'Missed chance' as Saltires fall short at the Rose Bowl

But the Saltires will look back on this as a game which could have been won. Having first reduced the hosts to 6-2, they allowed the county team to recover and later let a potentially successful run-chase peter out.

Requiring 238 for victory, Scotland's openers began shakily with Gavin Hamilton and Omer Hussain struggling to lay bat on ball before Hamilton swung wildly at a straight delivery from Chris Wood and lost his off stump.

Batting remained tough especially for Hussain who was treated to an array of short-pitched bowling, but the young Clydesdale batsman refused to be intimidated and, with the help of George Bailey, proceeded to build a partnership which gave the Scots a glimmer of hope.

Bailey, fresh from being named Australia A's captain, led the way with some classy shots on both sides of the wicket as he compiled his second half-century of the campaign in a stand of 118 with Hussain.

Hussain's 42 was compiled from 70 balls and by the time he departed, lbw to the Sri Lankan Rangana Herath, Scotland's required run-rate had risen to 8.5 from the remaining 13 overs.

It had further increased going into the final ten by which time Gregor Maiden had become Herath's second victim, and the task became impossible when James Tomlinson struck twice in five balls to have both Bailey and the in-form Richie Berrington caught behind, the Aussie having hit a superb 90.

But his departure sparked a combination of desperation and panic which saw Scotland bowled out in the final over with the target a distant 31 runs away.

Earlier the Saltires, having seized an early stranglehold with some tight bowling and tigerish fielding, let Hampshire off the hook.

Gordon Goudie dismissed England's T20 World Cup star Michael Lumb in his second over, and Gordon Drummond tightened Scotland's grip when he bowled Michael Carberry for three to reduce the Royals to 6-2 in the sixth over.

But a stand of 84 in just ten overs between Jimmy Adams and the hard-hitting Sean Ervine changed the complexion.

It was Berrington and Haq who suffered most from the onslaught with consecutive overs from the Northern End going for 17 and fifteen respectively.

Ervine looked set when he was brilliantly run out by Goudie's direct hit running in from long on.

With his 39-ball 43, though, the Zimbabwe-born batsman had given his side the opportunity to take the attack to Scotland's back-up bowlers. Adams led the way with a top-score of 57, including five boundaries and a six while former South African Test batsman Neil McKenzie stroked a classy 41.

Dominic Cork made a mess of Goudie's figures with back-to-back sixes in an over which went for 22. But the Scot could be satisfied with his 3-54 while Drummond remained the most economical with 1-24.

Berrington's 4-47 was a personal best against county opposition and restricted Hampshire to 237-9. But the total was already about 30 runs more than it should have been.

Skipper Hamilton said: "It is definitely a missed opportunity. We put them under real pressure at the start of the game and although Hampshire recovered we were happy to keep them to 237.

"We never got anything like the runs we wanted in the first fifteen overs. Our plan was to get ahead of the rate and put them under pressure but we never got close.

At the end of the day we have to give the Hampshire bowlers credit as well because they made scoring very difficult."