Hampshire annihilate Lancashire with Maxwell century.

Lancashire suffered their second defeat in as many days in the Royal London One-Day Cup, after they were outclassed by Hampshire and Glenn Maxwell, who thumped 146 in the visitors innings of 360/9.

Maxwell hit a new List A best in 96 balls, striking 22 fours and two sixes in a masterclass of an innings, one which single-handedly thrashed Lancashire. He was assisted well by captain Jimmy Adams (41) and Will Smith (49) who shared a stand worth 179 with Maxwell in 134 balls for the third-wicket partnership.

Late runs from Sean Ervine (64) and Liam Dawson (30) perpetuated Lancashire’s misery in the field as the hosts conceded their highest List A total for the second day in a row.

The hosts were unfortunate to lose the toss, but made a respectable start with the ball. The absence of Michael Carberry gave Lancashire an early lift and Paul Horton’s drop off James Vince proved not to be too costly as the opener was trapped lbw by Kyle Jarvis for 5 soon after.

Adams gave the visitors the edge at the end of the powerplay with 41 from 35 balls, but it was Maxwell who dominated proceedings. The Australian was yet to register a half-century for Hampshire before today, but he finally demonstrated his capability with the bat, even if it was against a sub-par bowling attack.

Such was Lancashire’s struggle to thwart Maxwell’s onslaught that Karl Brown was handed the ball for one over in an experiment which can only be described as unsuccessful, affording 17 runs.

Smith played the ideal anchor role for Maxwell’s antics, as Hampshire rotated the strike at will. The running from the visiting side was truly a sight to behold and was bettered only by one of the best innings of the summer from Maxwell.

In reply, Lancashire could manage just 212 as they were bowled out with more than 12 overs remaining. Horton top-scored with 57 and Brown timed the ball well in his innings of 35 following a career-best score against Yorkshire yesterday.

Alex Davies added 40 from 35 balls, but he was unable to prevent one of the most humiliating defeats to have been inflicted upon Lancashire for some time.

This defeat means that Lancashire are only two days into the campaign and are already fighting to stay in contention, but their attention must turn to a T20 quarter final against Glamorgan on Friday, one which could be the difference between a respectable and a horrific season for the Red Rose county.