Mark Robinson was proud of his side's fight on the final day of their clash against Hampshire although he's keen to assess the steps that led them there.
In a tight contest across the first two days, the visitors stretched their advantage on the third, declaring late in search of victory.
Resuming on the final day at 40/1, Bears were 123/6 and 313/9, but the unmovable Sam Hain (111*), who batted for nearly six hours, meant the hosts earned a draw and a valuable 12 points to boot.
“You have a sense of relief and you’re proud of the fight,” said Robinson. “We ideally wouldn’t have got into that position, being nine down in the last over and hoping for someone to keep it out, but we did.
“It was a special innings from Sam. He showed great determination, we’ve watched him get better week by week, and he was backed by Burgy and a few others.
“We’ve got to get our words right, because we haven’t won the game. We’ve hung on to not lose a game, but sometimes they’re the footholds which help you to keep building on.”
Analysing the wider match, the First Team Coach added: “We were disappointed with certain aspects of the game. We felt we should have bowled them out for 220 in the first innings, and after batting in quite difficult conditions with the humidity and the wicket, we had the ability to go pass them. Liam Dawson and James Vince showed us how to go big and put us under pressure, but we rallied and showed good resolve from 123/6.”
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