Behind the Masc

Considering the investment made in big-name signings at Hampshire, this season has been an unmitigated disaster - at least so far - but Saturday's NatWest Trophy semi- final against Warwickshire affords the players a rare opportunity for success.

Considering the investment made in big-name signings at Hampshire, this season has been an unmitigated disaster - at least so far - but Saturday's NatWest Trophy semi- final against Warwickshire affords the players a rare opportunity for success.

They must prevail without Shane Warne - on duty for Australia - and not many potential match-winners leap to mind in his absence. But one unsung player has struck a rich vein of form to coincide with the upturn in his county's fortunes.

Dimitri Mascarenhas, 22, of Sri Lankan parents and Australian upbringing, could be a pivotal influence. He opens the bowling with a brisk medium pace, bats in the lower middle order and fields with the natural athleticism that a childhood spent outdoors provides. Just the man a captain wants in a one-day side, and particularly when the man is in form.

In the quarter-final against Middlesex he ran through the top order and finished with 4 for 25 and the man of the match award. Last week he calmly helped Will Kendall win last week's National League match against Essex with an assured innings that ignored the perilous state of the run chase.

More impressive, though, was his maiden first-class century which he completed on Friday at Derby, having walked to the crease with his team at 131 for 5 on Thursday evening. Continuing in the morning with Derek Kenway, he eschewed attack and was determined to bat as long as possible.

"That is something the coach, Jimmy Cook, has really impressed on me this season," he said afterwards. "I must walk to the wicket thinking like a batsman rather than a No 7 or No 8. If I can continue to do that then I want to work my way up the order. No 7, then No 6 and why not up to No 5 and be a proper batsman?" No reason indeed, and he did play exceptionally well, demonstrating a healthy range of strokes and a keenness to scamper for every possible run - a vital one-day skill.

"The semi-final is so important to us because in the two previous seasons we have reached a semi- and a quarter- final, but we don't have a winning habit and, as we have learned in the last few weeks, a couple of wins can develop into a bit of a roll," he said.

"It will be difficult at Edgbaston without Warney. He gives so much in the dressing-room and has a great cricket brain, but we can still win. Every player has to do a job. You can't rely on one or two names to do everything. Maybe a few of us were guilty of that at the start of the season."

Lack of confidence is not a problem for Mascarenhas and he does have a habit of producing extraordinary performances. Apart from his recent efforts, he began his career in startling fashion. Playing for Bournemouth in the Southern League and for the county second team, he was given a couple of first-team matches at the end of 1996. He took 16 wickets and was promptly awarded a contract. After Saturday he could have the biggest stage on which to perform. A case of provincial pantomime to West End play.