Surrey Second XI battled to a worthy draw down at the Ageas Bowl, ending on 157/6 in 65.5 overs.
England U19 captain Tom Prest hit an impressive 165 in 161 balls as Hampshire Second XI piled up 378/9 in the morning session before declaring on 378/9 in 69 overs. Amar Virdi took 5/81 from 17 overs while Cam Steel picked up 3/54 from 10.
When Surrey Second XI batted, going for victory was never an option and the Surrey batters all knuckled down to bat time, with Josh Blake hitting 56 and Tom Lawes 35.
Assistant coach Jim Troughton says: “I’m pleased overall. We played a lot of good cricket over the four days and it would have been a real shame if we had come away with nothing. We have a really inexperienced side and are maybe a batter or two light so well played to the boys. Lawesey batted really well throughout the game. He has a niggle so can’t bowl currently but was really solid with the bat. When we bowled there was no help at all for the spinners and Virds really worked hard for his five wickets – he bowled with his head. And with the bat we were impressive. Lawesey, Josh Blake with his third successive fifty, and Nico Reifer may not have got the scores his batting merited but he is not far off. All in all, a decent four days.”
The Surrey Second XI are next in action against Durham on Tuesday 26 April at Guildford CC.
