Dawson leads Hampshire to Metro Bank One-Day Cup final

Liam Dawson ripped through Warwickshire with seven for 15 as Hampshire cruised into the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final with a nine-wicket win at Edgbaston.

Left-arm spinner Dawson registered his best bowling performance in any format and sent an already faltering innings into freefall with three wickets in four balls as Warwickshire folded all out for 93 inside 26 overs.

Put in, the Bears were soon in trouble as former Edgbaston favourite Keith Barker took three for 28 in his opening burst.

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Sam Hain (33 not out) could then only watch helplessly from the other end as his colleagues capitulated, with opener Ed Barnard (26) the only other home player to reach double figures.

Hampshire eased to 95 for one in 19 overs with Fletcha Middleton scoring an unbeaten 54 to book a place in the final on September 16 against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge.

The visitors celebrated a job done almost to perfection while the big home crowd was left to digest Warwickshire’s latest knockout implosion after commanding the group stage.

It was a good toss for Hampshire to win, in grey, bowler-friendly conditions, but they exploited them brilliantly.

Barker set the tone with a menacing maiden to start with and then removed Rob Yates for a duck, caught at mid-off, with his eighth ball.

Barker then had Will Rhodes caught behind off a textbook outswinger before Barnard, having again looked in sublime form, tickled a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper Ben Brown.

Dawson tore through the test. He turned a ball on to Michael Burgess’ off stump and bowled Jake Bethell through an reckless charge.

At 91 for five, Warwickshire desperately needed someone to stay with Hain but in the blink of an eye it was 91 for eight thanks to Dawson after Ethan Brookes chipped to cover, Jake Lintott top-edged a sweep and Danny Briggs, having survived the hat-trick ball, fell lbw on the back foot to the next.

Henry Brookes edged behind and Olly Hannon-Dalby played down the wrong line and lost his off-stump to leave Dawson with the best ever figures by a Hampshire bowler in one-day cricket.

Hannon-Dalby has bowled brilliantly throughout this tournament, taking 24 wickets at 12.2 going into this game, but defending a feeble total of 93 was even beyond him.

Hampshire openers Middleton and Nick Gubbins added 45 in 10 overs before the latter fell lbw to Lintott.

Middleton advanced smoothly to his fifth List A half-century, from 56 balls with seven fours, and added a stress-free unbroken 50 in 10 overs with Tom Prest, who struck the match-winning six to seal the most straightforward of victories.

Hampshire will face Leicestershire at Trent Bridge on September 16, after the Foxes reached their first one-day final for 22 years by seeing off Gloucestershire by six wickets with more than 21 overs to spare.

In bowler-friendly conditions, Wiaan Mulder (three for 38) and Tom Scriven (three for 19) set the tone with the ball as the visitors were bowled out for 125 inside 33 overs – their second lowest total in the competition – after losing the toss.

Graeme van Buuren attempted to hold the innings together from 23 for three, making 44 from 68 balls, but no other batter passed 22, as too many gave their wickets away.

In reply, Leicestershire found themselves 13 for three in the fourth over and 33 for four in the 12th but Mulder (55no) and fellow overseas star Peter Handscomb (49no) saw them home, the South African registering his fifth half-century in the competition in an unbroken stand of 93 in 16.3 overs.

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