Nic Pothas has urged his Hampshire Hawks teammates to believe they can still win promotion to the National League's first division.

Wicketkeeper Pothas, who top-scored for third-placed Hampshire with 58 yesterday, could not stop Lancashire Lightning ending the Hawks' second division title hopes.

Lancashire won by 45 runs at the Rose Bowl so now Hampshire have to beat the fourth-placed Middlesex Crusaders at Lord's on Sunday or the Derbyshire Scorpions at Derby the following week, to be assured of promotion.

Pothas said: "We had an opportunity to win promotion today but Lancashire are a top side, they were always going to put us under pressure, and now it's matter of guys sticking their hands up and coming to the party.

"I wouldn't say we're very confident as a team at the moment but we have to forget all that, this is crunch time. It will be another big game situation on Sunday but we're very capable of winning our last two games.

"Middlesex will be a crunch game because they're still in the frame and, man for man, we should beat Derbyshire easily but that's not the nature of the sport."

Hampshire's run of ten National League wins in 11 games put them in the promotion frame but now they have lost two successive games.

Pothas added: "If it was too easy we wouldn't get up in the morning, the pressure is what makes it exciting. We've lost momentum but at some stage our four-day form had to drag our confidence down.

"There is no way you can keep playing really bad four-day cricket and really good one-day cricket. Now we're just going to have to grind out our last two and win them."