Sean Ervine blitzed his highest score in the Twenty20 Cup as Hampshire cruised to a second win in ten days against Shaun Udal’s Middlesex last night.

The Zimbabwean all-rounder crashed four sixes around Uxbridge during his rampant 53 as Hampshire thrashed the Twenty20 champions by 56 runs.

Ervine faced just 26 balls as Hampshire rattled up 181-6 against Udal’s beleagured Middlesex, who have now lost five Twenty20 games on the spin since winning the competition at the Rose Bowl last year.

Left-hander Ervine’s highest Twenty20 score remains his unbeaten 56 for WA in Australia’s domestic KFC Big Bash competition last year.

But he produced his best all-round display at Middlesex’s sun-kissed outground as he also claimed 4-16, his career-best Twenty20 figures, as the home side were routed for 125.

Liam Dawson’s career-best 3-25 put Hampshire on course for victory.

The slow left armer struck with his third ball, when Nick Compton (13) holed out to long off, before Billy Taylor claimed the wicket that all the Hampshire bowlers wanted in the next over.

Having drilled the previous ball from Billy Taylor to the long-off boundary, Udal (7) was caught at mid-off.

Then dangerman Tyron Henderson (6) pulled a Dawson full toss straight to Carberry on the mid-wicket boundary.

And after two successive fours against the England U19 captain, Neil Dexter (12) was stumped attempting a third.

Riazuddin bowled the out-of-sorts Dawid Malan (0) after returning at the Pavilion End – and then Imran Tahir was introduced to the attack.

Having seen five partners come and go as Middlesex slumped to 68-5, left-handed opener Billy Godleman (34) holed out to the long-on boundary, where Chris Benham took a stunning one-handed catch.

Ervine then fed on the Middlesex underbelly. He pouched a return catch to see off Ben Scott in the next over, the 15th, before uprooting stumps with spectacular yorkers to see off Gareth Berg and Steve Finn.

It was a tough defeat on Udal, who had been on the reeciving end of a Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final loss at the Rose Bowl ten days earlier.

But after losing the toss, the veteran off spinner wasted no time in making his presence felt, bowling Jimmy Adams (0) as the in-form left hander attempted to sweep the fifth delivery of the match.

Michael Lumb deposited Finn for a straight six before driving straight to extra cover in Udal’s second over.

No matter.

The dynamic Ervine helped Carberry put on 79 in just nine overs for the fourth wicket.

Carberry ruthlessy dispatched a short ball from Finn over mid-wicket and against a street light on the adjacent Park Lane.

He was dropped on 43 by Compton at backward square leg after attempting to pull a second succesive Danny Evans delivery.

But Ervine’s innings was chanceless.

He pulled leg-spinner Malan’s first ball over the mid-wicket boundary for the first of his four sixes - and did the same to Murali Kartik in the next over.

Then he launched Berg for a huge maximum over long on after two successive fours against the medium pacer.

Carberry reached his fifty (44 balls) in an expensive last over from Udal, which included Ervine’s final six - reverse swept over square leg.

But Ervine then became the first of four Hampshire wickets to fall in three overs, holing out to Udal in the covers as the Hawks slipped from 130-2 to 152-6.

Benham (2), Carberry (56) and Liam Dawson (2) were all bowled in successive overs but clever improvisation from Pothas, who needed only 13 balls for his unbeaten 26 during a fruitful seventh-wicket partnership with Cork, ensured that Middlesex would need eight an over to win. It was way too much for them.