Leicestershire won their first List A trophy in 38 years as they beat Hampshire off the last ball to win the One-Day Cup final at Trent Bridge.

Hampshire looked likely to get there, especially after half-centuries from Tom Prest (51) and Liam Dawson (57).

But, with eight needed off the last over, Dawson holed out – and they fell short to lose a classic by two runs.

Although 19-year-old Josh Hull was a hero at the end, limiting Hampshire to just five off the last over, the star of the show was another home-grown Leicestershire product Swindells.

He became the first Leicestershire player to score a century in a limited-overs final since Roger Tolchard at Lord’s in 1972.

His 117 not out was also the highest score in a final since Rilee Rossouw made 125 not out to help Hampshire beat Kent at Lord’s in 2018.

What made his maiden List A century all the more remarkable was that he had only been called up to keep wicket following Peter Handscomb’s return to Australia and was playing his first game in this season’s competition.

Since the One-Day final moved to Trent Bridge in 2021, the side batting first has now won each one.

First Foxes win since Gower was in prime

The Foxes had not won a List A trophy since David Gower’s side, complete with Jonathan Agnew, Peter Willey, Chris Balderstone and James Whitaker, beat Graham Gooch’s Essex in the 55-overs-a-side Benson & Hedges Cup final at Lord’s in 1985.

They had not even been to a one-day final in 22 years since losing the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy to Somerset in September 2001.

Since then, they had only won the T20 which, a joint record three times along with Hampshire – and the Foxes’ last one of them was in 2011.

Hampshire, by contrast, have been more prolific, having lost only two of their previous nine finals, all at Lord’s.

But ‘little Leicestershire’ fancied themselves for a bit of a resurgence at the start of the summer. And they even survived the disrupting mid-season departure of club legend Paul Nixon as coach to show the resilience to turn their season around.

Swindells and Evans rally the Foxes

After winning the toss, Leicestershire opted to bat first.

The Foxes were clearly more mindful of thinking how a used wicket might turn later, having brought in Evans for the injured Matt Salisbury, rather than worry about how Keith Barker might perform early on under thick cloud cover.

But, inside seven overs, they found themselves four wickets down.

Left-armer Barker broke through with the final ball of his first over when he had Rishi Patel caught behind, then struck again in the third when Sol Budinger put him away for a leg-side boundary, tried to repeat the shot and skied to Joe Weatherley at backward point.

9-2 then became 19-4 when, in the space of seven balls, the Foxes lost both their two South Africans.

First, Colin Ackermann chipped a catch to an alert Fletcha Middleton diving forward at mid-wicket, then Wiaan Mulder missed a straight one to give Barker his third wicket.

Skipper Hill helped batten down the hatches, first in a 37-run stand with Louis Kimber and then adding 33 with Evans.

But Scott Currie, currently on a red-ball loan with Leicestershire, had Kimber caught behind for 19, then also got Hill for 42 when he tried to belt his Championship team-mate out of the ground but succeeded only in giving keeper Ben Brown his third catch.

Hill’s anguished face suggested that he had just thrown away any chance – but he could not have been more wrong.

Together with the key support of Evans, with increasing assurance, Swindells played possibly the innings of his life.

From 89-6 in the 22nd over, they put on 151 in 26 overs to transform their score from a massively under-par one to a potentially winnable one.

Evans holed out with 14 balls left, but Swindells stayed on to complete his century, comfortably his best one-day score, including the last of his three sixes and eight fours.

Hampshire just fall short

Hampshire openers Nick Gubbins and Middleton began well – until they were parted by a classy piece of out-cricket.

Gubbins attempted a quick single on 20, but Mulder picked up and, with just one stump to aim at, it was a direct hit.

Better still for Mulder, eight balls later he rearranged the furniture again, bowling Middleton for 15.

Prest and Brown then settled things down in a stand of 79 before another clatter of wickets – this time three in four overs.

Brown (33) and Aneurin Donald, off only his eighth ball, both mis-timed attempted pulls and skied to Ackermann close in, before the Foxes appeared to have got the key wicket when Prest returned a catch to the bowler Hull.

It looked like Weatherley and Dawson, who took a record-breaking 7-15 in the semi-final win over Warwickshire, would see Hampshire home.

But substitute fielder Will Davis held on to a great catch diving forward at deep mid-wicket to remove Weatherley before Ian Holland took over as chief support to England all-rounder Dawson.

With 25 still needed off 19, Holland’s attempted leg-side ramp was taken by a diving Hull running round to short fine leg. Although it looked like Barker’s calming presence would get the job done, with three balls left, Dawson also attempted a leg-side ramp to long leg.

Chris Wright took the catch, on-loan Currie and Barker could only manage a single each off the last two – and one of the best-ever one-day finals was finally done.

It was also the first time in an English summer that Leicestershire have won the country’s premier List A trophy.

The Foxes’ three previous List A triumphs, all in mid-summer at Lord’s, were in the Benson & Hedges Cup, which they won in 1972 as inaugural winners and again in 1975 and 1985, when the season-ending showdown in the September final, the Gillette Cup, which became the NatWest Trophy.

Leicestershire captain Lewis Hill:

“That innings from Harry Swindells was one of the best innings I have seen. To come in under that kind of pressure, having not played a game in the competition, for him and Sam Evans to put together that partnership in that situation was absolutely outstanding.

“Harry did not know for sure until yesterday that he would be playing, but when Matt Salisbury was injured that kind of confirmed it. Otherwise it would have been me keeping wicket.

“We had a conversation about whether to bring Rehan Ahmed into the squad with him being available, but we felt we owed it to the guys who had got us to the final to have the chance to win it. Rehan supported the decision and he was here with his family to support us.

“At 19-4, I was wondering if I’d got the decision wrong but we have been in some pretty difficult situations before and come through through. And Josh Hull. He didn’t bowl at his best but he is only 19 and to take the responsibility of bowling the last over as he did was so impressive. If he was nervous he didn’t show it.”

Hampshire’s Tom Prest:

“Credit to Harry Swindells. He played really well, as did Sam Evans, but we still backed ourselves to get the runs.

“We always felt in control of the run chase and we still felt in the game right up to the last over.

“When Daws hit that six, we needed 11 or 12 from two overs, so it is tough we couldn’t get over the line. Everyone feels a little bit flat.”