91Èȱ¬

Hampshire continued their push for promotion from Division Two with a 196-run victory over Kent at St Lawrence.

Matt Coles (3-68) took the early wickets of Daniel Bell-Drummond (44) and Adam Riley (10) as the hosts, needing a huge 406 to win when resuming on 95-2, slumped to 187-5 at lunch.

Darren Stevens held firm with an 81-ball 74, which included four sixes, but was caught by Coles off Liam Dawson.

And Kent were finally out for 304 when James Tomlinson bowled Calum Haggett.

Haggett (13) and Doug Bollinger (33 not out) had put on 45 in a desperate final-wicket stand, but the failings of the top order left them too much time to hold out for.

The victory meant Hampshire climbed into second in the race for Division One, with third-placed Surrey's rain-affected game at Leicestershire ending in a draw.

Kent vice captain Sam Northeast told 91Èȱ¬ Radio Kent after the match: "We let ourselves down a little bit, we didn't bat or bowl well enough, we have to come back stronger."

Hampshire captain Jimmy Adams:

"I'm delighted how we've gone over the four days.

"It was a decent pitch overall but we needed that great partnership between Chris Wood and Sean Ervine on the first day that dug us out of a hole.

"Then, the way we bowled in their first innings was exceptional and that gave us the platform for a first-innings lead. It was a great effort from everyone.

"For Chris to come back from injury and perform as well as he has with bat and ball, a fifty followed by career-best bowling figures, was excellent. It was great to have his energy around the group."

91Èȱ¬ Radio Kent's Peter Guise:

"After three Championship wins on the bounce, a heavy defeat against Hampshire was disappointing, but the reality was that Kent were out bowled and out batted.

"Anticipation was high going into the last day that the match could be saved, but Hampshire took regular wickets, or rather, Kent lost wickets regularly."

91Èȱ¬ Radio Solent's Kevan James:

"Hampshire worked hard to claim the final eight Kent wickets needed for victory on the final day.

"They were helped by one or two average shots played by the Kent batsmen, and a run out through a misunderstanding between Darren Stevens and Sam Northeast, which resulted in the latter out of his ground following a direct hit from Jimmy Adams - they were bizarrely looking for a quick single with still 310 needed and only five wickets remaining."