CHRIS Tremlett made a fiery return from injury to help Hampshire finally gain revenge on the Southern Electric Premier League XI.

The England paceman fired down four hostile overs and finished with 3-11 as the professionals triumphed by 61 runs in last night's Twenty20 Challenge Match at Chapel Gate.

It was his first action for a month and the burst helped redress the balance after the Southern XI's double Twenty20 victory over the first-class county in 2004.

Hampshire had posted 155-7 a par score in this format of the game with Sean Ervine hammering a belligerent 68 from 52 balls.

And, once Tremlett and James Tomlinson had reduced the representative side to 10-6, there was only pride left to bat for.

But one-time Hampshire player Richard Hindley's enterprising 52 carried the innings the distance as the Southern Premier closed on 94-7.

Things began promisingly for Richard Scott's side when BAT's Dan Goldstraw trapped Chris Benham plum in front with only 12 on the board.

But Ervine had already been given a let-off when he was spilled by Darren Cowley at slip and he went on to give the Hampshire innings its momentum.

He found the boundary with regular ease and, with brief cameos from Mitchell Stokes and Greg Lamb, the Hawks found themselves handily placed at 65-3 at the halfway mark.

After using another life Roger Miller putting down the catch at mid-on Ervine produced a series of exquisitely timed strokes to race to 50.

He and Michael Brown shared the match's joint highest stand, 47 for the fifth wicket, before he was brilliantly caught low down by Lee Savident at cover.

Mike Carberry was run out without facing a ball as Jimmy Adams and Tremlett saw their side past 150.

But any designs the SPL men had on reaching their target were soon blown apart by some T 'n' T.

Steve Dean was run out by Jono McLean in the first over before Tremlett and Tomlinson combined to effectively settle the match.

Though still only warming up, Tremlett struck with his third ball, Savident edging behind to Tom Burrows.

He then made short work of Dorset skipper Darren Cowley, gleefully uprooting his middle stump in spectacular fashion two balls later.

Tomlinson got in the act, trapping Zimbabwean Test star Charles Coventry without scoring and having Scott smartly caught at slip by Greg Lamb.

But the dismissal of South Wilts' Alex Senneck will have raised most smiles in the Hampshire dressing room.

Starting to approach full pace, Tremlett produced a ripsnorter that honed in on Senneck's throat and he could only fend it off to Burrows behind the stumps.

In tatters at 10-6, the part-timers fought doggedly against the more serene back-up bowling and Hindley stepped in to play the lead role.

The Havant all-rounder finally hit the Southern Premier's first boundary in the tenth over and a flurry of fours followed.

Ably supported by Miller and Tom Morton, Hindley then smashed the only six of the game over long-on and brought up a 45-ball fifty in the penultimate over.