A dream debut for David Griffiths,the first player from the Isle of Wight to represent Hampshire for eight years, has kept alive the county's hopes of reaching the quarter finals of the Twenty20 Cup.

Griffiths was handed his first-team debut when Hampshire decided not to risk Chris Tremlett on a saturated outfield, and the 21-year-old responded with an outstanding performance, taking 3-13 as the Hawks beat the Essex Eagles by seven wickets, with 2.4 overs to spare.

Sean Ervine won the man-of-the-match award for his sparkling 50 not out from just 30 balls which included two sixes, the only maximum hits of the afternoon, but Griffiths deserved it as much for three excellent overs.

After an impressive first over that included the scalp of Grant Flower with his fourth ball - before he had conceded a run -captain Nic Pothas decided that Griffiths had the level head required to bowl at the end of the Essex innings.

He returned to bowl the last two overs from the Northern End, adding the wickets of Ryan ten Doeschate and Tim Phillips in each as the Hawks limited Essex to 99-8 in a game reduced to 15 overs a side because of the conditions.

Griffiths was told he would be making his debut in Hampshire's final home game of this year's Twenty20 Cup just an hour before the scheduled start and he soon showed that he had the temperament for the big occasion.

A crowd of more than 7,000 had waited patiently for nearly two hours while the tireless Rose Bowl groundstaff mopped up the surface water from the outfield.

The wait would not have been easy for Griffiths either, but he showed no sign of nerves when his first delivery flew past Flower's outside edge.

When Flower (21) tried to slog Griffiths in the direction of his home town of Shanklin three balls later, the result was a skied effort that Pothas did well to catch running towards the fine-leg boundary as the ball dropped over his shoulder.

Greg Lamb took a catch high above his head to hand Griffiths the important wicket of ten Doeschate (22 from 18 balls) from the penultimate ball of the 12th over.

And a brilliant catch from James Bruce, diving forward as he ran in from the third-man boundary, gave Griffiths the wicket of the left-handed Tim Phillips in his third and final over.

It completed a dream afternoon for the former England U19 player, who has come back from an injury-plagued career that included a stress fracture of his back two years ago, with outstanding form for the second XI and now a first-team debut.

After becoming the first player from the Isle of Wight to represent Hampshire since Mark Garaway in 1999, he said: "I was very pleased just to get the chance and was even happier when I got the first over under my belt.

"If I had a heart rate monitor the reading would have been about 200, but I enjoyed it! It couldn't have gone any better for me with the ball but they were three great catches.

"It was really wet so I was more worried about the fielding than bowling, but I was happy to get out there and fine about bowling at the end of the Essex innings because I attack the stumps and have a good yorker."

Griffiths bowled fast and straight as he has done in taking 36 wickets for the second XI this season.

Wicketkeeper Pothas admitted taking a step back after underestimating the pace in Griffiths' first over.

Newport-born Griffiths was well supported as Hampshire put in an excellent all-round bowling performance, with off-spinner Greg Lamb (2-17) and James Bruce (2-21) also starring.

Bruce dismissed dangermen Mark Pettini and Ravi Bopara for single-figure scores, while Lamb's spell included the wicket of former Hampshire player Andy Bichel, who was well caught by Ervine on the square-leg boundary for a two-ball duck.

Bichel, having been on the losing side in his first game back at the Rose Bowl in the corresponding fixture last year, was clearly pumped up.

He gave Adam Voges a verbal send off after trapping his fellow Australian lbw, but Hampshire's other Western Australia left-hander fared better.

Ervine levelled the scores and reached his fifty from just 30 balls by striking Danish Kaneria's leg spin for his second six over long on, before Michael Carberry glanced the winning run to fine leg with 16 balls remaining.

The Zimbabwean also drilled the expensive Martin Saggers for a straight six before Hampshire lost Michael Lumb, run out at the non-striker's end following a direct hit from Grant Flower at mid on, and Chris Benham on the way to a comfortable first win of the season in the shortest form of the game.

Hampshire remain bottom of the South Group but are level on points with fifth-placed Essex, who they play again in their penultimate match, at Chelmsford on Thursday night.