Failure to unravel the mysteries set by Shane Warne best explains why Essex's winning streak in the National League came to an end at Southampton.

The great Australian leg-spinner returned his competition best figures yesterday of 4-32 as Essex struggled to 158 for nine, a total Hampshire passed with six wickets and 16 balls to spare.

Warne simply asked too many questions of the Essex batsmen and no one seemed capable of coming up with the right answers.

But even before he was asked to bowl, the Aussie ace had put his opponents on the slippery slope.

That was when he dived full length in the slips to pluck the ball an inch from the ground to get rid of danger man Stuart Law.

It was truly a magnificent catch, but it was his ability to tease and torment as a bowler that was to undermine the Essex innings as he captured three wickets in as many overs.

He began by turning the ball sharply to gain an lbw verdict against Nasser Hussain as the England captain attempted to sweep, spun another delivery behind the legs of Danny Law to put him out of his misery, and then had Paul Grayson caught behind.

Warne's other success came from the final ball of the innings when he deceived Stephen Peters in the flight to have the young right-hander stumped while giving him the charge.

But it was thanks to Peters that Essex were able to set Hampshire something resembling a challenge. His 51 from 72 balls held the innings together at a time Warne was threatening to totally destroy it.

And the fact that his effort included only three boundaries underlined how adept Peters was in pushing into the gaps to accumulate his runs.

Hussain, whose 34 spanned 65 deliveries, was the other susbtantial Essex contributor, while Barry Hyam weighed in with an unbeaten 16 from 12 balls, one of which against Warne he drove for six.

Former Essex opener John Stephenson and Derek Kenway launched Hampshire's reply on a firm foundation with a partnership of 46 before Danny Law entered the attack to put the home side on the back foot.

In successive deliveries he bowled Stephenson and Warne before Kenway fell to a brilliant running catch by Ronnie Irani at mid-off after the 50 was raised.

Jason Laney's painstaking effort of 25 in 50 deliveries ended when he lost patience against Grayson and was bowled, and a fifth Hampshire wicket should have gone down with the score on 93, substitute Graham Napier spilling Dimitri Mascarenhas at mid-off.

It proved a costly miss because Mascarenhas and Will Kendall, with 26 and 46 respectively, carried Hampshire to their target to send Essex to a defeat which makes their hopes of promotion from the Second Division very remote indeed.

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