BEN Brown recorded his third-highest County Championship score as Hampshire and Durham played out an inevitable draw at the conclusion of a rain-affected four-day match.

Brown, who resumed on 143 overnight, patiently reached 162 before falling just three runs short of his career-best first-class score. His innings was the highlight of a largely sedate contest in which only 20 wickets fell over four days, ending with hands shaken at 3:50pm on Monday.

Hampshire were eventually dismissed for 470, trailing Durham’s first-innings total by 41 runs. Matthew Potts, recently named in England’s Test squad to face Zimbabwe, bowled with persistence to take 4 for 84 from 29 overs, while South African loanee Codi Yusuf picked up 3 for 83, including the important wicket of Brown with a late in-swinging delivery. Yusuf also trapped Sonny Baker lbw to wrap up the Hampshire innings.

Brown’s approach on the final day was conservative, prioritising time at the crease over scoring. He added just 19 runs in the morning session, failing to find the boundary in the 34 balls he faced that day. Brad Wheal, who struck two boundaries with a pull and a cover drive, supported him in a stand that was more about time than runs.

Any prospect of a result disappeared early, especially after Kyle Abbott was bowled by a low ball from Potts on the first delivery he faced. The use of the heavy roller ahead of Durham’s second innings further nullified the already placid surface, ensuring no dramatic final-day collapse.

Durham’s openers Alex Lees and Emilio Gay made a calm start in increasingly gloomy and damp conditions. They added 61 unbeaten runs before the match was called off. Abbott opened the bowling with Dawson in a pre-lunch nine-over spell that included three maidens from Abbott, showing his typical accuracy and control.

Rain and bad light played their part again, with three overs lost before lunch and another 11 wiped out after the break. Spinners Felix Organ and Tom Prest took over to bowl what became a glorified net session before more showers brought a premature end to play.

The draw keeps Hampshire unbeaten, earning them 12 points and moving them to fifth in the table. Durham, with 13 points from the match, remain three points ahead and extend their unbeaten run against Hampshire to a decade.