A second half-century in as many games for Liam Dawson (67 & 3-37) as well as three wickets ensured Hampshire picked up a crucial Royal London One-Day Cup win over Warwickshire in a rain affected match at Edgbaston.

Dawson and Will Smith (65) helped their side recover from 94-4 to 217-4 with another century partnership as Hampshire posted a commanding 280-7 in their first-innings.

In reply, wickets for Chris Wood (2-22) saw Warwickshire stutter early, and then as the rain set in, they were unable to chase the revised 208-run target (31 overs) largely thanks to an excellent spell from Dawson.

Hampshire openers Jimmy Adams (41) and Michael Carberry (33) began at a canter, with boundaries flowing frequently and both batsman looked in promising form, however the introduction of Oliver Hannon-Dalby (2-47) soon saw the latter edge-behind.

When two further wickets fell in quick succession, including that of James Vince (16) who was unfortunate to edge a nipping delivery from Hannon-Dalby, Hampshire looked to be struggling early-on.

Although the surface certainly offered something for the bowlers, Dawson and Smith carried on from their century partnership in yesterday’s fixture against Essex, to lead the recovery and accumulate runs together nicely once again.

Dawson was the first to reach his half-century and after a patient start, his impressive acceleration proved to be key in advancing the total. Smith’s brilliant rotation of strike as well as ability to find the boundary regularly also saw the visitors move beyond 200.

The 123-run partnership, just one less than their 124-run stand in yesterday’s match, was finally brought to an end with Dawson departing, but Smith continued to look in good-touch as he brought up his half-century shortly after.

Late-order hitting from Gareth Berg (26) and Wood (21*) helped boost the total after Smith was dismissed and Hampshire finished on a healthy 280-7 to end their first-innings.

Chris Wood got the away-side off to the perfect start when he struck twice in as many balls to claim the two crucial wickets of Will Porterfield (0) and Jonathan Trott (0) and leave Warwickshire in disarray at 4-2.

Captain Varun Chopra (49) and Tim Ambrose (41) led the recovery however as the latter fell just before rain set in, Warwickshire were well behind the required D/L total as the players left the field on 89-3.

Play was halted twice more due to the weather before the rain finally subsided. Requiring 107 from 9.5 overs, Dawson picked up two crucial wickets in consecutive deliveries, including that of the dangerous Laurie Evans (43) to see Hampshire safely home to a third 50-over win of the season.