three wickets – however, Sean Ervine added the wickets of Pakistanis Rana and Ahmed to his tally to help bowl Sussex out for 235. Thus, Hampshire took the victory in a closely contested game, although they were later deducted half a point for a slow over rate. (Cricinfo scorecard) Tour Match: Hampshire v Bangladesh A (24 July) Match abandoned without a ball bowled Rain at Rose Bowl, Southampton prevented Bangladesh A from playing their third scheduled match on their tour of England, against Hampshire. (Cricinfo scorecard) National League: Hampshire v Worcestershire (26 July) Match abandoned without a ball bowled; Hampshire (2pts), Worcestershire (2pts) At Rose Bowl, Southampton it was not possible to play cricket due to rain, and the two teams Hampshire Hawks and Worcestershire Royals walked away with two points each. (Cricinfo scorecard) August August started with a comprehensive 178-run win over a battling Gloucestershire side, which saw Hampshire into second place in the Championship table, but this was followed up with a loss to the same side in the National League. Three days later, however, they avenged that by beating Lancashire, and then Hampshire invited Kent to a top-of-the-table clash. However, this match was drawn, leaving the title battle in Division One wide open. Five days later, the team beat Yorkshire to qualify for the C&G Trophy Final, and the one-day success continued with a four-wicket National League defeat of Worcestershire. Their second Championship draw in a row came against Surrey later on in the week, before they lost to champions Essex Eagles on the last Sunday of August. County Championship: Gloucestershire v Hampshire (3–6 August) Hampshire (21pts) beat Gloucestershire (7pts) by 178 runs Gloucestershire bowlers Steve Kirby, Jon Lewis and Malinga Bandara threatened to make a mockery of Shaun Udal's decision to have a bat at Bristol, as Hampshire fell to 81 for 7, with five batsmen out for single-figures. However, a 257-run partnership – a Hampshire record for the eighth wicket – between Nic Pothas and Andy Bichel turned the match around, as Lewis was carted for 112 runs in his 20 overs, despite five of them being maiden overs. Hampshire finished their innings on 385 all out, after Pothas had made 139 and Bichel 138, and Gloucestershire struggled initially with the bat, losing their first two wickets for 25 runs (admittedly with Kirby filling the role of nightwatchman). On the second day, Alex Gidman posted