Hampshire enjoy near-perfect start to County Championship season by thrashing Nottinghamshire

Aiming to win their first Championship for 50 years, after two near misses, the hosts chased down their target of 132 with ease thanks to Fletcha Middleton's second half-century of the match.

Middleton scored 65 and contributed a 111-run second-wicket stand with Nick Gubbins, who finished unbeaten on 54, as Hampshire continued their 2022 form, where they won more games than any other team.

Mohammad Abbas claimed his 100th Hampshire wicket to return match figures of eight for 116 in the process of bowling the visitors out for 177 in their second innings, as their arrival back in Division One earned them just three points to Hampshire's 19.

Nottinghamshire had resumed on day three on 146 for six, a lead of 100 runs, but it was Abbas who destroyed the visitors' hopes of setting Hampshire a challenging score.

The Pakistani had Tom Moores caught behind with the sixth ball of the morning and, after 22 dot balls to build up pressure, flattened Olly Stone's off stump.

Dane Paterson was Abbas' next victim when he nipped a delivery in off the seam to edge behind, giving Ben Brown his eighth catch of the match. His three wickets had come in just 21 deliveries.

Liam Patterson-White managed to stick around for 65 balls before he was skittled by Liam Dawson, who spun a ball out of the rough, to end Nottinghamshire's second innings, with only 32 runs added in around 80 minutes of the morning session.

After Abbas' heroics, Felix Organ put nerves on edge in the pursuit as his hard-handed defensive push lifted to Ben Duckett at second slip for a duck.

But Middleton, buoyed by his first-innings 59, and Gubbins soon ticked off the runs in a watchful manner after lunch, despite Luke Fletcher sending down five successive maidens.

Middleton's second innings was completely unflustered as he serenely swooped to his half-century in 89 balls.

Gubbins then arrived at his 50 in 124 balls - his first time reaching the mark since June last year - with his century stand with Middleton coming in 206 balls.

Middleton was then bowled by Patterson-White with 15 runs still required for victory.

To a chorus of boos, tea was farcically taken with the scores level, with the additional 15 minutes already taken up.

But the players returned for two deliveries bowled by wicketkeeper Moores before James Vince (10 not out) struck the winning run.