Ben McDermott and James Vince share record stand as Hampshire Hawks dish out El Clasicoast hammering to Sussex Sharks

Australian McDermott had started his Vitality Blast campaign with three, 39, 18, and one while opening partner Vince had 280 runs in four innings and had broken the all-time tournament run-scoring record.

But he became unshackled with six fours and three sixes in a new record first wicket run stand with Vince – with the Hawks skipper collecting his fourth fifty-plus score of this year’s Blast as he smashed 71 off 39 to overtake Wayne Madsen as the highest scorer so far this season.

Vince and McDermott were only chasing 144 after an impeccable bowling display which included two for 18 for Liam Dawson and two for 25 for Scott Currie.

It gave defending champions Hampshire back-to-back hammerings - having beaten Essex at Chelmsford on Friday - and three wins from five matches, while Sussex have lost three of four outings.

McDermott said: ‘It has been a bit of a slow start for me in the tournament but Vince has been unbelievable. We got through a scratchy start and saw it through to the back end.

‘It is really fun to bat with him. He takes all the pressure off you, is so elegant and doesn't even look like he is taking a risk when he finds the boundary time and time again.’

An accident on the nearby M27 left a number of empty seats at the Ageas Bowl, not least Sharks skipper Ravi Bopara’s in the away dressing room. He passed on the captaincy to former Hawk Tom Alsop as he sat in traffic.

His absence left a seniority hole in the Sussex batting which Hampshire ruthlessly exposed as they slumped to 66 for six, and in danger of a mauling.

Tom Clark had stroked the ball around nicely with six boundaries included in his 36 before he was squared up by the impressive Currie – who later bowled Harry Crocombe – with Tom Haines, Alsop, Dan Ibrahim, Shadab Khan and Michael Burgess all falling in the first half of the innings.

Along with strong Hawks bowling there were a quartet of calamitous dismissals across the innings, three run outs plus a stumping off McDermott’s genitals.

Sussex escaped their collapse thanks firstly to a 27-run stand between James Coles (19) and George Garton (18) and then Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 31 off 16 balls – which included clearing the ropes off Chris Wood and Currie.

But Sussex were eventually bowled out with seven balls unused for an under-par 144.

Vince and McDermott put on a then-club-record 124 for the opening partnership in this fixture last season. That was broken a few days later when they slammed 134 against Middlesex, but was smashed for a third time in barely a year by chalking off the 144.

They only scored one run in the first two overs of their reply, including a Garton maiden, before Vince and McDermott both got lucky with outside edges avoiding hands.

But McDermott opened up with a towering six down the ground off Garton and then ramped the next ball over the ropes. The pair’s first fifty stand of the season came off the last ball of the powerplay.

McDermott continued his assault and reached his half-century in 34 balls, with Vince quickly following him in 24 balls.

In a record-breaking week, Vince now has 20,000 runs for Hampshire across all formats. Samit Patel and Madsen are the only other active players to have as many runs in county cricket.

Vince now has 351 runs in the Blast in 2023 - at a stunning average of 175.50 - as he scored the winning single with 31 balls to spare.

Hampshire, now third in the South group table, travel to Radlett to face rock bottom Middlesex on Tuesday.