HAMPSHIRE HAWKS (202-4 FROM 48.1 OVERS) BEAT SUSSEX SHARKS (201 FROM 49.4 OVERS) BY SIX WICKETS

Left handers Michael Lumb and Sean Ervine both scored half-centuries as the Hampshire Hawks eased to their third FP Trophy win of the season.

At one stage, the Hawks slumped to 80-3 against holders Sussex, but Lumb (66) and Ervine (57* from 67 balls) put on 82 for the fourth wicket in 16 overs.

Hampshire had threatened another batting collapse when they lost Michael Carberry and John Crawley in successive overs shortly after dangerman Mushtaq Ahmed was introduced.

Chris Benham (14) had been caught behind by England wicketkeeper Matt Prior's replacement, FP Trophy debutant Andrew Hodd, after poking at a Rana Naved-ul-Hasan delivery in the ninth over of Hampshire's reply (28-1).

Then Carberry (31) mis-timed an attempted pull against Robin Martin-Jenkins to mid-wicket and Crawley handed Mushtaq a return catch in the dangerman's second over, the 22nd (80-3).

But Lumb looked classy in reaching his second one-day fifty for Hampshire from 73 balls before he was bowled for 66 (85 balls, two fours) following an excitable dance down the track in the first over from off spinner Chris Nash (162- 4).

After being joined at the crease by Nic Pothas (23*), Ervine reached his fifty from 61 balls before clipping Luke Wright for the winning runs to the mid-wicket boundary with 11 balls to spare.

The victory, Hampshire's first-ever against Sussex in the 44-year history of the competition, means the Hawks are now second in the South Conference table behind Kent.

Sussex bowling: Naved-ul-Hasan 8-0-39-1, Kirtley 10-1-23-0, Martin-Jenkins 8-0-22-1, Wright 6.1-0-42-0, Mushtaq Ahmed 10-0-47-1, Nash 6-0-26-1

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Sussex won the toss but were reduced to 58-5 before in-form opener Richard Montgomerie (89 from 145 balls, three fours, one six) helped the visitors recover to set the Hawks 202 to win.

Stuart Clark and Shane Warne made the crucial early breakthroughs before Montgomerie showed why he has already scored two FP Trophy hundreds already this season.

Clark, fresh from scoring the single that earned a tie against the Somerset Sabres on Friday night, dismissed Nash and Chris Adams, while Warne accounted for Murray Goodwin and Carl Hopkinson.

Aussie Clark unsettled Nash (1) with a bouncer in his third over before bowling him with an off-cutter next ball (3-1).

And after Dimitri Mascarenhas had Luke Wright caught at mid-wicket, Clark bounced out Sussex captain Chris Adams (0), who gloved the sixth ball he faced to Nic Pothas(18-3).

Montgomerie lost Murray Goodwin (15), who was clearly unhappy at being caught at the wicket to the last ball of Warne's second over (48-4).

Warne also had Hopkinson (3) stumped in his fourth over (58-5) before Montgomerie reached his fifty from 107 balls (two fours).

After helping Montgomerie put on 62 in 16 overs for the sixth wicket, Andrew Hodd (29) was stumped after trying to make room to drive Sean Ervine through the off side (120-6).

But Montgomerie was still going and he crashed Shaun Udal for a six against the advertising hoardings on the mid-wicket boundary before losing Martin-Jenkins (17), who was lbw to Warne in the 45th over(156-7).

Naved-ul-Hasan (21 off seven balls) gave the Sussex innings more impetus. The Pakistani hit Ervine for successive sixes, spectacularly over extra cover and then mid-wicket, in taking 20 runs off the 46th over, which ended when he was bowled by a slower ball (177-8).

Montgomerie was eventually run out attempting a second run in the final over from Tremlett (199-9) and Mushtaq Ahmed (10) went the same way as Sussex failed to use their full 50-over allocation (201 all out).

Hampshire bowling: Clark 10-2-26-2, Mascarenhas 10-0-26-1, Warne 10-0-33-3, Tremlett 7.4-1-22-0, Ervine 6-0-54-2, Udal 6-0-38-0