MICHAEL Carberry struggled to hold his bat because of cramp during his match-winning marathon innings yesterday.

The left-hander batted for more than six hours for his career-best 192 not out, which comfortably surpassed his previous-best Championship score of 112, for Kent against Worcestershire more than three years ago.

Carberry offered one half-chance - to Darren Maddy at second slip on 65 - in leading Hampshire to another memorable last-day victory.

He said: "The whole day was hard. I had to get through some tough spells early on but, as the innings progressed, I started to find some rhythm and timing.

"I've suffered from cramp since childhood and I had it again in my arms, my hands and my mouth.

"There were times when I couldn't hold the bat so the physio worked really hard, and my teammates were fantastic, they kept me going."

Carberry accelerated after tea, ironically when his cramp was at its worst.

After reaching 50 from 92 balls and 100 from 183, he needed just 215 deliveries for his 150.

"I was delighted to get through," he added. "The batters haven't had as successful a year as we would have liked but hopefully this win can be the spur we need to push for the title."

Full story in today's Daily Echo