When Surrey last visited the Rose Bowl, for its inaugural fixture, Ben Hollioake was named man of the match. The season before, in a low-scoring encounter at Southampton’s former Northlands Road ground, he made a meticulous 37 in 77 balls out of 116 in the Lions’ humbling of the Hawks. But yesterday – which marked his brother Adam’s first appearance of the season – fate had determined that the mercurial all-rounder should no longer be with us.

Not for the first time this summer in one-day cricket Ben was missed. Hampshire should never have been shown a way back. At one stage they even looked likely to prevail. However, it was only right that Surrey should win on their captain’s return.

When Adam Hollioake strode to the wicket to warm applause his side were four down. Needing another 80 runs with little batting left to come, they appeared to be on the way to registering their third consecutive defeat in the Norwich Union League.

Alistair Brown had been unable to reproduce the fireworks of five years ago, when he made the highest score in the competition’s history against Hampshire at Guildford. Mark Ramprakash was needlessly run out for twelve. Rikki Clarke was the victim of a brilliant one-handed catch at second slip by Johnson and Nadeem Shahid had been taken low and a long way to the keeper’s right.

The Surrey captain brought up the hundred off his first delivery and despatched the last two balls of Prittipaul’s next over to the cover boundary. But then Ward – who top scored with 51 off 90 balls – was bowled through the gate, playing back, and Hollioake went caught behind going for the cut stroke.

Needing 51 off the last 13 overs, the situation demanded some sensible batting from Jonathan Batty, Martin Bicknell and Ian Salisbury (who ended the game with a six over mid-wicket) to see the Lions home with just five balls to spare.

Earlier a damp outfield had hampered the Hawks’ progress. They lost Hamblin and Johnson inside three overs and were without a boundary until the twelfth. By the time the fifty had been posted Kenway was also gone – bowled by Clarke, who lanced Hampshire’s boil by conceding two boundaries in the 22nd over.

Last week Surrey’s cricket manager, Keith Medlycott described Adam Hollioake as a “talisman”. If not with the bat, his captain certainly lived up to his billing with the ball. Although expensive, Hollioake was providential in as much as he followed up the wicket of Crawley in his first over with the scalps of Prittipaul and Pothas, after all three had made reasonable starts.

This may only be the first chapter, but on the field as well as off of it the story of Adam Hollioake’s rehabilitation promises to transcend the tale of his side regaining their championship crown from Yorkshire, which now seems beyond doubt.

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