack spearhead with match figures of 8 for 107.
Hampshire, who started the third day still 315 runs adrift at 152 for 7, kept their first innings alive for just over an hour before Overton finished it off with a dramatic burst of three wickets in four balls to claim 5 for 54.
Overton then added another 3 for 53 and although opener Joe Weatherley made a composed 87 and James Vince 57, Hampshire were dismissed with 15.2 day three overs remaining. Clark clean bowled both James Fuller, for 12, and Kyle Abbott, whose third-ball 0 was his second duck of the day, in the same over and soon afterwards wrapped things up by having last man Mohammad Abbas caught at second slip for 0. Ben Brown was left 30 not out.
Weatherley and Vince added exactly 100 for the third wicket but Overton parted them and then Taylor struck a significant blow by having Vince caught down the legside by keeper Ben Foakes seven balls before tea.
In the final session Overton, with his short ball a real weapon on an easy-paced surface, had Felix Organ acrobatically caught by Will Jacks at gully for 5 and Taylor quickly followed that by having Keith Barker leg-before for 5 as Hampshire’s last real resistance was broken.
For much of the day’s opening hour, though, it looked like being tough going for Surrey. Fuller and Barker played with great freedom to take their eighth wicket partnership, on 20 overnight, to 90 in just 17 overs before Overton produced his dramatic triple-strike.
Barker, who had hit Jacks’ off spin straight for successive sixes to complete his half-century in some style, initially drove Overton powerfully past mid off for four. But he was then undone by a vicious lifter which he could only edge through to Foakes as he tried to fend it off from in front of his face.
Overton’s first ball to Abbott, the new batsman, was an even nastier bouncer which the tailender did well to avoid. The next, the last ball of the over, was fended to short leg as Abbott departed for a duck.
Fuller, who had also greeted Overton’s introduction by uppercutting and then off-driving him for boundaries, was yorked by the first ball of Overton’s next over. He had made 41 from 48 balls, with six fours, while Barker’s equally punchy 57 took him only 68 balls, with two sixes and nine fours.
Hampshire, in again, were 46 for 2 by lunch as Taylor had Ian Holland well held on 8 by Pope at second slip and Nick Gubbins (6) edged to Foakes a back foot defensive push at seamer Clark, who was operating around the wicket to the left-hander.
Weatherley, however, looked in good touch as he and Hampshire captain Vince frustrated Surrey’s bowlers, the pair also scoring at more than five runs an over. There was one top-edged pull at Clark, which looped away for two, but otherwise Weatherley was untroubled and it again took Overton to make an important breakthrough.
Overton first struck Weatherley under the chin with his first ball back and, after being square cut beautifully for four following a short delay for concussion protocols, he made another ball lift steeply to take the shoulder of the bat and fly high for Foakes to pull off a spectacular leaping catch away to his right.
Weatherley’s fine two-hour effort had come from 96 balls, including a hooked six off Clark and nine fours, and Overton was soon celebrating once more when Liam Dawson, on 3, lifted a pull to long leg where Ryan Patel pulled off a good running catch.
Surrey earn 22 points from their win, with Hampshire’s two points a bitter disappointment for them after an innings victory against Somerset in last week’s championship opener.
