Date-stamped : 08 Aug95 - 06:27 ====> Day 1 Three centuries give Essex impetus By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester First day of four: Essex 452-4 v Hampshire CASTLE PARK offered no help to the bowlers yesterday, and it was certainly not a toss to lose. Mark Nicholas did, and within a few overs would have known it was going to be a long, hard and hot day in the field. Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Mark Waugh all scored hundreds that seemed as inevitable as they were a pleasure to watch. Some sympathy is due to the Hampshire seamers, since there was virtually no movement off the seam and no swing. Already, however, the pitch is beginning to turn, prompting Robin Hobbs to declare that the game will not go beyond Saturday lunchtime. Gooch, who had rushed to 70 by lunch, was massively authoritative in reaching his seventh championship hundred at Colchester and his fourth against Hampshire in two seasons in all cricket, passing 1,000 runs in a season for the 19th time. He pulled veraciously and drove punishingly and regularly through the covers, as Hampshire dished up half volleys throughout the day, Hussain, who was impressively selective, shared stands of 176 in 44 overs with Gooch and of 185 in 43 with Waugh. The Australian's was the quickest hundred - taking 127 balls compared to Gooch's 150 and Hussain's 225. His timing was, as ever, a delight. For Hampshire, it was simply a case of waiting for mistakes. Gooch finally obliged, padding up to a straight one, but Waugh was missed when on 25 after giving a difficult stumping chance. ====> Day 2 Stephenson eases Hampshire strain By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Second day of four: Hampshire (148-3) trail Essex (662-7 dec) by 514 runs ESSEX batted on until 3pm yesterday, setting Hampshire the near impossible follow-on target of 513. The only consolation for Mark Nicholas's beleaguered side was the impressive way John Stephenson played in his first innings against his old county, making an unbeaten 71. Near silence greeted Stephenson when he walked to the crease in the 10th over, but he hit his first two balls for four and reached a positive fifty off 75 balls with one of several fine extra-cover driven fours. A goodish crowd politely applauded him. Peter Such nearly bowled him through the gate but, this apart, he looked secure and batted well under pressure. Essex's total was the biggest of the season by any county, as well as being their highest on either of the two Colchester grounds. Their relentless accumulation was facilitated by a pitch so flat that the seamers had precious little chance of a gaining wicket without a batsman error. Heath Streak said it was the slowest pitch he had ever played on. Ronnie Irani and Robert Rollins bashed the ball about in buccaneering style before getting themselves out. Rollins made a career-best 85 before becoming a maiden first-class victim for Paul Whitaker, who tried an over of his off spin. The Essex spinners bowled a better length than their Hampshire counterparts, though the turn they obtained was slow. Batting was, however, still not easy and Such was an awkward proposition. He dismissed Jason Laney with his second ball thanks to an outstanding catch at midwicket by Paul Prichard. His second wicket came when he obtained what was probably the first ball in the match to lift off a length, Paul Terry popping it to short leg. Whitaker went back to one that went straight on. ====> Day 3 Essex turn the screw By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Third day of four: Hants (255 and 150-9) trail Essex (662-7d) by 257 runs JOHN Stephenson demonstrated in this match just why Essex were so disappointed to lose him to Hampshire, making 94 and 63 in difficult circumstances. Certainly, Essex supporters showed their feelings for him by applauding him warmly which, he said, made him feel very emotional. Stephenson, watched by his parents (who still live in Essex), his wife and his brother, who all sat with Alf Gooch, Graham's father, in the members' enclosure, batted outstandingly. Without his resistance, and a stubborn unbeaten 41 from Kevan James in the first innings, Hampshire, who followed on 407 behind, would have been beaten inside three days in the face of some fine bowling by Peter Such and John Childs. Essex took the extra half hour, needing just two wickets in that time to win the match, but could not dismiss the last pair. Such exploited helpful conditions fully to take a career best eight for 93 from 49.1 overs in the first innings and then shrugged off his tiredness to pick up two more wickets in the second, with Childs claiming six. In all, Such bowled 54 overs yesterday, some performance. Reportedly, Such had not been quite at his best coming into this match but there is nothing like a Castle Park turner, even if it was painfully slow, to help regain full confidence. Almost throughout, Such bowled to a five-four off-side field, pitching outside off and getting both turn and bounce out of Mark Ilott's and James's rough. Such's accuracy never wavered for he gave little to cut or drive. Five of his first-innings victims were caught at either silly point or short leg, and if he didn't turn the ball significantly when pitching on the line of the stumps, he did not need to, for batsmen were frustrated by his persistence and inconvenienced by balls that jumped at them out of the rough. Stephenson handled him best, using his feet intelligently and punishing anything remotely loose from all bowlers very well. A maiden hundred for Hampshire beckoned before he was bowled trying to sweep Such. In the second innings, it required a good one that turned from Childs to have him caught at slip. ====> Day 4 Such ties it all up for Essex By Geoffrey Dean at Colchester Essex (662-7 dec) bt Hants (255 & 153) by an innings and 254 runs THERE was only six minutes' play at Castle Park yesterday - the time it took Essex to separate Hampshire's last-wicket pair. Peter Such had Richard Dibden caught off bat-pad at short leg to finish with match figures of 11 for 160 from 78 overs, an outstanding effort even if conditions were helpful for him. A crowd of almost 150 witnessed Essex's fourth championship victory of the season. The unfortunate Dibden, who still has two more years to go at Loughborough University, recorded a pair, and with four noughts behind him, has still to open his first-class run account. But he is clearly a promising off-spinner. Meanwhile, Keith Fletcher, Essex's cricket consultant, has revealed that next year will be Graham Gooch's last in county cricket. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)