Crow's choker for Hampshire

The rollover here had nothing to do with the Lottery. The disgruntled home supporters filed away yesterday after watching Leicestershire's makeshift attack hit the jackpot and renew their charge into the top three, already making arrangements to watch Hampshire's Second XI team contest the AON Trophy final (against Leicester Seconds, coincidentally) at the beginning of September.

The rollover here had nothing to do with the Lottery. The disgruntled home supporters filed away yesterday after watching Leicestershire's makeshift attack hit the jackpot and renew their charge into the top three, already making arrangements to watch Hampshire's Second XI team contest the AON Trophy final (against Leicester Seconds, coincidentally) at the beginning of September.

While many of them will no doubt travel to Birmingham today to watch the first XI in the NatWest Trophy semi-final against Warwickshire, the impression was that they had more confidence in the second-string team putting some silverware in the cabinet in this final season at Northlands Road before the big move to the Rose Bowl at Eastleigh.

Alex Morris, Giles White and a couple of freak dismissals apart - Adrian Aymes and Robin Smith could be regarded as unlucky - pretty well every other batsmen seemed unable to get to grips with the matter in hand, which was to knock off the remaining 225 runs for victory.

White and Morris promptly laid into the weakened attack. Morris had gone in on the previous evening as nightwatchman, but emerged as an extremely competent batsman. He had equalled his career-best 60 when his stand with Shane Warne was ended.

True to the vagaries of this game Morris departed next over, caught at slip to the disappointment of many, after more than two hours of exuberant and aggressive batting.

Thereafter it was a sorry procession. The first-innings hero Aymes was caught off the splice when off-spinner Carl Crow got one to spit off a length. Smith had nicked a Crow delivery and the ball rolled up and down the wicketkeeper Neil Burns's body before coming to rest on top of his pads. The less said about the rest the better.

The innings was a personal triumph for Crow who claimed a career-best 4 for 55, while the Leicestershire captain, Vince Wells, took 4 for 54. And it was a collective triumph for resurgent Leicestershire.