Relegation looked ever more certain for Surrey by the end of a dispiriting day in which Nic Pothas and Dimitri Mascarenhas took the game away from the home side with a pulsating partnership of 165 in 30 overs, a seventh-wicket record for Hampshire against these opponents. What Surrey supporters will want to know is why Shoaib Akhtar, signed in the hope of saving their side from the drop, did not bowl one over at the pair.

Having got through a comfortable eight overs on the first day, Shoaib bowled eight more yesterday before being taken off at 2.18pm. He did not return till 5.07pm, even though the second new ball was only 15 overs old when Pothas and Mascarenhas joined forces. If Surrey are being restricted in their use of the Pakistan tearaway, who bowled with great pace at times, they are getting poor value for money.

The rest of the attack bowled poorly, conceding 27 fours to the seventh-wicket alliance at a rate of almost one an over. Mascarenhas hit 18 of them in a pugnacious 114-ball stay before top-edging a lap shot that he hoped would bring him the single he needed for a first century in more than two years. That gave Jonathan Batty, the wicketkeeper, his 500th victim for Surrey.

Pothas, more circumspect, reached his second hundred of the campaign, from 162 balls, on his way to an unbeaten 137. Michael Lumb's gritty, four-hour 72 was an important contribution and Liam Dawson frustrated Surrey with a game 38.

The day began well for Surrey when Jade Dernbach took two quick wickets, Chris Benham losing his off stump after shouldering arms and Sean Ervine playing on. It was not without some difficulty that Lumb survived a rapid four-over opening burst from Shoaib, but he rode his luck to reach fifty off 138 balls when he edged Alex Tudor between first and second slip.

Lumb was eventually dismissed thanks to a fine, low tumbling catch at slip by Scott Newman after Saqlain Mushtaq got some turn. As is the modern way, Lumb stood his ground before being sent on his way by the umpires after they had conferred. If he did not show dissent, he came dangerously close to doing so. No doubt, he was disappointed that he had again failed to convert a fifty into a hundred. Seven half-centuries this season have realised only one century.

Scoreboard

Hampshire: First Innings (overnight 116-2)
M J Lumb c Newman b Saqlain 72
C C Benham b Dernbach 29
S M Ervine b Dernbach 6
N Pothas not out 137
L A Dawson c Akhtar b Tudor 38
*A D Mascarenhas c Batty b Spriegel 99
C T Tremlett c Batty b Spriegel 0
Imran Tahir not out 22
Extras (b 9, lb 8, w 1, nb 12) 30

Total (8 wkts, 135 overs) 480
J A Tomlinson to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-60, 3-117, 4-125, 5-214, 6-286, 7-451, 8-451.

Bowling: Akhtar 19-3-54-1; Dernbach 20-2-95-2; Collins 25-6-78-0; Tudor 24-4-90-2; Saqlain 28-4-86-1; Benning 3-0-11-0; Afzaal 11-2-21-0; Spriegel 5-0-28-2.

Surrey: S A Newman, M N W Spriegel, *M R Ramprakash, J N Batty, U Afzaal, J G E Benning, A J Tudor, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, J W Dernbach, P T Collins.

Umpires: N J Llong and N A Mallender.