Ella McCaughan and Abi Norgrove’s mammoth 147-run partnership gave Hampshire the perfect start to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup women’s competition.

McCaughan, who followed up her exceptional 2025 before injuries hit, scored 90 and Norgrove struck a personal best 85 to put their side on the brink of chasing 265.

Hampshire, who lost last year’s final to Lancashire, were taken to the last over, despite Freya Kemp‘s vivacious 46, but secured a five-wicket victory with two balls to spare.

Earlier, Jodi Grewcock had masterminded Essex’s innings with a career high 80, but it didn’t prove enough for last season’s wooden-spoon side despite the nervy finale.

After Hampshire’s stand-in skipper Naomi Dattani had chosen to bat, Grewcock arrived at the crease after seeing two of Essex’s traditionally most dependable batters had fallen inside the first six overs.

Captain Grace Scrivens was caught instinctively at first slip by Maia Bouchier, before Cordelia Griffith was run out attempting a quick single.

But Grewcock demonstrated textbook levels of technical ability to guide Essex away from a collapse, and laid a platform for the innings by putting on 94 with Lissy MacLeod.

The left-handed Grewcock is very much on England’s radar despite only being 21.

She was one of just eight uncapped players taken on the senior team’s intra-squad series in South Africa last month, having previously played for England A.

Added to that, head coach Charlotte Edwards was watching at Utilita Bowl, as she strode through the gears stylishly to reach a career List A best on her 50th appearance.

MacLeod was run out four shy of a half-century, Jo Gardner was leg before first ball and Amanda-Jade Wellington found Flo Miller’s leading edge as Essex stuttered in the middle overs.

But Grewcock found Amara Carr to resettle things, the pair put on 57, before the tail wagged – with Carr and Sophia Smale scoring 33 and Kate Coppack scoring 17 at a run-a-ball.

In reply, Bouchier chipped up to mid off to give Esmae MacGregor an early breakthrough, but McCaughan and Norgrove maturely and systematically gave the innings a backbone.

The pair knocked off 147 of the runs with the minimum of fuss and had Hampshire comfortably in front for most the innings.

Essex had lost Grewcock’s bowling after 3.5 overs, after hurting her hand, but the remaining six options began to stem the runs.

McCaughan scored 439 runs in nine matches in the One-Day Cup last season, as well as two fifties and a century in the Vitality Blast..

A hundred look like a formality, until she chipped straight back to Smale, 10 run short of three figures.

Norgrove equally looked locked in of a ton, but after adding 40 with Freya Kemp, she picked out long on for a personal best 85 – just her second List A half-century – before Rhianna Southby came and went.

Kemp kept the chase on Hampshire’s terms and despite falling in the penultimate over, Wellington and Dattani got the required eight off the final over.