Hampshire 298 and 88 for 2 (Middleton 58, Gubbins 24*, Mousley 1-0) lead Warwickshire 254 (Bethell 69, Mousley 57, Barker 6-74) by 132 runs

Keith Barker reminded Warwickshire's fans of the skills they lost in 2018 as he bowled Hampshire into control on the second day of their Vitality County Championship match at Edgbaston.

Barker's left-arm swing earned him 14 hauls of five wickets or more as a Warwickshire player. He bagged his ninth for Hampshire with 6 for 74 to give them the upper hand in a gripping contest in the Birmingham sunshine

In reply to 298, Warwickshire were dismissed for 254 by Barker and Kyle Abbott (3 for 64) despite impressive resistance from young batters Jake Bethell and Dan Mousley.

A lead of 44 is handy in conditions which have given the seamers some encouragement and Hampshire built on it in the final session to reach 88 for 2 as Fletcha Middleton struck his second half-century of the match.

After Warwickshire resumed on 51 for 2, the ground echoed to perhaps the earliest ever cry of 'get on with it' when, at 11.01am, a long delay ensued while the ball was inspected and then changed. Barker wielded the replacement to spectacular effect with a burst of 3 for 17 in 25 balls. He trapped Danny Briggs lbw, had Sam Hain superbly caught by Ben Brown, standing up, and hit Ed Barnard's off-stump.

From 83 for 5, Mousley and Bethell applied themselves diligently. Destructive batters in the Blast (Bethell smashed 50 from 15 balls last week - this time he scored just two from his first 15), they showed they also have the technique to dig in against good bowling. They added 74 in 22 overs before Mousley was lured into driving away from his body at Barker and edged behind.

Michael Burgess joined Bethell to add 64 in 21 overs before Barker returned to strike twice more. Bethell edged a big drive to first slip where James Vince accepted that catch and another two overs later when Chris Woakes edged a footwork-free waft.

Craig Miles smote three quick fours but then played down the wrong line to Abbott. Mohammad Abbas finally collected a deserved wicket when Burgess chopped on.

With the evening session to enlarge their lead, Hampshire began badly when Toby Albert edged Olly Hannon-Dalby's second ball to slip, but then advanced meticulously. Middleton continued his good form from the first innings to reach a 60-ball half-century and Nick Gubbins (24 not out in over two hours) unfurled an innings of low entertainment for the spectators but high value to his team as the advantage ticked upwards.

Middleton edged Mousley behind 14 balls before the close and though Hampshire are well on top, Warwickshire are very much still in the game. This intriguing match may have a fascinating second half in wait for those spectators, particularly those who are connoisseurs of threes. With a very long boundary on the Pershore Road side of the ground, this has been a veritable festival of threes - there have been 15 already.