Surrey’s disappointing run in the Twenty20 Cup continued tonight with a six-wicket defeat to Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Once again, the Brown Caps got off to a promising start, but after losing their way the Hawks’ openers, Michael Lumb and Ian Harvey, answered the visitors’ 147-7 with a first wicket partnership of 80 in ten overs that left the home side needing just over a run a ball to lay claim to victory.

Lumb, who made an impressive 45 when the two sides met for the first time in this season’s Twenty20 Cup, at the Brit Oval, played with even greater aplomb on this occasion.

The former Yorkshireman’s 65 came off just 45 balls and included two sixes. His first maximum arrived in Jade Dernbach’s first over, which cost 21 runs and included a no-ball that came about because Pedro Collins was considered to be outside the close catching circle when the first delivery was sent down.

Harvey’s entertaining 34 contained six boundaries, including two in the fourth over, bowled by Abdul Razzaq. The first just beat Mark Ramprakash at cover, but there was nothing fortuitous about the second, which was hit with authority back over the bowler’s head to the straight boundary for four.

The Australian all-rounder was the first to perish when Matthew Spriegel held on to a low tracer bullet of a return catch. Three overs later Lumb went to his fifty in 38 deliveries and in the next the 28-year-old left-hander came down the pitch and launched Spriegel over long-on for six.

With Lumb being caught behind off Schofield in the 15th over, Michael Brown losing his off stump to Dernbach in the sixteenth and Sean Ervine being caught at extra cover by Jason Roy in the 17th over, Surrey managed take the game to the penultimate over, but the eventual outcome was never seriously in doubt.

Earlier, the Brown Caps were gifted a good start by Scott Newman and Alistair Brown, who put on 52 in seven overs for the visitors’ first wicket.

Brown lifted Nantie Hayward over square leg for six in the second over. With Newman taking a couple of boundaries off the next, bowled by Billie Taylor, Surrey were 26-0 after three. Four overs later Brown swatted Dimitri Mascarenhas to the backward square leg boundary, but, next ball, the 38-year-old was caught at long-off by his namesake.

Ramprakash helped Newman maintain the momentum. In the eleventh over the Brown Caps’ skipper picked Mascarenhas up over square leg for six before flicking the England one-day all-rounder to the long leg boundary for four. Ramprakash then cracked a ball from Hayward for what appeared to be another maximum, only to see Lumb take a good catch inches inside the rope at square leg.

Usman Afzaal collected two fours off Greg Lamb’s solitary over of spin, but thereafter it was an all too familiar story for Surrey.

In the 14th over Afzaal got a leading edge and was caught at backward point off Hayward. Two overs later Newman was bowled trying to run the South African seamer down to third man; though not before moving to a richly deserved half-century. Razzaq went to a brilliant one-handed catch by Michael Carberry at deep square leg. In the eighteenth over, Gary Wilson was bowled round his legs and Chris Schofield was LBW to Billie Taylor.

Watch the highlights here on Surrey TV.

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