Critchley began the day three runs shy of his 13th first-class century and after 20 minutes, reached the milestone with a booming cut – a shot celebrated on and off the field.

It continued a miraculous run of start-of-season performances for Critchley since signing from Derbyshire.

On debut against Kent, he made an immediate impression with 132, and after three half-centuries in the next four innings, he began last season with 145 not out against Surrey.

His previous best of 151, against Kent in 2025, also came in the early part of the season.

At Utilita Bowl, Critchley had come to the crease after Tom Westley had been struck on the hand by Sonny Baker – which eventually led to Westley being the first player replaced in the ECB’s player replacement trial.

It was a tricky entrance with the ball moving around and Essex in slight trouble at what quickly became 67-3.

But he kept the scoreboard ticking with sensible risk-free batting, made sure the ball got soft and then cashed in.

Flair was never on his mind, but that didn’t stop him from accumulating at a good pace, reaching 150 in 229 balls, before reaching a new personal best with an upper cut for six.

Allison had been a mainstay alongside him, following up perfectly on a breakthrough 2025 – where he scored three tons.

Another deserved three-figures looked on the cards, but he fell into a short ball trap as Hampshire tried to whittle down the overs to the new ball – whacking Eddie Jack straight to deep square.

Michael Pepper fell for a breezy 32, lbw to give Codi Yusuf who was taking his maiden Hampshire wicket, before Westley’s replacement Noah Thain was caught behind off Baker.