When you have a player within your team who averages 95.57 with the bat, success in any competition should surely follow as a matter of course.

Fortunately for Hampshire, their run to the Metro Bank One Day Cup final - the second time in three years they have done so - has been underpinned by a man who has done just that.

Skipper Nick Gubbins has led from the front in the Rose and Crown’s qualification for the Trent Bridge showpiece, and in his side’s opening game, he started as he meant to go on.

Facing Glamorgan in the outground surroundings of The Gnoll in Neath, Gubbins carved out an eye-catching 144 not out from 147 balls, sharing in a stand worth 141 with Ben Mayes.

The age gap between the two is almost 14 years, with Mayes, who made 74 on that occasion, still two months shy of his 18th birthday.

However, they defied the divide to produce a stand that saw Hampshire to a statement 72-run opening win, posting an imposing total of 324-6 before dismissing their hosts for 252.

The Utilita Bowl outfit would go on to win five more of their next seven group games, before overcoming Middlesex and Group B winners Yorkshire in the knockout stages.

Indeed, they made it two from two just 48 hours later when they hosted Essex, impressively chasing down a potentially imposing 285 to win by five wickets with 3.4 overs to spare.

Wickets were shared around the attack, with no bowler claiming more than two but everyone chipping in with at least one, before Joe Weatherley’s 116 not out drove them to victory.

One of their two stutters did follow, and Hampshire fans who acknowledge fate may wish to ignore that their first defeat of the campaign came to fellow finalists Worcestershire.

The confidence they could take from a five-wicket reverse at New Road, however, was that it came in the face of a freakishly strong showing from Ben Allison, who returned 6/35.

The Rose and Crown’s rare misstep with the bat saw their 194 all out overhauled with almost ten full overs to spare, though Gubbins continued his fine run by notching another 60.

It proved to be an outlier, as they suffered just one more defeat in the entire competition, and moved on quickly to register further wins over Leicestershire and Surrey.

While a seven-wicket trouncing of the Foxes, after veteran Kyle Abbott collected 3/36, could be described as convincing, what followed against the Brown Caps was akin to a bloodbath.

With James Fuller taking 4/34 and unearthed gem Andrew Neal, a left-arm spinner signed mere days before the competition began, collecting 3/33, Surrey were skittled for 160.

It took the visitors just 19.1 overs to race to their target at the Oval as former Middlesex man Gubbins again shone, this time striking 87 from just 60 balls in a nine-wicket thumping.

If that had put them on a high, their second defeat provided a dose of reality as Notts Outlaws - the only side to be unbeaten against both finalists - landed the blow of a four-wicket loss.

Gubbins struck another masterful unbeaten century, this time totalling 144 as Hampshire piled up 290-7, but the visitors emerged narrowly victorious despite Eddie Jack’s 3/70.

Perhaps, though, a defeat is more helpful than a win, and Hampshire clearly responded to their second loss by learning a great deal, allowing them to rake in four wins in a row.

They rounded out the group stage by showcasing the strength of their batting depth with a pair of narrow but successful chases, downing Derbyshire and Gloucestershire.

In the former, a high-scoring affair in Southampton and despite a rare Gubbins failure, a trio of half-centuries carried Hampshire to a memorable chase of 341 with three wickets to spare.

That came in the last over, and the five-wicket win over Gloucestershire in Bristol that secured second place was similarly hairy, as Hampshire crossed the line with eight balls left.

Twin centuries from James Bracey and Ben Charlesworth in the West Country side’s 313-7 were narrowly not enough as Fletcha Middleton’s 92 and Gubbins’ 76 saw the visitors home.

With second safely secured, Hampshire headed to Radlett to face Middlesex - despite finishing as Group A runners-up, their usual home was unavailable, necessitating the fixture switch.

The old adage goes that ‘batters win you games, bowlers win you tournaments,’ and it rang true as the Rose and Crown’s attack came to the fore against their captain’s old employers.

Despite Gubbins falling for just seven on his return to Middlesex, his fellow opener Ali Orr’s 108 held the innings together and afforded Hampshire the opportunity to defend 229-9.

It was a task they ultimately accomplished comfortably to set up a semi-final against Yorkshire in Scarborough, bowling the Seaxes out for 187 as Liam Dawson claimed 4/33.

While Hampshire had come through one away trip to reach the last four, going to a venue as partisan as Scarborough is another matter, but it was a challenge they rose to admirably.

Having displayed his prowess with the ball in the quarter-finals, Dawson turned his attention to his batting ability, hammering 142 to see his side triumph on DLS by the North Sea coast.

He found support from Scott Currie, who made 61 off 40 balls, as the Rose and Crown piled up 304-6, though rain reduced the overs and brought the target down accordingly.

Curiously, the semi-final was a battle between the top two individual batters of the competition, Gubbins and Yorkshire’s Pakistani international Imam-ul-Haq.

Despite Imam making another century to overtake the Hampshire captain in the individual stakes, it was the latter who emerged on top, as the White Rose fell short by 18 runs.

While Gubbins naturally will take the accolade of the competition’s highest run-scorer, should he hit the 19 required to become so at Trent Bridge, the trophy is likely far more tempting.

Hampshire last won this competition in 2018, and now they have the opportunity to do so again; whether they do or not is likely to depend highly on the fortunes of their skipper.

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