HAMPSHIRE are back at the foot of the LV County Championship’s first division after a second successive nine-wicket defeat.

After beginning the final day on 195-7, Hampshire were bowled out for 227 in 13 more overs, with Middlesex’s in-form seamer James Harris finishing with 4-80.

Hampshire lost Danny Briggs (19) and Gareth Berg (25) in successive overs before Harris trapped Brad Wheal lbw – leaving Middlesex with a victory target of just 74 Briggs took early fours from both Harris and Tim Murtagh, who opened up with a second new ball still only four overs old.

But after adding 14 to his overnight score Briggs edged Toby Roland-Jones and was superbly held by a diving Ollie Rayner at the first of two gullies.

Eight balls later, Murtagh had Berg lbw for 25. The last moment of Hampshire defiance came when No.11 Jackson Bird pulled Harris into the Grand Stand for six.

But Harris had the last laugh, pinning Wheal (one) lbw to take his match analysis to 8-128 and his season’s tally to 53 first-class wickets.

Middlesex took just 17.4 overs to score the required 74 runs.

When Wheal (5-0-20-0) failed to replicate his best first-innings form, Berg (5-0-13-1)uprooted the off stump of Paul Stirling (16) from the Nursery End.

But Sam Robson (36*) and Nick Compton (16*) added an unbroken 39with the former driving Will Smith’s fourth ball through the covers for four to complete Hampshire's fourth defeat of the season.

With a result likely in the match between fellow strugglers Notts and Worcestershire, a gap will soon have opened up between the first division's bottom two and the rest.