Shane for Shane

These are happy times in Hampshire. The Rose Bowl is the in place with the ECB at the moment while Shane Warne is coaxing the best out of a side that is finally delivering on its potential. Promotion is a word now being uttered by Hampshire supporters fed a diet of disappointment over the past couple of years.

Five wins from eight matches have enabled Hampshire to keep pace with Notts and Glamorgan. "If at the start of the season we knew we would be where we are at the halfway stage, then we would have been pretty pleased," says the first-team manager Paul Terry. "When we have had a bad game we have managed to bounce back, which has been very pleasing.

"The important thing is that we have not just had two or three individuals performing. It has been more of a team thing. There is a lot of room for improvement but that is encouraging too. We have not played anywhere near as well as we can."

Shane Watson, the Queensland allrounder, proved a useful locum overseas player, hitting a hundred in his first match as Warne's stand-in. Hampshire won two of the three Championship matches Warne missed, showing they can survive without him. "Shane [Warne] is a very confident and positive guy and we have played our cricket in that frame of mind," says Terry.

Moment of the month Watson's 112 left on debut - Shane who?