Surrey’s Dom Sibley was the stand-out performer on day three of this week’s four-day national championship match against Hampshire. He was the first Surrey player to make two centuries in a match since Kumar Sangakkara in 2017. In the midst of his historic accomplishment, Sibley has done something truly extraordinary. He’s only the 20th player in Surrey’s history to score a century in both innings of a first-class match, earning a place in the history books.
Surrey started day three as well as they could have imagined, leading by 170 runs at 136-1. They hoped to take a strong lead early in the game. Both Sibley and Ollie Pope were past fifty when action resumed. They began implementing strategies to deepen their partnership even more. Hampshire’s bowlers really squeezed the life out of Notts in the morning session. Once they finally broke the opening stand, they were able to consistently blow up runs effectively for about an hour.
Pope’s innings came to an abrupt end when he fell to a sharp legside catch by Hampshire’s wicketkeeper, Ben Brown. Soon after, Ben Foakes fell for a single. He toe-ended Brett Hampton’s medium pace delivery straight to short mid-wicket. These two rapid wickets were a cause of concern for Surrey, but Sibley was solid in his defence at the crease.
As the match progressed, Surrey faced a significant interruption due to bad light and rain, leading to nearly a two-hour delay starting at 14:45 BST. This stoppage came when Surrey were in an incredibly dominant position of 282-4 with a mammoth 316-run lead over Hampshire. As soon as play resumed, Sibley was off to the races. He showed his class by bringing up his second century of the match with a sublime touch that raced away to fine leg. First-class cricket in this century, the 24th of his first-class career.
Meanwhile, opening batsman partner, Ryan Smith delivered an explosive innings that dazzled spectators, striking 84 off just 113 balls. His attacking innings contained two sixes and nine fours as he carried on to help Surrey to an imposing total of 433. In the end, Surrey opted to set a target, declaring their innings at 342-9 and giving Hampshire a massive 342-run target for the win.
As the teams head into the final day, Hampshire will need to produce a remarkable performance to chase down this substantial target. Sibley’s exceptional performances have handed Surrey a monumental lead in this final match. Now, they are looking to continue this momentum and get an upset win over Hampshire.
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