NIC POTHAS scored his third Championship century of the season to help Hampshire recover from a dreadful start and secure three of the 16 points they need for a promotion against Leicestershire in the Championship clash at Grace Road.

The in-form wicketkeeper-batsman, pictured above, made 107 as the visitors' last four wickets put on a remarkable 243 to take them to a total of 321.

It was a magnificent effort from the tail-enders - not for the first time this season either - with Hampshire looking in serious trouble at 78 for six shortly after lunch.

By the close the home side had reached 35 without loss off nine overs.

But it was Pothas who was the Hampshire hero as he masterminded the late order recovery aided and abetted by his captain Shane Warne.

The Australian leg-spinner joined forces with Pothas when the sixth wicket fell to the last ball of the first over after lunch.

The pair of them then put on 111 in 23 overs with Warne benefiting from two dropped catches to make 57 off 69 balls with 11 fours - his first half century of the season for Hampshire in any competition.

He was dropped by David Masters off the left-arm spin of Claude Henderson when he had made 29 and the total was 124 and then put down again by teenage wicketkeeper Tom New off Darren Maddy 40 runs later.

They were expensive mistakes by the home side as Pothas, who had scored an unbeaten 83 two days earlier against Gloucestershire in the totesport League in Southampton, and Warne took the aggressive approach to hit their side out of the trouble they were in.

Warne finally fell when he chopped a delivery from Masters back into his stumps, but there was still no respite for Leicestershire.

Pothas continued to dominate the bowling and shared further partnerships of 42 with Sean Udal and 47 with seamer Chris Tremlett, a surprise inclusion in the Hampshire XI, before being dismissed for 107.

Pothas had reached his century off 162 balls with 16 fours and was then bowled off a bottom edge as he attempted tosweep a delivery from Henderson.

Tremlett, who had not been named in the original 12 for the penutlimate championship encounter of the season due to a long-standing foot injury, and Billy Taylor added another 43 runs for the final wicket.

Tremlett hammered 48 with five fours and two sixes before being caught at long on to provide Henderson with his fourth wicket.

But they cost the spinner 103 runs and Leicestershire would have been disappointed to have let things slip so badly after claiming five wickets for 77 runs before lunch.