Patel moves Notts top

Samit Patel and Mark Wagh eased Nottinghamshire to their third LV County Championship win of the season with half-centuries after two and a half hours had been lost to rain at the Rose Bowl.

Wagh made a typically aggressive 67 and Patel hit the winning runs to finish with an unbeaten 65 as Hampshire were defeated by six wickets in this Division One match.

At the start of the last day the match was intriguingly poised with Nottinghamshire 54 for one in their second innings, still needing another 134 to inflict a second defeat on Hampshire.

Hampshire were hindered by the injury absence of South African pace bowler Nantie Hayward, but they were given a glimmer of hope by captain Dimitri Mascarenhas.

Mascarenhas led by example in removing Will Jefferson and Adam Voges in the space of four deliveries to leave Nottinghamshire in potential trouble at 74 for three.

Mascarenhas induced Jefferson to edge a simple catch to Michael Lumb at slip when he had made 21 and Voges was caught behind via bat and pad three balls later.

Samit Patel hit the winning runs in Nottinghamshire's victory

But Hampshire's cause was not helped by pace bowler Chris Tremlett's failure to find line and length as he conceded 27 from his first four overs.

Wagh punished Tremlett by racing to his fifty off 57 balls - his second half-century of the match - hitting eight fours as Nottinghamshire regained control.

But there were alarms in the Nottinghamshire camp when, after an hour's play and with only 70 required, rain came down to force an early lunch and tea.

When the rain ceased Nottinghamshire were left with 40 overs to gain the runs they needed and disconsolate Hampshire were in no mood to offer a contest.

Wagh ruined his chances of being there at the finish when he flashed at a wide delivery from James Tomlinson to give Nic Pothas another catch - but by then there was no way back for Hampshire.

Wagh and Patel put on 91 in 18 overs for the fourth wicket and the game was all but won.

Bilal Shafayat helped Patel gain the 23 runs Nottinghamshire needed to complete their emphatic victory.

The winning shot was Patel's, a perfect drive to the midwicket boundary off Sean Ervine at the end of the 40th over of the innings.

Tomlinson might have got a second wicket in the penultimate over of the Nottinghamshire innings when Patel touched an out-swinger to second slip, but Ervine put down an easy catch to sum up Hampshire's performance.