Agar shines in astonishing T20 win

Australian spinner Ashton Agar has taken three wickets before catching Hampshire's last man Fidel Edwards to seal Middlesex's astonishing 22-run comeback victory at Lord's in the UK's domestic T20 competition.

Hampshire appeared to be coasting at 1-89, chasing a modest target of 166 for victory, but they somehow threw away their last nine wickets for just 54 runs.

That turnaround secured Middlesex's first victory in the tournament for five games and lifted them off the bottom of the South Group table.

Agar (3-17) gave his side a glimmer of hope with two wickets in as many balls as big-hitting Kiwi Colin Munro heaved one to long-on and Rilee Rossouw scooped the next into the hands of Paul Stirling.

Hampshire's wobble soon turned into a full-scale collapse as Steven Finn (3-21) followed Agar by removing Chris Wood and Tom Alsop with successive deliveries.

And it was Agar who applied the finishing touch in the penultimate over, calmly taking a catch at long-on to dismiss last man Edwards off Dwayne Bravo.

Hampshire had restricted their hosts to 8-165 after winning the toss, despite Stirling's accomplished half-century.

That target looked unlikely to cause Hampshire problems, although James Vince surrendered his wicket in the first over by spearing an attempted pull back to Finn.

But Munro was soon into his stride with some clean striking, dispatching all the Middlesex seamers to the boundary with regularity as he rattled up 58 from 29 deliveries.

The New Zealander shared a second-wicket partnership of 85 with Sam Northeast (27) before the latter charged Agar and missed, allowing John Simpson to whip off the bails.

The Western Australian now has four wickets from the three matches he's played for Middlesex in the T20 competition and has been the county's most frugal bowler since joining them following Australia's T20 tri-series in Zimbabwe.

Agar has blossomed into Australia's first-choice white-ball spinner and his stint with the Lord's-based club will help him gain further practice on UK soil ahead of next year's ODI Word Cup.

"I feel like I'm bowling quite nicely, especially with the white ball at the moment," Agar said last month during the ODI series against England.

"Just a better understanding of the game of cricket and a better sense of self-belief, and when I'm out there, just backing my skills in and trying to entertain."