Hampshire's Lehmann hits ton in draw with Notts

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Utilita Bowl (day four)

Hampshire 214& 207-6 dec: Lehmann 102*; O'Neill 3-35

Nottinghamshire 229: Slater 48, Patterson-White 48; Baker 5-45

Hampshire (11 pts) drew with Notts (11 pts)

Match scorecard

Jake Lehmann converted a fifty into three figures at the sixth attempt as Hampshire avoided defeat at home in the County Championship for the first time in 10 months as they drew with Nottinghamshire.

Champions and table-toppers Nottinghamshire had hoped to rip through the hosts on the final day to secure victory, but found Lehmann blocking their path as they finished on 207-6 with a lead of 192.

The Australian, who qualifies as a domestic player, had scored five half-centuries – all in succession – earlier in the season before batting out the day for a 205-ball 102 not out.

Both sides take 11 points from the match, enough to keep Nottinghamshire top, but not enough for Hampshire to escape the bottom.

All three results had still looked vaguely possible at the start of the final day, but Hampshire needed to score runs at a decent rate, Nottinghamshire had to claim the remaining six wickets quickly, or a draw became the favourite.

Rain half an hour into play took most of the jeopardy out of the day, even though Ben Brown had edged Fergus O'Neill to first slip, giving the Australian quick his eighth wicket of the match.

His 8-86 were his best match figures for Nottinghamshire.

Having taken lunch early, the afternoon was also delayed, and by the time play resumed, there were just 59 overs left in the day.

The Nottinghamshire attack, which had bowled well throughout, continued to bang the ball in, but Lehmann, with first Delano Potgieter and then Felix Organ, meant it was without reward.

Lehmann, the son of Australia great and Northamptonshire head coach Darren, has been a rare bright spark in Hampshire's underperforming batting line-up.

On this occasion, he was unperturbed by the threat of any collapse by batting at his pace – mainly blocking but occasionally climbing into a lavish cut or a well-timed drive.

His unconventional stance, almost standing completely front on when the ball is delivered, looks susceptible to lbws and getting the ball onto the offside, but a mixture of quick hands and repositioned feet means he is difficult to dismiss.

Lehmann had struck twin fifties against Yorkshire and Somerset, plus an 89 against Essex, but despite scores of 89 and 92, he could not break through to three figures.

And while he stuttered his way through the late 80s and early 90s, he reached his century – the 17th of his first-class career – with a flick off his hips for four.

Potgieter, who joined earlier in the week as a replacement for the ineffective Codi Yusuf, had a solid debut. A 15 in the first innings was followed by a tidy bowling display and a deserved wicket.

He stuck around with Lehmann for the second-highest partnership of the low-scoring match, worth 65 runs, before a slog sweep went straight up and he was caught.

Felix Organ simply completed the destination to share the point by digging in for over an hour. Hands were shaken at the earliest possible time in the middle of a rare Joe Clarke over.

Nottinghamshire still have not won in the Championship at Utilita Bowl since 2010.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.