Hampshire Hawks v Worcestershire Royals

BBC Solent's Kris Temple at The Rose Bowl

A career-best innings from Hampshire batsman Michael Brown led his side to a stunning four-wicket win over Worcestershire, to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Friends Provident Trophy.

Brown hit an unbeaten 96, sharing a stand of 137 with his captain Dimi Mascarenhas, who finished 56 not out. The pair came together with Hampshire on the ropes at 65 for 6, pursuing the visitors' total of 201 for 8. A perfectly-paced run-chase though saw the home side across the line with 13 balls to spare.

Having despatched Hampshire by nine wickets at New Road earlier this month, the contrast in the Worcestershire batting couldn't have been more stark. With the visitors inserted, the Hampshire new-ball pair of Mascarenhas and teenager Hamza Riazuddin both claimed a wicket in their first over. Worcestershire wicketkeeper Steve Davies nicked Mascarenhas behind, before Riazuddin induced a leading edge from Moeen Ali, for his first one-day wicket.

After a mini-revival staged by captain Vikram Solanki and Ben Smith, both were removed by Mascarenhas - the latter to a exceptional low catch by Chris Benham at short cover - to leave the visitors 41 for 4, and then 42 for 5 when the in-form Daryl Mitchell went without scoring.

The dismissal of Graeme Hick - 42 years old this week - to a rising Chris Tremlett delivery, saw the Royals 66 for 6 and very much in trouble. But then came the partnership that proved the catalyst for a competitive total. Former England all-rounders Gareth Batty and Kabir Ali put on a patient stand of 50 for the seventh wicket, before Ali fell to an excellent leg-side catch by stand-in Hampshire wicketkeeper Michael Brown.

Batty hung around to complete his half-century, before Tremlett took a diving catch on the long-off boundary to dismiss him for 52. Some late hitting from tail-enders Gareth Andrew and Steve Magoffin took Worcestershire up to a total of 201 for 8, with 17 runs coming from the final over, bowled by Sean Ervine.

Of the Hampshire bowlers, the impressive Billy Taylor returned ten overs for just 24. The promising Hamza Riazuddin also underlined his potential, with an accurate spell of 1 for 15 from 6 overs.

In the reply, the Hampshire innings got off to an identically calamitous start, when Michael Carberry fell to the second ball, trapped leg-before by Kabir Ali. Carberry's fellow opener Michael Lumb also succumbed cheaply, bowled round his legs by Western Australian Magoffin. Benham then ran himself out going for an ambitious third, before Sean Ervine departed at 42 for 4, tamely offering Magoffin a return catch.

That brought together Brown and Jimmy Adams to steady the ship, before Worcestershire's Simon Jones nudged the England selectors, with a spell of up to 90mph at times. He removed Adams and Greg Lamb with successive deliveries, to put the Royals very much in the box seat.

The arrival of Hampshire skipper Mascarenhas to join Brown though saw the match gradually swing back into the home side's lap, with Brown picking up the man-of-the-match award for his knock, which comfortably beat his previous one-day best of 75.

Afterwards Brown told BBC Radio Solent: "From the position we were in I thought I'd just bat, keep it ticking and see where we ended up. It’s a strange situation as I've not played many one-day games, but Dimi kept me going and we got there. I've been hitting the ball pretty well recently, so I knew that when the bad ball came, I'd be hopeful of putting it away."

To hear the full post-match audio interview with BBC Radio Solent's Kevan James, click here.

Scorecard

Hampshire's next crucial Friends Provident Trophy match is against the Gloucestershire Gladiators at Bristol on Sunday 25th May.  BBC Radio Solent's sports team will be providing ball by ball commentary of all the action.

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

The Hawks next home match will be on Bank Holiday Monday 26th May.  Come and watch the Hawks slay the Glamorgan Dragons.  Tickets and parking available on the day.  Follow this link for more information

The team congratulate Riazuddin after he takes Ali's wicket, caught by Benham

Tremlett bowls at Smith

Wicket keeper Brown appeals

Provide Feedback