Hampshire hammer Surrey to guarantee knockout berth

Hampshire cruised past Surrey's 203 all out from 45 overs in just 33.2 overs of their own, boosting their net run rate and keeping them in contention to top Group A and therefore earn a home semi-final

Guildford: Surrey 203, Hampshire 206-2 - Hampshire win by eight wickets

Openers Joe Weatherley and Fletcha Middleton put on 163 in the Guildford sunshine to sweep Hampshire to a comfortable eight-wicket victory against Surrey and qualification for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup knockout stages.

Hampshire cruised past Surrey's 203 all out from 45 overs in just 33.2 overs of their own, boosting their net run rate and keeping them in contention to top Group A and therefore earn a home semi-final.

As it is, even if they fail to beat Kent at Newclose on the Isle of Wight on Tuesday, they have already made sure of second place in the group and the guarantee of a home quarter-final.

Weatherley finished with exactly 100 and his partnership with Middleton was a first wicket List A record for Hampshire against Surrey, beating the 57-year-old mark of 128 set by Roy Marshall and Barry Reed at Bournemouth in 1966.

Surrey were heavily beaten for the second time in four days at Woodbridge Road, following their ten-wicket defeat against Lancashire on Thursday. At least this time they took a couple of wickets, with slow left armer Dan Moriarty catching both Middleton and Weatherley off his own bowling.

Middleton, who struck two sixes and six fours, was eventually out for an 88-ball 78 in the 29th over and Weatherley had just completed a fine hundred when he drove Moriarty low into the bowlers' hands on 100, made from exactly 100 balls, with 14 fours. Tom Prest, who hit the winning boundary to take Hampshire to 206 for two, ended unbeaten on 24.

In the field, Hampshire were spearheaded by Ian Holland's List A career-best 5 for 35, with the allrounder bowling his medium-paced seamers with great skill and control with both the new ball and, later, when wrapping up the tail.

^{Ryan Patel fought a lone battle for Surrey (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)}

Opener Ryan Patel, who scored 78 from 88 balls with two sixes and six fours, was the only Surrey batter to assert himself against a disciplined Hamphire attack.

And Surrey's failure to reach a more competitive total was perhaps the result of an unfortunate incident in the 36th over of their innings, when Patel pulled Keith Barker flat and hard for six behind square leg and the ball hit a child beyond the boundary rope.

A number of players, including Patel, and the physios of both teams, went across to check on the child's well-being – happily, he seemed to be fine and was soon receiving precautionary medical attention – and play was halted for a short time.

That stroke had taken Patel to 75 but, in the next over, he still seemed affected by the incident and tamely lifted a catch to cover off Scott Currie and, from 173 for five before Patel's dismissal, Surrey lost their last five wickets for just 30 runs in little more than eight overs.

McKerr skied a catch off Holland to go for 18 and 19-year-old Tommy Ealham’s debut innings, a sketchy four off 16 balls, ended when the son of former England allrounder Mark Ealham and grandson of former Kent captain Alan Ealham drove the same bowler to extra cover where Donald held on at the second attempt after athletically keeping the ball up with his knee as he fell to his left.

Griffiths was comprehensively bowled by a full ball from Currie, for five, and the innings ended when Moriarty hit Holland high to mid-off where Joseph Eckland judged a swirling ball well as he ran back towards the boundary edge.

Dom Sibley had earlier helped Patel give Surrey a solid start, after Hampshire had opted to bowl first, before on 15 slicing to Barker at point off Holland.

^{Fletcha Middleton made 78 for Hampshire (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

The seamer then had Rory Burns caught behind for 8 in an excellent new ball spell of 7-0-23-2, and Surrey were 68 for 3 when Ben Geddes (16) edged seamer Dominic Kelly to keeper Ben Brown, diving to his right.

Steel followed seven overs later, for 14, hitting Currie to deep midwicket, but at least Patel was then joined by Josh Blake in the highest partnership of the innings, 54 from 12 overs, to ensure Surrey had something to defend.

Blake made 29 from 45 balls but was leg-before to Prest's off spin in the 35th over as the Surrey batting effort tailed off to the disappointment of Guildford's second sell-out crowd of 2,000 in four days.

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