BASINGTOKE is not a happy hunting ground for Durham and on their third visit things went wrong from the moment they lost the toss.

They became calamitous after lunch as Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb, who were both dropped, added 199 in 33 overs. That meant they had scored more in one session than Hampshire’s previous highest stand for any wicket against Durham – 195 by Tony Middleton and Jon Ayling at Darlington in 1992.

The stand had grown to 314 when Carberry fell for 162 and three wickets suddenly went down for three runs.

Neil McKenzie was bowled round his legs by Ian Blackwell and after delaying the new ball as a defensive measure Durham finally took it and the deserving Callum Thorp had Lumb lbw for 158.

It was a repeat of the first match, when Jaik Mickleburgh and James Foster put on 339 before Essex collapsed.

This time there was another wicket for Thorp when he pinned Sean Ervine on the crease and Hampshire closed on 373-5 for five.

Had there been a mutiny on May’s Bounty it would not have been surprising, but Durham have already lost faith in one captain this season to little advantage and must now soldier on to salvage something from the wreckage.

There have been some strange decisions since Will Smith was replaced at the helm and they are certainly not all coming from Phil Mustard.

Yesterday’s reckless gamble was the inclusion of Scott Borthwick in the hope they would bat first and his leg spin would come into play in the fourth innings on a wearing pitch.

How badly it does wear will be crucial, but this is a club pitch. It started dry and past experience suggests it will deteriorate rapidly and Durham will be on a hiding to nothing, as they were on their first visit here ten years ago.

Given the short boundaries, Borthwick was also on a hiding to nothing when he came on at 172 for one. He has only just returned from a month’s absence with a broken finger and conceded 48 runs in seven overs.

While May’s Bounty attracted the usual animated crowd, appreciating the slaughter of the northern upstarts from their deckchairs, outground cricket has unfortunately become an anachronism in a competitive first division.

But if super new stadiums like the Rose Bowl produce boring stalemates like last week’s game against Lancashire, the fans will appreciate an unfair contest which hinges on the toss – as long as it produces a thumping win for their side.

Among those present was pitch liaison officer Mike Denness, who recalled visiting Basingstoke with Kent when Colin Cowdrey fell on his stumps after being poleaxed by West Indian tearaway Andy Roberts.

The ball barely got above stump height yesterday and a fast, scorched outfield, combined with the compact ground, meant the ball raced to the rope.

In other words, conditions were ideal for fast scoring once the new ball had been overcome. Lumb, who had not previously made a championship half-century this season, played like the Twenty20 expert he has become, while the highly impressive Carberry also indulged himself once he had grafted to 50.

The slow, low pitch didn’t suit Steve Harmison and its lack of pace probably cost him the scalps of both centurymakers because the wicketkeeper and slips had to stand further up than usual.

Carberry, who made a fluent century at Emirates Durham this season, survived a sharp chance on eight.

It flew chest-high to third slip, where Dale Benkenstein reacted very late, while the other miss off Harmison suggested the usually reliable Mustard was also taken by surprise. It came with Lumb on 45.

There was much playing and missing in the morning as the ball swung for Callum Thorp, who was extremely unlucky not to take a wicket.

Jimmy Adams hit Thorp for two fours in his first over but he conceded only seven more runs in a seven-over spell and had two confident lbw appeals turned down.

Harmison had Adams caught behind for 18 with the total on 31 in the 11th over, then Lumb almost departed for four when he edged Liam Plunkett just short of Michael Di Venuto at second slip.

With Mitch Claydon having made way for Borthwick, Durham brought on Ben Stokes first change. His sevenover spell was the first time he had bowled more than two overs in the championship since mid-May.

Carberry treated all the bowlers with respect on his way to a 101-ball half-century, which he reached just before lunch, when Lumb was on 21.

The first 20 overs after the break produced 109 runs and Lumb thrashed 114 in the session, hitting 18 fours in his 137-ball century and driving Borthwick into the back garden of the Bounty pub.

Any drinkers had probably long since departed to witness the champions being put to the sword and with the regular bowlers unable to halt the carnage Durham had to bring on Benkenstein.

He stemmed the tide and Lumb spent 88 balls over his third 50. He probably sensed that Durham’s crown had already slipped and all that remained was to grind them into the dust.

SCORECARD

Hampshire v Durham
At Basingstoke. Hampshire Won Toss

Hampshire First Innings Close
M A Carberry c Borthwick b Benkenstein 162
J H Adams c Mustard b S J Harmison 18
M J Lumb lbw b Thorp 158
N D McKenzie b Blackwell 1
J M Vince not out 4
S M Ervine lbw b Thorp 8
J A Tomlinson not out 8
Extras (lb2 w6 nb6 pens 0) 14
Total 5 wkts (98 overs) 373
Fall: 1-31 2-345 3-346 4-348 5-365
To Bat: D G Cork, M D Bates, D J Balcombe,
D J Briggs.
Bowling: S J Harmison 23-1-97-1. Thorp
16-5-43-2. Stokes 9-2-41-0. Plunkett 14-0-
72-0. Blackwell 15-2-51-1. Borthwick 7-0-
48-0. Benkenstein 14-6-19-1.