HAMPSHIRE crashed to a second successive Royal London One-Day Cup defeat, against Middlesex at The Ageas Bowl.

Having done well to restrict the visitors to 295 after a poor start with the ball, Hampshire also began badly with the bat and were 146-7 when rain sentenced them to an 89-run Duckworth-Lewis defeat in the 31st over.

Toby Roland-Jones reduced Hampshire to 34-4 with an outstanding new-ball spell (7-2-10-4), that included the scalps of Michael Carberry and James Vince in the first six overs.

Carberry responded to back-to-back ducks with his first runs in the competition - successive boundaries against Tom Helm - before upper cutting Roland-Jones to third man.

The nephew of former Saints star Steve Moran continued to show why he is one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, dismissing Vince and Tom Alsop in successive overs.

Vince nicked a ball that shaped away and Roland-Jones had his third victim when left-hander Alsop was caught at third slip trying to guide the ball past the cordon.

When Liam Dawson top edged an attempted pull, Hampshire were deep in the mire.

At least George Bailey showed no ill effects from the ankle injury that forced him off the field during the Middlesex innings.

Playing his first match at The Ageas Bowl since 2013, Hampshire’s overseas player followed his 63 at Essex with an unbeaten 52 (67 balls, six fours).

He put on 70 in less than ten overs with Sean Ervine, whose four fours in a 30-ball 33 included an audacious ramp shot against former Bashley star Ryan Higgins, who responded with two wickets.

Ervine pulled Higgins to deep square leg and Lewis McManus (10) was bowled after going back to an off-break that kept low.

Gareth Berg hit a run-a-ball 14 against his former county but rain soon followed his dismissal to a terrific diving catch by Helm at long-off.

Middlesex looked like setting a total well in advance of 300 when they were 179-1 after 31 overs.

The visitors eked just 77 from the last 12 overs after Nick Gubbins was yorked by Reece Topley for an excellent 114 (117 balls).

Dawson was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers for his mid-innings economy (10-0-48-0) and Mason Crane bowled a very tidy last spell (3-0-17-2).

Topley took an excellent catch in the penultimate over, diving forward at long-on (there were also excellent catches from Ervine and Berg) before massaging his figures with two wickets from the last three balls of the innings.

Sam Robson was the last to go, after a hamstring injury forced him to retire hurt in the 13th over.