Crusaders reach target off last ball

Hampshire Hawks failed to record a second win in the ECB National League Division Two losing off the last ball, of their clash with Middlesex Scorpions at The Rose Bowl.

Hampshire selected the same eleven that had defeated Sussex the previous day, and chose to bat first. Derek Kenway's dreadful start to the season continued, this time being bowled first ball, but the innings belonged to Robin Smith. Smith hit a sparkling 92 with 11 fours, he built his innings at the start against some excellent pace bowling from the Crusaders on a helpful pitch. James Hamblin with 33 also contributed and the home side should have been reasonably satisfied with their 45 over total of 198.

Wasim Akram's first five overs read 5-4-3-2 as the visitors were bamboozled with the veteran Pakistan star. A poor start however was saved by opener Paul Weekes who kept just up with the asking rate, aided by Ed Joyce and a quick fire 29 from David Nash. Abdul Rassaq the took three hugh sixes off Shaun Udal's off-spin to bring them within their task but not before more drama as Wasim Akram and the improving Chris Tremlett each took late wickets and with two runs needed to win off the last ball Ben Hutton slashed the ball over the advancing fielders for the winning runs.

Another feature of the Hampshire bowling, and something that needs seriously addressing was the count of 32 extras, Middlesex's second highest scorer, with a woeful 20 wides.