Derbyshire, set a revised Duckworth/Lewis target of 137 off 40 overs due to rain after restricting the Hawks to 143 for nine off 45 overs, squeezed home in the penultimate over with two wickets to spare.

Despite chasing such a modest total, the Scorpions made hard work of their victory with Michael Di Venuto (37) top-scoring.

Hawks' strike bowler Alan Mullally was too hot for the Scorpions to handle in the opening four overs of their run chase. First he beat opener Andrew Gait for pace, forcing the edge behind to wicketkeeper Nic Pothas for a duck with only his second ball.

At the end of the fourth over Mullally again beat his man, Graeme Welch nicking one to Neil Johnson at second slip, also for a duck to leave Derbyshire on 13 for two. Steve Stubbings was next to go, Chris Tremlett this time the benefactor of another Johnson catch at second slip and although Derbyshire had lost their first three wickets for only 48, they were already ahead of the required run rate.

Dominic Cork then top-edged behind to Pothas off Johnson for 11 with the score on 74 after 17.3 overs and when Steve Selwood was run out for five - beaten by Will Kendall's throw to the keeper's end while scampering for a quick single - the Scorpions were beginning to make heavy weather of things.

Mathew Dowman went four overs later, bowled by Johnson off an inside edge to leave Derbyshire wobbling on 98 for six after 22 overs. Di Venuto went for 37, off 66 balls, when he edged behind to Pothas off Lawrence Prittipaul with the score on 100, and the hosts still had plenty to do.

Tremlett then clean bowled Jason Kerr for 14 to leave the Scorpions on 126 for eight, but Luke Sutton, unbeaten on 12, and Tom Lungley, not out on four, steered their side home with two wickets and an over to spare.

Earlier, Cork made the early breakthrough for Derbyshire, forcing opener Derek Kenway to play and miss, trapped lbw going forward with nine runs on the board at the end of the third over. Johnson and John Crawley then messed up a quick single, the latter run out for a duck courtesy of Lungley's brilliant direct hit to the bowler's end. That left Hampshire 13 for two in the fifth over and with the score on 29 Johnson skewed an off-drive to Gait at third man off Kevin Dean.

Lungley got among the cheap wickets when Will Kendall played and missed, trapped lbw playing across the line for one to leave the visitors teetering on 42 for four. Welch brought Prittipaul's innings to a premature end, clean bowling him for four and the same bowler had John Francis caught behind by Sutton for eight two balls later as the Hawks slumped to 49 for six.

Lungley returned and produced a peach of a yorker to send Dimitri Mascarenhas straight back to the pavilion for a duck and that brought together Shaun Udal and Pothas, who by now was on his way to a half-century but fast-running out of partners.

Udal stuck around long enough to help put on 51 for the eighth wicket, but after facing 29 balls and with his score on 12 he became the first of Dowman's two wickets off successive balls, snaffled by Cork at first slip with the score on 101.

Tremlett was bowled through the gate next ball for a duck to leave Hampshire 101 for nine before Pothas, who made an unbeaten 50 off 88 balls - striking seven fours - and Mullally survived 10 more overs to take the score to 143 for nine off a reduced 40 overs.

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