Max Holden tallied his second Vitality Blast fifty of the season to keep Middlesex’s slim chances of reaching the quarter-finals alive.

Holden shrugged off a tough pitch for batting to make 62 and take Middlesex to back-to-back victories.

Toby Albert and Ben Mayes’ 40s dragged Hampshire Hawks to 159 but Holden trumped them with a sensible innings.

Hawks were already booked in for the knockouts but could still lose their prized home tie, while Middlesex can mathematically still chase Essex down for a third-placed finish.

As had been demonstrated during the earlier women’s competition match, a slow pitch proved difficult to bat on, although Toby Albert tried to his best to give the innings some impetus, having been stuck in.

Last season’s leading Blast scorer Albert, had struggled to replicate his 2025 exploits, with just 152 runs in nine innings in 2026.

A flurry of boundaries, including three sixes in a row, seemed to get his season going, as he put on 60 with James Vince for the first wicket.

But Middlesex’s tight start was rewarded with three quick wickets just before the halfway mark – with spinners dislodging Vince and Weatherley, while Albert was run out four runs short of a half-century.

Mayes and Tristan Stubbs recorrected the innings, although not in a free-flowing manner. Patience and hard running were occasionally compensated with well-earned boundaries.

Like the opening pair, the duo added 60, with Mayes grafting for a career-high 47.

It was hard to know if 159 was a competitive total due to the nature of the pitch, but Eddie Jack, marking his first T20 appearance of the year, with a first-over spliced pull wicket of Josh de Caires gave Hawks the better start.

Matt Boyle and Holden evened and then pulled ahead with a steady partnership that got Middlesex ahead of the rate – but Neal entered and took two wickets in his first over.

The left-armer pinned both Boyle and Josh du Plooy but it didn’t prove to be the turning point it appeared to be.

Holden once again steadied things, this time with Ben Geddes, and serenely moved to a 41-ball fifty.

He was caught trying to turn Neal around the corner – giving the spinner three for 29 – but despite Luke Hollman holing out, Middlesex saw the 16 remaining runs home to end Hampshire’s perfect home record.