If anyone doubted Wasim Akram's cricketing desire at the age of 37, they should have seen him at the Rose Bowl last night.
The greatest bowler in the history of one day cricket was at his brilliant best with bat and ball in cricket's new limited overs format.
But when it did not prove to be enough, he flung his willow across the turf in frustration. Hampshire had just lost by four runs but Wasim did not deserve to be on the losing side after taking 2-19 before scoring 20 from 11 balls.
The Pakistani has lived up to his reputation as the best one-day bowler of all time in Hampshire's three Twenty20 games and last night he gave the 3,500 crowd a treat with the bat.
When he arrived at the crease in fading light with 18 balls left, Hampshire needed an improbable 36 runs to win.
But he raised hopes by cutting Ryan ten Doeschate for four and in the penultimate over made Hampshire favourites when he smashed Scott Brant for successive boundaries on both sides of the wicket.
It ensured that Hampshire needed 11 runs off the final over to tie the scores and win, having lost fewer wickets.
So when Simon Katich pulled the first ball to the mid-wicket fence, Hampshire were on course for two valuable points.
Jon Dakin followed up with a yorker but Katich scrambled a single - and then Dakin bowled THAT full toss.
It looked above waist height from the boundary edge so in near darkness the element of surprise made it unplayable.
Umpire Mervyn Kitchen's decision not to signal 'no ball' meant Hampshire needed seven runs from three balls - but only
managed two singles.
A brilliant piece of fielding from one of Paul Terry's AusAcademy pupils and an equally good 17th over from Paul Grayson also proved crucial.
Will Jefferson failed to score off the first five balls of the match from Wasim Akram before being yorked by the Pakistani, but he threw his 6ft 11in frame to his right to deny Hampshire's stand-in skipper two vital runs in the penultimate over.
Hampshire's fielding was not nearly as good as Jefferson's stop on the long off boundary but after a solid start with the bat (64-1 after
ten overs), they scored the nine runs an over they needed - until the 17th.
Left-arm spinner Grayson went for just two runs in the space of six match-winning balls, taking the wicket of Dimitri Mascarenhas, who was brilliantly caught at cover, with the sixth.
That left Wasim and Katich with too much to do.
Katich finished unbeaten on 59, as he had done against Kent 48 hours earlier, but he needed just 40 balls this time.
He shared in a 77-run partnership with Derek Kenway, who was out after attempting a shot that he would never try in the championship - a French cricket-like 'reverse paddle' that looped up to short fine leg.
Hamblin once again set the pace at the top of the order, scoring Hampshire's only six during his 20-ball 22.
Kenway increased his tempo after Hamblin miscued to short extra cover but Katich's impressive strike rate was badly needed.
The Australian scored quickly without slogging any of his five boundaries but sadly a shoulder injury has prevented him from bowling his chinamen in the Twenty20 Cup.
His catching let him down in the last over of the Essex innings, when dropping Grayson at long on allowed Essex to scamper two valuable runs.
But he was faultless with the bat, finishing the evening with a Twenty20 Cup average of 128 - the second best in the country.
Hampshire relied heavily on both their overseas stars last night but you have to finish on the winning side to be named man of the match - and that went to Andy Flower for his 32-ball 49.
Hampshire were playing Zimbabwe in a 50-over friendly at the Rose Bowl today (10.45am).
Hampshire (v Zimbabwe): Kenway, Hamblin, Katich, Crawley, Prittipaul, Kendall, Pothas, Mascarenhas, Udal, Mullally, Giddins.
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