Hampshire pipped in last over

Sun, Jul 30  Hampshire v Somerset

Despite Australian Dominic Thornely's battling 66, Hampshire slipped to a last-over, six-wicket defeat by Somerset in their opening NatWest Pro40 League match watched by a big crowd at The Rose Bowl on Sunday.

Hampshire, put in to bat and without the injured John Crawley, totalled 156 after Thornely, who hit one of only two sixes in the match, masterminded a last-wicket stand of 50 with Billy Taylor.

Earlier, opener Nic Pothas was out first ball and after reaching 41-1 the county crashed to 56-6 and then 106-9. The only other Hampshire players to reach double figures were Sean Ervine (27), Shane Warne (19) and Michael Carberry (17).

Somerset's new-ball pair, Andrew Caddick and Charl Willoughby, both two two wickets, while Malaysian-born left-arm spinner Arul Suppiah claimed 2-20 off seven economical overs.

Somerset then also found run-scoring difficult. Four of their first five overs were maidens--two each for Dimi Mascarenhas and Taylor--and when the former broke the opening stand only 23 runs had come off 11 overs.

Opener Matthew Wood, the eventual match-winner with an unbeaten 77, and Cameron White added 64 for the second wicket before Shaun Udal (2-30) dismissed White for 33 and followed up by trapping Peter Trego lbw for 13. And when Chris Tremlett bowled James Hildreth to make it 136-4 in the 37th over Hampshire scented victory.

Somerset needed 21 runs off the last three overs and still nine off the 40th, bowled amid mounting tension by Taylor whose initial six overs had cost just eight runs. But Wood was still there and his fine drive to the extra-cover boundary helped Somerset to their target with three balls to spare.

HAMPSHIRE 156 (38.4 overs): Thornely 66, Ervine 27, Warne 19, Carberry 17, Suppiah 2-20, Willoughby 2-33, Caddick 2-37. SOMERSET 157-4 (39.3 overs): Wood 77 not out, White 33, Udal 2-30, Tremlett 1-27, Mascarenhas 1-31).

* Hampshire's next Pro40 match is against Kent at Canterbury on Sunday, August 6.

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