Hampshire beat C & G Trophy winners Gloucestershire to clinch their highest one-day league finish for 12 years.

The county's last one day game of the season began with a win needed to ensure a second successive season of first division cricket.

No worries.

A second Nic Pothas-inspired win in as many games secured the Hampshire Hawks third place in the totepsort National League, their highest finish in the competition since finishing third in 1992.

So this season's achievement is the joint best by the county since they won the old John Player Sunday League title in 1986.

Hampshire had lost the toss but a perfectly paced chase helped them reach what had looked a daunting target of 231 with three balls and five wickets to spare.

But the county's seventh totesport win of the season had looked a long way off when James Hamblin and Simon Katich were dismissed in the space of four balls from Gloucestershire debutant Nathan Bracken.

Hamblin, in what was almost certainly his farewell appearance, had his leg stump knocked back by the Australian and in the same over, the fourth, Bracken had his New South Wales teamate Katich caught at cover.

Hampshire were 21 for 2 but Jimmy Adams and John Crawley put on 46 in 11 overs and then Pothas joined the latter at the crease after Greg Lamb had been caught at the wicket midway through the innings.

At that stage the game was in the balance but a stand of 81 in 16 overs between Crawley and Pothas set up victory.

Crawley's 62 from 92 balls included seven boundaries. His fourth half century of the season in the National League was his best since the beginning of June but it was Pothas, fresh from a matchwinning unbeaten 70 against Northants at Milton Keynes, who provided the fireworks.

Pothas's unbeaten 83 came from just 79 balls and included eight fours and a six over extra cover during the 39th over, which was bowled by Ian Fisher and cost 16 runs.

It was an over that made Hampshire strong favourites but five were still needed off the 45th, which was bowled by part-time medium pacer Mike Hussey.

Dimitri Mascarenhas (20 not out from 16 balls) made short work of them, hitting the first and third balls for boundaries to complete the league double over the side that knocked Hampshire out of the C & G Trophy three months ago.

Earlier, Craig Spearman and Mark Alleyne had both hit rapid innings of 42 to set the 231 needed for victory.

Opening batsman Spearman departed soon after losing anchorman Phil Weston, Gloucestershire's centurion in the C & G Trophy final at Lord's on Saturday.

The Kiwi's 42 came from just 37 balls, included successive sixes over mid wicket off the out-of-sorts Alan Mullally and set a high tempo.

Spearman had made 70 in front of a packed house at Lord's 48 hours earlier but at the Rose Bowl yesterday he was bowled by Billy Taylor via his inside edge.

Mullally was struck for three sixes in all. Alleyne hit the other as he cracked 42 from just 25 balls before he was caught off by Katich, who held a steepling catch on the run from deep mid wicket at the very end of the Gloucestershire innings.

The partnership of 65 in seven overs between Alleyne and Steve Adshead, which included 39 off the last three overs, helped set the Hawks a total well above par for the Rose Bowl.

That stand could have been broken earlier if a bail had not resettled in its groove after Crawley had hit the stumps with a direct hit.