AFTER all the drama and excitement provided by Ben Stokes yesterday, the morning’s play on the final day at the Rose Bowl was as flat as the pitch.

With Steve Harmison not on the field because of his arm injury, Stokes bowled for the first 50 minutes. But his magic had deserted him and Hampshire moved on from their overnight score of 87 to 171 without loss at lunch.

Scott Borthwick was surprisingly kept out of the attack until he bowled the penultimate over before the break, when Liam Dawson pulled his first ball for six.

But in the first over on the resumption the leg-spinner had Dawson caught at short leg by substitute Joe Coyne, an academy boy.

Dawson departed for 70, but Jimmy Adams moved into the 90s while Johan Myburgh opened up with a couple of fours off Callum Thorp then hit Borthwick to the cover boundary off the back foot.

That reduced the target to below 300, but with 54 overs left it seemed unlikely that Hampshire would go for the runs.