Hampshire (310-4) beat Middlesex (266) by 44 runs
If Hampshire are to reach their third Lord’s final in five years, they will have to beat Dominic Cork’s former Lancashire teammates at Old Trafford.
That is the mouthwatering semi-final they were rewarded with after the 44-run win against Shaun Udal’s Middlesex at a sun-kissed Rose Bowl on Saturday.
Although he would not admit it, Udal returned to the Rose Bowl for the first time since Middlesex won last season’s Twenty20 Cup knowing he faced a difficult task captaining his second county minus four international batsmen.
The England one-day trio of Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah and Eoin Morgan were all unavailable - and Australia wunderkind Phil Hughes completed his pre-Ashes stint last week.
Udal was also missing two members of his bowling attack, including the injured Tim Murtagh and Tyron Henderson, who was absent despite the Rajasthan Royals’ interest in the Indian Premier League ending three days earlier.
Hampshire had two notable absentees of their own, including Dimi Mascarenhas and the injured Chris Tremlett.
But such is the strength in depth of Giles White’s squad (even John Crawley is not in the team) that Cork will return to the county that controversially released him with far more confidence than Udal would have had after losing the toss on Saturday morning.
Michael Lumb’s 98-ball 100 - the second one-day century of his career and his first at the Rose Bowl - deservedly won him the man-of-the-match award.
Having steered Hampshire to a ten-wicket victory at Notts two days earlier, Lumb and Jimmy Adams continued their Trent Bridge form with a 156-run partnership that provided the platform on which the Hawks amassed 310-4 on an excellent wicket.
After Adams went for a competition-best 77 (76 balls), Lumb was dropped at mid-wicket on 94 before becoming the first of two wickets to fall in three balls, stumped within two deliveries of reaching his hundred.
Lumb began his innings by driving Udal for four when the visiting captain surprisingly opened the bowling with an over from the Pavilion End.
“That caught me right off guard, but there was no way Shaggy was going to burgle me out - I’d have blocked out five maidens if necessary!” laughed the Hampshire centurion.
After Lumb departed, Udal returned to dismiss Sean Ervine (34), who was controversially given out by former Hampshire all-rounder Trevor Jesty - caught one-handed by a diving Dawid Malan in the covers off what looked a bump ball.
Canny Udal also claimed the scalp of Chris Benham (3), who top-edged a sweep in the off-spinner’s next over, as Hampshire slipped from 214-1 to 220-4 in the space of 19 balls.
No matter. A wonderfully improvised maiden one-day fifty from just 37 balls by Liam Dawson ensured Hampshire reached 300 in a one-day match at the Rose Bowl for the third time in five weeks - having never done so before last month.
Audacious Dawson’s 360-degree brilliance included a glanced switch-hit for one of his six fours, while Michael Carberry supported the tyro with a run-a-ball 42*.
The pair’s unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 90 in 12.1 overs included the final powerplay and ensured the visitors would need to produce a record-breaking Rose Bowl total to win batting second.
Middlesex were restricted to 266. Slower balls from Cork and Hamza Riazuddin accounted for the openers before in-form Neil Dexter and Australian teenager Sam Robson, in only his second senior one-day appearance, put on 89 in 16.5 overs for the third wicket.
When Robson (48) was bowled attempting to cut the tidy Dawson, Malan (18) and Dexter (79) kept Middlesex in the hunt before pulling to square-leg in the first two overs of a disastrous batting powerplay that yielded 19 runs and cost four wickets.
After Hampshire completed a third successive FP Trophy victory, Lancashire’s defeat of holders Essex ensured Cork will get the chance to return to Old Trafford on July 5.
“We’d have liked a home tie but going to Old Trafford will be a big occasion - and Corky’s very excited!” smiled White, under whom Hampshire have now lost only two of their last 19 matches in all cricket. The challenge now is to maintain that record in the Twenty20 Cup.
Hampshire bowling: Cork 10-0-60-2, Riazuddin 10-0-55-1, Taylor 9.2-0-44-3, Imran Tahir 10-0-49-2, Dawson 9-0-40-1, Ervine 1-0-6-1
Middlesex bowling: Udal 10-0-45-2, Finn 9-0-73-1, Silverwood 9-0-57-0, Berg 4-0-43-0, Dexter 7-0-35-0, Malan 10-0-49-1, Compton 1-0-8-0
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