County cricket: Warwickshire go top with Surrey lurking in second

Sometimes winning cricket matches looks easy, as if there is a recipe or formula to be followed, but it’s seldom as straightforward as it appears. Invited to bat by Kent captain Sam Billings and mindful of a grubby day on Friday, the Warwickshire top order piled up the runs on day one, stayed warm on day two and raced to a declaration early on day three, bonus points secured. Sam Hain (165*), Rob Yates (128) and Dan Mousley (94) handed over to the bowlers, who pawed at the ground with Zak Crawley in their sights.

The England opener was in, out, in and out again (LBW Rushworth twice) on the same day after the follow-on was enforced, allowing the home side three whole sessions to secure the nine wickets they needed. But batters are seldom as obliging second time round and, as soon as Ben Compton found a partner in Jordan Cox, the bowlers felt the miles in their legs and the chill in their fingers. Joey Evison, an all-rounder with plenty about him, and Conor McKerr, on loan from Surrey and a handy No 10, resisted for two hours but, deep in the last session of the match, Hasan Ali induced an edge in fading light to snare Evison for 99 and send Warwickshire top of Division One.

The Bears breathed a sigh of relief and another nail went into the coffin of that outdated cliche about soft cricket.

The 2021 champions lead for now, with 2022 champions Surrey looming large in their rear-view mirror. For some observers, the visit of Hampshire felt like a showdown, even this early in the campaign. Spookily, the match played out like a mirror of the Warwickshire v Kent arm-wrestle.

Both first innings had a similar shape. Ben Brown forged a partnership for the seventh wicket with the estimable Keith Barker to get Hants up to a