After two successive Twenty20 away defeats, Hampshire returned to form with a clinical win against Surrey.

Hampshire are at their best at the Rose Bowl - they have only lost one of their last six Twenty20 home games – and they thrilled a crowd of 4,800 with their fifth highest total in the competition (191-6) before securing an 18-run win.

Even a man-of-the-match performance from Mark Ramprakash, who hit his highest Twenty20 score for two years (73), could not prevent Hampshire from responding to successive defeats with a comfortable victory against Chris Adams’ side.

Hampshire’s own evergreen former England man, Dominic Cork, returned in style after missing the two losses away to Surrey and Sussex to accommodate captain Dimi Mascarenhas, who is now with England’s World Twenty20 squad.

Cork was unfortunate to be left out last week but responded positively, taking 2-22, including the important wicket of James Benning in his second over, as Surrey failed to chase down the 192 they needed on a excellent and brand new Rose Bowl wicket.

Surrey did well to get as close as they did.

Scott Newman’s 15-ball 26 included sixes over mid-wicket against Hamza Riazuddin and another huge maximum over cover in Billy Taylor’s first over.

But after Benning was bowled, Newman was dismissed in Cork’s next over.

A direct hit from his former Surrey teammate Michael Carberry at backward point ended Newman’s interest.

Sean Ervine held on to an athletic return catch to see of Usman Afzaal in and after Stewart Walters was stumped in the 13th, Ramprakash tried to boost the ever-increasing rate with a straight six against Liam Dawson.

After reaching fifty from just 35 balls, Ramprakash pulled his second maximum, against Taylor, over mid-wicket.

He put on 46 in four overs with Grant Elliott, whose 13-ball 26 ended with a poorly executed reverse sweep against Tahir in the 17th.

Even then, Surrey were still in the game. But they were out of it when Ramprakash and Chris Schofield were dismissed with 24 runs still needed, by successive Billy Taylor deliveries at the end of the penultimate over.

Ramprakash was caught sweeping for a magnificent 73 (47 balls), and Schofield missed a straight one.

After winning the toss Hampshire’s breathtaking batting in the first ten overs of the match proved the difference between the sides.

A 92-run opening stand between Jimmy Adams and Michael Lumb was the basis of Hampshire’s highest Twenty20 score against Surrey.

The left-handers thrived in perfect batting conditions on a wicket used for the first time since being laid 18 months ago.

Adams blitzed a 25-ball 44. He wasted no time in hitting the first of his three sixes, which was launched against off-spinner Matt Spriegel over long-on in the opening over.

He helped the ball over fine leg against Andre Nel for another maximum and fired his third over mid-wicket in Schofield’s first over, the sixth.

Lumb did not hit the first of his two sixes until the end of the eighth, when he drove leg-spinner Schofield back over his head.

He did the same to Elliott in the next over, having brought up the fifty partnership in the fifth.

But both were run out in successive overs.

Adams was run out from deep mid-wicket as he came back for a second in the ninth over.

And after bringing up his fifty - and Hampshire’s hundred - by lifting slow left-armer Afzaal for his seventh four through mid-wicket, Lumb was beaten by a direct hit from short third man after being sent back by Carberry.

Sean Ervine maintained the momentum by firing a seven-ball 20, but missed a straight delivery attempting a second successive six against Matt Spriegel.

Reaching 200 for only the third time in a Twenty20 match was still a realistic Hampshire target – but they lost Chris Benham and Carberry in successive overs.

Benham holed out to deep mid-wicket in the next over from the Pavilion End, the last of Grant Elliott’s allocation, and Carberry (15) was well caught by Spriegel, just inside the long-on boundary, in the 16th.

Nic Pothas’s unbeaten 24 (15 balls), which included a six over mid-wicket against Afzaal, and another eye-catching Liam Dawson cameo ensured Surrey would need nine-and-a-half runs an over to win.

Dawson infuriated Andre Nel with three fours from the first four balls of the penultimate over, but he was caught at long on at the end of Schofield’s spell for a 13-ball 21. Hampshire managed just four runs from the final over, but already had more than enough.