Warne hurt as Hampshire lose
Wed, Sep 13 Hampshire v Worcestershire
Hampshire's hopes of gaining promotion to Division 1 of the NatWest Pro40 League hang by a thread after they lost to Worcestershire in a rain-affected match under The Rose Bowl floodlights on Wednesday.
Put in to bat, Hampshire struggled to 131 all out off 36.1 overs. Second-placed Worcestershire went on to win by 24 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis Method after reaching 72-3 off 14.4 overs when rain ended the match just after 8pm.
For Hampshire to finish third and snatch the play-off position they must win their final match, away to Yorkshire at Headingley on Sunday, and hope Surrey slip up in their last two fixtures.
Hampshire skipper Shane Warne, celebrating his 37th birthday and batting at No.3, was taken to hospital after being struck on the head as he tried to hook paceman Matt Mason. The ball jammed between his helmet's peak and visor.
Warne came back in to bat, at 120-7 in the 33rd over, with stitches and a patch over his right eye and a swelling below it. But he added only a single before being caught behind for 14.
Batting was never easy, with movement for the quick bowlers and turn for the spinners. Dominic Thornely dominated the Hampshire innings by scoring a gutsy 60. The Australian hit two sixes, reached his half-century off 58 balls and shared stands of 33 for the fifth wicket with young Mitchell Stokes (12) and 38 for the seventh wicket with Shaun Udal (14).
John Crawley and Dimi Mascarenhas were both out for ducks and opener Chris Benham scored just one.
Zaheer Khan, Worcestershire's Indian new-ball bowler, took 3-22 off six overs, while off-spinner Gareth Batty snapped up 3-17 in seven overs.
With New Zealander Lou Vincent throwing the bat, Worcestershire then rattled up 31 runs off the first five overs in reply. But the impressive James Bruce struck early when Stephen Moore was bowled without offering a shot and followed up by having Vincent caught at slip for a rapid 32 to make it 55-3 in the 10th over.
In between Bruce's double-strike, the expensive Chris Tremlett produced a superb delivery to have the dangerous Vikram Solanki caught behind for nought.
But with Ben Smith reaching an unbeaten 18 Worcestershire stayed ahead of the required run-rate before the rain came too late to save Hampshire. Warne was off the field for most of Worcestershire's innings, returning only shortly before the end and never bowling.
"With movement and turn the wicket was far from easy to bat on," said Hampshire team manager Paul Terry. "With rain forecast, we would have batted second, given the choice."
HAMPSHIRE 131 (36.1 overs): Thornely 60, Batty 3-17, Khan 3-22. WORCESTERSHIRE 72-3 (14.4 overs): Vincent 32, Bruce 2-17.
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