Troughton leads Bears run blitz

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Edgbaston
Warwickshire v Hampshire
22-25 April (Play starts 1100 BST)
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Hants 379 and 61-0, Warwicks 630-8dec (Warks 8 pts, Hants 5pts )

Warwickshire v Hampshire commentary

Warwickshire v Hampshire scorecard

Jim Troughton made only one Championship century last season

Warwickshire's Jim Troughton hit a career-best 223, while Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke also made tons as the Bears piled up the runs at Edgbaston.

In reply to Hampshire's 379, Ashley Giles' men declared on 630-8.

And, on a day of rewriting record books, Troughton and Ambrose (153) broke Warwickshire's fifth wicket record, putting on 335 in 81 overs.

That beat the 322 set by Brian Lara, with Keith Piper, the day he hit his famous world record 501 15 years ago.

The partnership was surprisingly cut short when Hampshire turned to a pair of occasional bowlers.

Ambrose, having hit 17 fours from 240 balls, played on to Adams off his pads, and Troughton edged to Dominic Cork at slip, attempting to drive Carberry.

Apart from his sixes, Troughton picked off 23 fours, batting for more than seven hours after coming to the crease with Warwickshire wobbling at 12-2.

After the end of Troughton's 342-ball vigil, for the first double century of his career, Clarke then hit 112 in 78 balls.

That was a first ton for the former Surrey, Derbyshire and England man in three years, as he helped put on another 138 in 22 overs for the seventh wicket with Anthony Botha (51).

Warwickshire declared after Clarke had gone, getting 11 overs at Hampshire last night.

But Michael Carberry hit seven fours before the close in moving to a rapid 38 off 32 balls, helped by Adams (22 no) as the visitors plundered 61 of the 251 runs they need to make Warwickshire bat again.

At the start of the third day the game seemed to be evenly balanced, with Warwickshire still 155 adrift of the visitors' 379 even after Troughton's progress to his 14th championship hundred in the final over on Thursday evening.

Hampshire missed two opportunities to limit further damage.

Ambrose was on 73 when Michael Lumb got a hand to an overhead chance off James Tomlinson. And Troughton also escaped on 132 when Tomlinson failed to hold a drive in his follow-through.

This proved to be a costly slip as the left-hander cut loose, passing his previous best of 162 against Worcestershire at New Road in 2007.