HAMPSHIRE Hawks could clinch their highest finish for 12 years as long as Warwickshire lose their final game tomorrow.

On Monday, the visitors to the Rose Bowl were the Gloucestershire Gladiators, who came fresh from a Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy win at Lords over Warwickshire two days earlier.

Once again, it was Hampshire's Nic Pothas who masterminded the victory with a career-best 83 as he finished the top run-scorer for the county in the totesport League with 395 runs.

The home side, chasing 231 for their seventh win of the season, did not get off to the best of starts as James Hamblin (12) and Simon Katich (2) were soon back in the pavilion.

Jimmy Adams (26) and John Crawley put on 46 in 11 overs and then Lamb (17) and Crawley moved them on to 98-4.

It was when Pothas joined Crawley that Hampshire started to edge towards the target as the pair added 81 for the fifth wicket.

Crawley's innings finally ended having hit seven boundaries in his 62 from 92 balls, his fourth half-century of the National League campaign.

Pothas completed the win with an unbeaten 83 from 79 balls, which included eight fours and a six, while Dimitri Mascarenhas scored 20 not-out from 16 balls.

Earlier, when the visitors batted, Craig Spearman and Mark Alleyne both scored 42 in a total of 230-6.

Opener Spearman departed soon after losing anchorman Phil Weston (8), Gloucestershire's centurion in the C & G victory.

The Kiwi's 42 came from just 37 balls, including successive sixes off Alan Mullally, before being bowled by Billy Taylor (2-35).

Alleyne's 42 came from just 25 balls before he was caught by Katich, as Mullally got his only wicket of the game.

The other three bowlers used were Shaun Udal (2-40), Mascarenhas (1-39) and Shane Warne (0-40).

Hampshire started their latest County Championship game against Leicestershire on Wednesday, knowing that they needed 16 points from their remaining two games to be sure of promotion to division one.

This was after their game at Chester-le-Street against Durham ended in a draw last Friday after two days were lost to the weather.

On the third day, Durham were bowled out for 217, with Graeme Bridge top-scoring with an unbeaten 51, while Dimitri Macarenhas (3-48) and Shane Warne (3-53) were the chief wicket takers.

By the close, the visitors had struggled to 50-5 as Liam Plunkett (6-74) struck four times.

Day four saw a fine century by Mascarenhas (104) and, along with Nic Pothas, got Hampshire out of trouble.

The pair put on 87 for the fifth wicket before Pothas departed for 54, and the next wicket yielded another 74 runs until skipper Shane Warne (41) was dismissed.

In the end, Hampshire were all-out for 280, a lead of 63 runs.

Durham's second innings got them to 109-4 as Mascarenhas ended a great match with two wickets.