Hain delighted with 21st First Class hundred

Sam Hain was left to reflect glowingly on a 21st First Class century as he manoeuvred his team into position to clinch the Rothesay County Championship.

2026-09-25T19:05+01:00

The Englishman played beautifully for his 301-ball 142, his second century of the season, as the Bears amassed a total of 372 on Day Two at Edgbaston Stadium to move a giant step closer to securing Division One honours.

He put on a 165-run partnership with skipper Ed Barnard to start taking the game away from Leicestershire and while Barnard scored at a slightly quicker rate for his 88, Hain ranked his own innings as one of the most flowing of his career.

“I was out there for however long and I'd say it wasn't the most fluid innings I've ever had,” he said. “I think the way they bowled, they bowled quite straight. It felt quite tough at times to score.

“I think Barney came in, took a little bit of pressure off me, and obviously you had contributions all the way down, which is something we strive upon and obviously we're quite happy with where we ended up towards the end of our batting innings.

“I'm pretty proud of that one. I think you could see when I did cross the line, the emotion in that. It felt pretty special.”

Hain, who has now surpassed 1,000 runs for the season, was greeted by a standing ovation when he ticked into three figures and he now wants to provide Bears’ fans with further reasons to celebrate.

“It's obviously a big game for the club. You want to put the team in positions to win games of cricket and I feel like it was quite a crucial time. We fully know that the game's not done yet. We're going to come back tomorrow and see where we get to.

“I know full well within myself, I want to score hundreds. I know I haven't scored enough hundreds. Hopefully, towards the end of this game, I can look back and put my feet up and reflect on what's hopefully been a good season for myself, but obviously for the team as well.

“To be in this position now, I think we've earned it. We've played some bloody good cricket, but I think it doesn't mean come tomorrow they're not allowed to play well. I think we've still got to do what got us into position and that's just keep going ball by ball and then we'll see where we get to.”