McKenzie guides Hampshire to tense win

Hampshire 305 and 281 for 8 beat Nottinghamshire 270 and 315 by 2 wickets
Scorecard

A contest that remained intriguingly in the balance throughout fittingly went the distance - or almost - before Hampshire pulled off a stunning victory with seven balls to spare, breaking their duck for the season after a dismal start and stopping Nottinghamshire in their tracks after four straight wins.

Hampshire's two-wicket victory, achieved thanks to a superb unbeaten 115 from their South African batsman Neil McKenzie, takes them off the bottom of the table, lifting them ahead of Kent and putting them only eight points behind Durham, who are fourth.

Nottinghamshire remain top, six points ahead of Yorkshire, whose defeat at Taunton cost them the chance to reclaim the summit. McKenzie has had to wait to show Hampshire they were right to sign him on a Kolpak contract for 2010. In five Championship matches before this one he had not managed a fifty.

Yet he is, of course, a player with pedigree. The five hundreds in his Test career included a nine-hour match-saving marathon at Lord's in 2008, setting up South Africa's series in effect, before they went on to clinch a 2-1 win But if he has struggled for runs since joining the south coast side, the last few days appear to have signalled an upturn in form. He made a half-century in a 40-over game last weekend and carried some confidence forward to the first innings here, when his 55 runs were valuable in helping Hampshire achieve a narrow first-innings lead.

Yesterday, after coming in at 52 for 2, he brought all his experience and resilience to bear in holding Hampshire's innings together in pursuit of what was always likely to be a difficult target on a pitch that showed cracks from the outset. Chasing 281 was certainly as many as most sides would have wanted on the last day, let alone one with four defeats in five games.

Ultimately it was he who struck the winning blow, lofting Andre Adams over the boundary at square leg for the third time in the space of four overs as Nottinghamshire's bowlers - in particular the hard-worked Adams - began to tire and Chris Read, his captain, struggled to set the right field.

At different times, though, the closing day could have gone either way, even if at both intervals, which are always significant psychological landmarks in a long chase, Hampshire had the edge. Seven without loss overnight, Hampshire had the good start they needed and although they lost both openers before the first break, they were comfortable lunching at 85 for 2.

Read's first bowling changes brought instant dividends when Andre Adams had his namesake Jimmy caught behind off a thin inside edge, and then Liam Dawson flashed at Paul Franks outside off stump, nicking to Ally Brown at first slip. But McKenzie joined Chris Benham to negotiate the half hour to the interval without further loss.

Benham fell two overs into the afternoon session, losing his off stump to an Adams inswinger, but although James Vince suffered his second disappointment of the match, following one from Franks to be caught behind, at 178 for 4 at tea, with McKenzie having just completed his first 50 off 123 balls, Hampshire were still looking the likelier winners, with 103 more needed.

It would probably have been asking too much, though, for everything to go smoothly thereafter. Already this season, chasing 248 to beat Essex, Hampshire had suffered the ignominy of losing all 10 wickets in the last session of the match.

Predictably, then, there were hiccups. Sean Ervine fell leg before to Samit Patel's spin two overs after tea and when Nic Pothas, edging Darren Pattinson to second slip, and Dominic Cork, unable to clear 6ft 5ins Alex Hales on the square leg boundary, fell in consecutive overs to the new ball, Hampshire were still 67 adrift and now seven wickets down. With 15 overs left, Nottinghamshire were favourites.

But there was no shifting McKenzie and as he kept chipping away at the target it was understandable that Read, who preferred Adams to Charlie Shreck with the new ball, began to waver between attack and defence with his fields. As much as he tried to plug the gaps, McKenzie seemed increasingly able to pick them out.

As Adams began to flag, sixes in the 92nd and 94th of the 99 scheduled overs kept the target in reach and increased the pressure on Nottinghamshire. David Balcombe had gone, leg before to Pattinson, but in Rangana Herath there was a partner for McKenzie with a touch of boldness and guile. McKenzie reached his hundred with his 12th four but a couple of boundaries from the Sri Lankan played their part too and the two shared a joyful embrace when the winning hit cleared the rope.

"We left it late but we were never going for the draw, although Notts bowled very tightly," McKenzie said. "This result can kick start our season."