Smith leads Hampshire to professional win over Saltires

Hampshire have moved up into third place in the National Cricket League Division Two table after they manoeuvred comfortably around the potential banana skin fixture against surprise package Scottish Saltires at the picturesque The Grange in Edinburgh - winning by six wickets.

With three wins under the belts already this season - including a blistering chase against Somerset and a superb triumph at Old Trafford the week after Hampshire had failed to do likewise - this game was not one to be taken lightly. And Hampshire ensured they did not once John Crawley had won the toss and asked the home side to bat first.

The visitors were forced to make a late change with key allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas failing a fitness test on his back so James Hamblin filled his place.

In their first match north of the border since the rain-aborted Benson & Hedges Cup group game at Glasgow in 1992 - the last year silverware headed to Hampshire - they made an excellent start when Wasim Akram trapped free-scoring opener Ryan Watson to a first ball duck.

Rahul Dravid, making his debut for the Scots having finally completed his international commitments with India, looked classy and played some outstanding strokes until he chased a wide one from Alan Mullally and got the touch to keeper Nic Pothas.

Wickets were falling at too regular intervals for the home side and when Mullally pulled off a sensational full length diving catch to send Dougie Lockhart back to the pavilion, the Saltires were reduced to 67-3.

However, Greig Williamson and one-day international twice-capped South African Jon Kent set about restoring the innings and they posted 62 for the fourth wicket, both striking huge sixes in their stand until the former offered a gentle chance to Will Kendall off Shaun Udal.

The rest of the innings based around Kent, who reached a half-century before he was cleaned up by Wasim and the rest of the line-up fell in the late chase for runs. The Pakistani finishing with 3-32 and Udal 3-43 although Mullally was unfortunate to only take one wicket in his nine over spell that yielded just 21 runs.

Chasing 201-8, Hampshire made a positive start through in-form Derek Kenway and pinch-hitting Hamblin as they collected 49 in ten overs.

Two quick wickets - that of Hamblin and skipper Crawley, bowled by Kent and Saltires captain Craig Wright respectively - could have seen trouble for the long-distance visitors but it was not to be as Robin Smith produced a master class.

Does sentimentality have anything do with cricket? In this case maybe as Smith was returning to the birthplace of his mother, Joy, before she emigrated to South Africa. There was no prouder person on the ground than her either as her son blasted an outstanding undefeated 82 to see his side to victory, in the course of which he bacame the 10th player to reach 7,000 runs in the Sunday/National League.

Kenway posted another half-century to add to his ton last weekend, and Katich, while playing some fine strokes fell with just 19 more runs required.

It was left to Smith to tidy up and claim the Sky TV man-of-the-match award in front of a packed 2,000 crowd as Hampshire wrapped up the victory with two overs to spare.

A completely professional performance from the Hawks in a fixture that could have seen considerable egg-on-faces against the part-timers on live television.