The longest match of the night was still only 12 overs a side at a damp Southgate but that was enough for Middlesex to recorded their first win with a five-run defeat of Hampshire. A score of 73 for 7, in which only Ed Smith made double figures, seemed inadequate, but Hampshire struggled against the spinners. They needed 20 off the last two overs but Jamie Dalrymple conceded five and then Chad Keegan held his nerve to bowl a tight final over. Even though James Bruce smashed a six from the last ball, it was too late.
Midlands-West-Wales Division
Gloucestershire cruised to a nine-wicket win with eight balls to spare over at Bristol in a match reduced to 10 overs a side. Graeme Hick's 32 led the way after Worcestershire were stuck in, and chasing 102, Gloucestershire were always ahead of the asking rate thanks to Alex Gidman's 15-ball 34. Worcestershire hardly helped their cause with ten wides and two no-balls.
North Division
The division suffered a complete washout after storms lashed the north of the country. Worst hit was Headingley where Yorkshire's match with Lancashire, a 20,000 sell-out, was abandoned early in the day. So bad was the weather that houses in Leeds had to be evacuated because of flooding. It was a similar story at Trent Bridge, where a waterlogged pitch prevented even the very thought of play between Nottinghamshire and their visitors Leicestershire. "It's a real shame that we can't put a game on but there was simply no chance of play with the conditions as they are," lamented Derek Brewer, the colunty's chief executive. There was also no play in the game between Derbyshire and Durham.
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