A thrilling limited-overs contest, which saw over seven hundred runs scored in a day and showcased two maiden one-day centuries, ended with Hampshire pulling off the highest successful run-chase in Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy history. With two wickets and 13 balls to spare, the visitors achieved it with relative ease and will now face one of Lancashire, Northants, Warwickshire and Yorkshire in the semi-finals. Shane Watson, with 132 off 105 balls, was named man of the match, but just as crucial was Shaun Udal’s 43 not out in 39 deliveries in the closing stages.

High scoring one-day contests at the Oval have traditionally gone to the side batting first, though rarely by a big margin. But this one was to prove the exception. However, it only really looked on when Hampshire’s overseas duo of Watson and McMillan brought up the 200 off the last ball of the 28th over.

The pair had to overcome the early loss of Greg Lamb, who capped a performance he will care to forget when he was caught behind off the last ball of the first over. Nic Pothas followed five overs later, though not before launching Mahmood and Murtagh for separate sixes, and John Crawley was caught at slip in the eighteenth for an attractive 45.

Two straight sixes came in the 27th over, Nayan Doshi’s fourth, one each to Craig McMillan and Shane Watson, but two overs later it was the young spinner who was celebrating when McMillan, who wanted to steal a single off Doshi’s mis-field at mid-off, was run out in Azhar Mahmood’s first over back into the Surrey attack.

With Ervine angling the ball to short fine-leg, Latouf nibbling to the keeper and Mascarenhas running himself out attempting an ambitious second run to the arm of Murtagh at long-leg, it all came down to what Shane Watson - making his first appearance of the season for Hampshire - and Shaun Udal could do.

When they came together Hampshire needed 76 runs off the last ten overs. The game swung in Jimmy Ormond’s last over, which went for eighteen, thus reducing the target to 33 off six. That soon became eight required off three. Five balls later, Tim Murtagh - making his 50th one-day appearance - drifted one down leg-side, Udal latched on to it and an unforgettable day’s cricket belonged to the visitors.

A career best from Jonathan Batty plus eye-catching contributions from Benning and Thorpe enabled the hosts to post their second highest total in the C&G Trophy and their fourth highest total ever in one-day cricket, but it was not enough. Watson’s wonderfully paced innings did more than keep the game in the balance, it teed things up for his captain to guide Hampshire home.

Batty’s unbeaten 158 off 149 balls, which included a six over long-on off Udal plus 15 fours, was the second highest score by a Surrey batsmen in the history of the competition. He and James Benning put on 142 in 22 overs for the first wicket, after the home side had won the toss and elected to bat.

Benning, who collected three boundaries from Taylor’s third over, brought his fifty up in the twelfth over off 42 balls. After he was stumped off a wide and Brown was caught on the deep square leg boundary, Batty went into partnership with England discard Graham Thorpe.

Over the next hour the third-wicket pair put on 115 runs. Thorpe’s 80th one-day half-century, which took 44 balls to post, was a gem. It included trademark cuts and crisp drives, but, looking to force the pace, the left-hander went down the wicket to Udal and was bowled.

Surrey then used all of their perceived sloggers before turning to Mark Ramprakash, who came in at number eight and faced just two deliveries. Nevertheless, they collected 109 off the last twelve overs. Batty, who reached his hundred off 114 balls, needed just thirty more to bring up his 150. When he took the crowd’s applause it appeared that Surrey’s total would be beyond Hampshire’s compass, especially as the visitors had been made to work hard in blazing hot sunshine.

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