Match report by BBC Radio Solent's Kris Temple at Bristol

Hampshire's hopes of reaching a second successive Friends Provident final disappeared in the Bristol gloom, as Gloucestershire secured a five-wicket win in a rain-shortened South/West Division contest. 

Gloucestershire's in-form batsman Craig Spearman inspired the Gladiators to victory, with a boundary-laden knock of 67 from 44 balls. Hampshire were left to rue dropping Spearman on 22, when skipper Dimi Mascarenhas shelled the chance at mid-off. It was left to all-rounder Mark Hardinges to get Gloucester over the line, as he smashed 49 not out, including one straight six off Mascarenhas which cleared the pavilion.

Bad weather had reduced to 20 overs a side, and only started at 4.45pm in front of a sparse crowd at the County Ground.

In pursuit of Hampshire's under-par total of 144 for 6, the home side had rebounded off the ropes, after slumping to 27 for 4, with Southern Hemisphere duo Hamish Marshall and Marcus North both registering ducks.

Marshall's New Zealand compatriot Shane Bond turned in an outstanding spell for Hampshire on his return from injury, picking up 3 for 11 from his four overs, with four of those runs coming from the final ball of the spell. 

Earlier, Hampshire's innings was based around an aggressive knock of 76 from opener Michael Lumb. The former Yorkshire man hit ten fours and a six in his 51-ball innings, which gave Hampshire early hope of posting a competitive total.

Lumb and Michael Carberry shared  a stand of 60 in 10 overs, with Sean Ervine then providing good support for Lumb, making 29 from 26 balls before holing out in the deep.

The innings rather fell away in the latter stages though after the dismissal of Ervine, with the next four wickets falling for just 16 runs, as Hampshire totalled 144 for 6 in their 20 overs, probably 30 runs light of where they would like to have been. Gladiators' captain Jon Lewis was the chief tormentor with the ball, taking 3 for 17 from his 4 overs.

The home side's run-chase was completed with two balls to spare, to the frustration of Hampshire skipper Dimi Mascarenhas, who told BBC Radio Solent:

"It's disappointing, 144 was a decent score, but we lost our way a bit after a decent start. Three of the guys bowled really well but we were let down by some poor fielding and some poor bowling at the end. Catches win matches, and I dropped Spearman so that's hugely disappointing."

Although not mathematically impossible, Hampshire's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals are all but over, as they round off their Friends Provident group matches at home to Glamorgan on Bank Holiday Monday (12 noon start).

BBC Radio Solent's sports team will be providing ball by ball commentary of all the action.

Join BBC Radio Solent's Kevan James and Kris Temple and listen live by following the BBC Radio Solent link from our homepage.

Come and support the Hawks in their final Friends Provident match as they try to slay the Glamorgan Dragons at The Rose Bowl.  Tickets and parking available on the day.  Follow this link for more information

Hampshire 144/6 (20/20 ov)
Gloucestershire 145/5 (19.4/20 ov)

Gloucestershire won by 5 wickets (with 2 balls remaining) 

Scorecard

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