Lumb hammers Hampshire to victory

TWENTY20 CUP, SOUTH DIVISION, The Rose Bowl:
Hampshire 219-2 beat Essex 144 by 75 runs. Hants 2pts.

Hampshire v Essex scorecard

Michael Lumb's ton at The Rose Bowl was Hampshire's best in Twenty20

Michael Lumb hit English cricket's third highest Twenty20 Cup score as Hampshire hammered Essex to keep alive their hopes of making the last eight.

Lumb was unbeaten on 124 off 69 balls, enjoying a county record stand of 170 with Michael Carberry (62) for the second wicket as Hants piled up 219-2.

Essex, badly weakened by the loss of four players to the ICC World Twenty20, had little to offer in response.

Matthew Walker hit 50 at The Rose Bowl as Essex (144 all out) lost by 75 runs.

After picking up seven points from their unbeaten first four games to top the group, it was Essex's second defeat in consecutive nights following Sussex's eight-wicket win at Chelmsford 24 hours earlier.

By contrast, it was the suddenly soaring Hawks' third straight win going into the competition's 18-day break.

Having chosen to bat first, Hampshire were in destructive mood, openers Lumb and Jimmy Adams smashing 37 in four overs.

Adams was caught on the midwicket boundary for 17 off Maurice Chambers but that only brought Carberry to the crease for a match-winning stand.

Carberry was dropped at long-on on 48 but it was his only mistake and he went on to make 62 in an innings which included three sixes and six fours.

Meanwhile, Lumb was in superb form as he hit the highest score by a Hampshire batsman in Twenty20, with sixes off Grant Flower, Chambers and two off Danish Kaneria.

Essex needed an impressive start to stand any hope but they never looked like making a contest of it once they had slumped to 15-3 after three overs.

Former England veteran Dominic Cork quickly removed current Test opener Alastair Cook, followed by Varun Chopra.

And, when visiting skipper Mark Pettini followed in the next from Hamza Riazuddin, the game was as good as over.

Hampshire captain Nic Pothas on Michael Lumb's innings:

"It was incredible and probably the best one-day innings I have ever seen.

"It's not very often that you get on a run like that and maintain it for such a long period of time.

"Scoring 124 in 69 balls in anyone's language is just amazing.

"He can score anywhere and there's no real plan of where you can bowl to him. If you go short he's going to smack you and if you go full he's going to smack you, he smacks spin.

"It doesn't matter where you bowl to him because he scores all over the place."