LV COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Trent Bridge:
Hampshire 305 and 281-8 beat Nottinghamshire 270 and 315 by two wickets
Hampshire 22 pts, Nottinghamshire 5 pts
Match scorecard

McKenzie also scored a half-century in Hampshire's first innings

A superb unbeaten century by Neil McKenzie saw Hampshire to a nail-biting two-wicket victory over table-topping Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Resuming on 7-0 and needing 281 to win, most of Hampshire's top order got a start but failed to go on.

Only South African McKenzie made it count, hitting 115 off 228 balls.

At 225-8, Hampshire were struggling, but crucial support from Rangana Herath enabled McKenzie to drag the visitors over the finishing line.

In a gripping finish, the former international timed the run-chase to perfection in a run-a-ball ninth-wicket stand of 56 with Herath, who finished 10 not out.

Nottinghamshire had looked set to claim their fifth straight win when Darren Pattinson removed David Balcombe with 10 overs still to bowl. But 34-year-old McKenzie showed all his experience to fashion a win that lifts Hampshire off the foot of the table.

On a wicket that continued to offer assistance to the seamers, Hampshire openers Jimmy Adams and Liam Dawson had tried to see the shine off the new ball, taking the score to 42 before Andre Adams removed his namesake via an inside edge to wicketkeeper Chris Read.

Dawson fell five overs later to a ball that climbed from Paul Franks, edging to Ali Brown at first slip, but McKenzie and Chris Benham pushed the run-rate up with a partnership of 75 in 19 overs.

Two quick wickets swung the game back towards Nottinghamshire, with Benham bowled by an inswinger from Adams and James Vince caught behind off another rising ball from Franks.

At tea, with both McKenzie and Sean Ervine set and just 103 needed to win, a Hampshire win was again the most likely result, but Samit Patel struck a big blow in the second over of the final session when he had Ervine lbw for 26.

Nic Pothas then edged Pattinson to second slip, Dominic Cork pulled Adams to deep square leg and Balcombe was trapped lbw by Pattinson.

But with Herath gritting it out at the other end, McKenzie took charge, dominating the strike and hitting two sixes over square leg off Adams, before a third sealed the match.

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