IT may or may not have been a coincidence but Sussex were without Matthew Prior yesterday - and Hampshire beat their south-coast rivals without a hint of controversy.

Prior has been a revelation for England on his debut at Lord's.

The Sussex wicketkeeper has been dismissed just once in blasting 147 off 137 balls against the West Indies.

Prior has also been a common denominator in recent on-field flashpoints between Sussex and Hampshire, following a now infamous sledging incident in a championship match at Hove two years ago.

But, in his absence from the Sussex side at the Rose Bowl yesterday, Hampshire strolled to one of their most comfortable wins of the season.

The six-wicket victory, with 11 balls to spare, also happened to be Hampshire's first against Sussex in the 44-year history of the Friends Provident Trophy.

Hampshire had failed to beat their south-coast rivals in four previous meetings between the sides dating back to 1967.

The Hampshire Hawks lost by five wickets at Hove last year and by four wickets in the penultimate over of a tense day at the Rose Bowl in 2003, when Chris Adams thumped Wasim Akram for a memorable late six.

In 1993, when Natwest were the sponsors and it was still a 60-over competition, even a Robin Smith century was not enough to stop Sussex winning by nine wickets at Hove.

Sussex also won a quarter-final by nine runs at Hove in 1967, when the sides first met in the competition (and when it was still sponsored by Gillette).

Forty years later, the Hawks finally ended the hoodoo by ensuring that Sussex's poor start to the season continued.

Sussex won the FP Trophy for the first time last season but the holders never looked like beating the 2005 winners from the moment they slumped to 58-5 after winning the toss yesterday morning.

Full report and scorecard in today's Daily Echo