MATTHEW Elliott upstaged fellow Aussie and joint record Test wicket-taker Shane Warne to place both Glamorgan hands on the Totesport National League Trophy last night.

In fact, only a Glamorgan collapse of epic proportions, even by their standards, can stop them regaining the title they won two years ago and the silverware could almost be handed over now.

Elliott's magnificent unbeaten 81 helped his side to an easy seven wickets win over one of their closest First Division rivals, Hampshire, to put the Welsh county four points clear again with two games in hand over closest rivals Lancashire.

It means Glamorgan have to lose four of their final six Totesport games and Lancashire win all four of theirs to stop Robert Croft's men lifting the trophy and, frankly, that isn't going to happen.

Warne himself admitted as such, saying: "The trophy is as good as theirs. We won't give up and if we win our last four games, you never know.

"But they are a very good cricket side with bags of ability and experience and of course they have Elliott and Mike Kasprowicz, two of the best of my Aussie colleagues."

Glamorgan skipper Robert Croft said: "It's in our hands and all the guys are playing well, but everyone can beat everyone else in this game and we will continue to keep our feet on the ground and treat all our opponents with respect."

Elliott himself said: "Hopefully Glamorgan can win the Totesport League and the Twenty20."

Seam bowler Andrew Davies set Glamorgan on the road to success in front of 5,000 fans in the day/night game with an early burst of 4-17 in 31 balls, including the prize scalps of former England player John Crawley and high-scoring Australian Michael Clarke.

Clarke was lbw and Crawley mistimed a hook to go for a duck, a mistimed pull having earlier cost opener Michael Brown his wicket.

At that stage Davies had taken 3-7 in eleven balls and Hampshire never recovered.

Nick Pothas, one of many good wicketkeeper-batsmen in English cricket now, played well for forty in 48 balls with seven hard-hitting boundaries before another short ball, from Alex Wharf, accounted for him, caught off the shoulder of the bat at gulley.

Dimitri Mascarenhas with 23 in 21 balls and Warne with 22 in 36 tried to add some impetus, but Hampshire were eight down with eleven overs remaining and their tail crawled against the spinners to reach 174-9.

When Glamorgan lost Croft in the first over and Wharf in the sixth to be 19-2 it looked as though Hampshire might make a game of it. But first Michael Powell, regaining his touch to launch a late bid for a Twenty20 finals place, scored 36 in 36 balls with five fours and a six, off Warne, to put on 62 with Elliott to take Glamorgan to 81-3.

His off driving was full of power and his four from a free hit against Alan Mullally when he moved to the off side and scooped the ball to fine leg was an outrageously audacious shot.

Elliott and Matthew Maynard then put on an unbeaten 94 in 97 balls to take Glamorgan home with a massive 10.2 overs to spare.

Elliott's 81 came from 107 balls with nine fours and two sixes and was a perfect example of how to pace an innings, for he took eighty balls over his first forty.

He and Maynard (31 from 46 balls with three fours) dealt easily with the threat of Warne who had dismissed Powell and looked a danger in his first four overs.

"I struggled a bit early on and was not hitting the ball that well," said Elliott, "but the secret is not to panic and eventually I began to hit the ball more sweetly."

"It was a good cricket wicket with a bit of pace and some help for the spinners, but 225 would have been par for the course and we did not get enough runs to put pressure on Glamorgan," admitted Warne.