Hampshire 321 for 7 (Fuller 58*, Gubbins 53) beat Essex 317 (Thain 109, Roelofsen 52, Ashutosh 5-51) by three wickets

Hampshire were tottering at 224 for 6, chasing 318 to win, when the big-hitting allrounder came to the crease. Eighteen runs off an over by Luc Benkenstein, including two of Fuller’s four sixes, turned a game that looked to slipping away from the visitors when they slumped from 193 for 3 to 237 for 7 inside eight overs. Andrew Neal, with 33 from 24 balls, was almost as equally destructive in an unbroken partnership of 92 in 50 balls.

Thain had shown his intent by giving himself room and launching Oliver Williams over extra cover for six in only the second over. Opting for first use of a fresh pitch, the opening pair rattled along at nearly eight an over until Fuller had Benkenstein mistiming one that got up to mid-on.

The rate dipped slightly while Thain and Tom Westley put on 63 in 11 overs before Ashutosh struck twice in four balls with Westley holing out at backward point and Charlie Allison getting one that kept low.

Thain was unperturbed and reached three figures by thrashing Williams back past the bowler for his 16th four from 84 balls. But a dozen balls later he became the first of two quick scalps for Neal, lbw attempting to sweep. Matt Critchley followed to one that turned.

An entertaining sixth-wicket stand of 54 in seven overs between Simon Harmer and Grant Roelofsen ended when Harmer pulled Abbott to short fine leg. But after Roelofsen departed for 52 from 35 balls, including two huge sixes, Ashutosh polished off the Essex tail with three wickets in 11 balls.

Essex made an initial breakthrough when Ali Orr went to the fourth ball of the innings, pushing loosely outside off stump to Shane Snater. But they had to wait another 16 overs for the next one by which time Nick Gubbins and Middleton had made significant inroads into the chase.

The pair ran well between the wickets to pile pressure on the field before Middleton followed a maximum over long-on off Critchley by being bowled next ball. And after fifty at better than a run-a-ball, Gubbins soon joined him in the pavilion, caught behind off Harmer.

Tom Prest and Jake Lehmann steadied things with a stand of 71, but Charlie Bennett dismissed both players in the space of five balls. Prest was caught behind off a thick edge and Lehmann drove uppishly into the covers. Ashutosh was lbw to the first ball of a Mackenzie Jones spell and Ben Brown was bowled from the last ball of the over. Then Neal joined Fuller to carry Hampshire over the line with 14 balls to spare.