Worcestershire thrashed Hampshire to boost their survival hopes

Saeed Ajmal finished with match figures of 8-100 as Worcestershire wrapped up an emphatic LV= County Championship Division One victory over Hampshire by an innings and 33 runs at New Road.

The result left Hampshire 26 points adrift at the bottom of the table while second-bottom Worcestershire made up ground on the teams above them.

They are now level with Sussex on 102 points, just one point behind Nottinghamshire and six adrift of Somerset.

Having been made to follow on after replying to Worcestershire’s 478 with 183, Hampshire began the final day on 164-6, with Joe Gatting unbeaten on 28.

But they lost their seventh wicket without adding to the overnight score, Gareth Berg (12) bowled by the third ball of the day when he pushed forward and missed an Ajmal (3-72) straight one.

Gatting continued to impress following his recent recall to the middle order and he and Danny Briggs (42 not out) then added 53, the second-highest partnership of the innings, only for Gatting to fall lbw when he played back to a quicker one from Ajmal.

Stubborn resistance followed from the Hampshire tail, before Jack Shantry wrapped things up with the second new ball and completed a five-wicket haul into the bargain.

Shantry (5-51) bowled Brad Wheal for 10 and then had Jackson Bird (also 10) caught by wicket-keeper Ben Cox after top-edging a pull, as Hampshire were dismissed for 262.

It was only Worcestershire’s second win of the campaign but they have been competitive in virtually all of their matches and have more bonus points, both for batting and bowling, than any other side in the division.

Worcestershire's director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “I'm delighted and very proud of the effort that the team put in.

"Once again they tried hard and it was nice to keep the momentum going over the four days, which is brilliant really, because it means we've got some really good points out of this contest.

"They (Hampshire) were very wary of Saeed and it's nice that his confidence is really coming back now.

"He bowled some great balls in both innings. His five-wicket haul in the first innings was just the tonic we needed but also, this morning, picking up those two wickets of the better players, that was crucial.”

Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein said: "I am massively concerned after our first innings.

"There has to be a bit of a discussion over the week. In four-day cricket we need to have a few discussions about where we are going from now.

"We've got six games left, which is a lot of cricket, but it does just worry me whether mentally we are good enough to play in this division.

"When we have been challenged, we haven't really stood up and been counted."