Bruce's burst blitzes Gloucestershire

Mushtaq Ahmed helped Sussex restrict Somerset with four wickets © Getty Images

South Conference

A superb spell of bowling from James Bruce sent Gloucestershire tumbling to a 62-run defeat at the hands of Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire rattled up 221 in their innings, with Greg Lamb top-scoring with 59. However, set a revised target of 210 from 42 overs, Gloucestershire couldn't cope with Bruce who took three wickets in the space of just five balls. Though Gloucestershire rallied somewhat - Mark Hardinges blitzed 60 from 42 balls - Shaun Udal mopped up the tail as Hampshire romped home the comfortable winners.

Kent cruised past Ireland at Tunbridge Wells with a comprehensive 83-run win thanks to some tight bowling from Andrew Hall and a typically violent 57 from Justin Kemp. Darren Stevens got Kent off to a rollicking start, clubbing four fours and three sixes in his brisk 59, but it was Kemp who took the game away from Ireland with a brutal innings containing six towering sixes. Set a revised 179 from a maximum of 19.5 overs, Ireland were never in the hunt and slipped to 16 for 5; their tail edged them towards respectability, but Kent eventually won comprehensively.

Rain hampered Sussex's game against Somerset at Horsham, but that didn't prevent Mushtaq Ahmed from seizing control of Somerset's batsmen. Mushtaq blitzed Somerset's top-order with 4 for 42, but the visitors were rattling along at a fine pace with Matthew Wood smashing seven fours in his 46-ball 59. Set a revised 122 runs from 17 overs, Sussex crashed from 16 without loss to 16 for 4. Matt Prior (43) played aggressively before falling to Peter Trego, and it was left to Robin Martin-Jenkins (34*) and Luke Wright (32*) to see the hosts home with nine balls to spare.

A superb allround performance from Azhar Mahmood for Surrey crushed Glamorgan at The Oval. Surrey had slipped to the perilous position of 64 for 6, with David Harrison and Andrew Davies doing the damage. However, Mahmood struck a quite brilliant 101 from 98 balls, containing four sixes and nine fours, edging Surrey to 200. In reply, Mahmood grabbed four wickets - and conceded just 17 runs in his seven overs - as Glamorgan were dismissed for a paltry 132 in 31 overs.

Northamptonshire's woeful one-day form continued with a 36-run defeat by Warwickshire. After Chris Rogers and Lance Klusener had pushed Northants to 219 for 7, a torrential downpour during Warwickshire's run-chase effectively ended the match. Warwickshire, at that stage, were 66 without loss after 10.5 which, according to Duckworth-Lewis calculations, handed the win to Warwickshire.

Michael di Venuto's unbeaten 93 was the catalyst for Derbyshire's impressive seven-wicket win over Worcestershire at Derby. Worcestershire were indebted to Stephen Moore (68) and Vikram Solanki (53) to reach 204 for 5 from 42.2 overs. Rain, inevitably, caused the target to be revised - 189 from 32 overs - but di Venuto paced his innings perfectly, crunching ten fours. He and Chris Taylor (49*) starred in a fourth wicket stand worth 94 as Derbyshire sneaked home by seven wickets.

Two contrasting knocks from Phil Mustard and Dale Benkenstein led Durham to three-wicket win over Leicestershire at Chester-le-Street. With the match reduced to 39 overs each, Leicestershire struggled to force the pace, losing Darren Maddy for 10 and Dinesh Mongia for 6 in their total of 151 for 6. However, Durham were soon in trouble during their run-chase, wobbling on 39 for 3, before Benkenstein and Mustard both struck 31 to see Durham home with more 14 balls to spare.

Nottinghamshire 61 for 6, Lancashire 15 for 0: match abandoned.