Cricket:Kevin Pietersen struck an unbeaten 66 to guide Hampshire to an eight-wicket win over Ireland in the Friends Provident Trophy at the Rose Bowl.
Pietersen — who last played for his country exactly a year ago against Middlesex in the same competition — hit five fours in his 81-ball innings.
Sean Irvine top-scored with 67 as the pair put on 143 for the third wicket to guide Hampshire home.
Ireland made 221 for six off 48 overs but the Hampshire target was reduced to 175 off 29 overs under Duckworth-Lewis after a deluge of rain.
It was Pietersen's first match since England's World Cup exit and his innings was chanceless.
Batting partner Irvine hit his highest one-day score since his match-winning 104 in the final against Warwickshire in 2005.
Zimbabwean Irvine was dropped by wicketkeeper Gary Wilson off South African Nantie Haywood on 57, but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.
Ireland's innings got off to a bad start when batsman Jeremy Bray was caught by Nic Pothas off Australian Stuart Clark for four.
Peter Gillespie steadied the ship with a painstaking 55 off 80 balls.
Gillespie hit six fours in his innings before being caught by Michael Lumb off the bowling of all-rounder Irvine.
Ireland captain Trent Johnston launched a late assault on the Hampshire bowling.
He smashed 52 off only 36 balls to set a very competitive target.
Johnston bludgeoned two sixes off Irvine and one off Chris Tremlett and finished unbeaten on 52.
Partner Kyle McCallan weighed in with 21 off only 15 balls, including three fours.
Clark was the pick of the Hampshire bowlers, finishing with two for 36 from his 10 overs.
Hampshire captain Shane Warne bowled a tidy spell, conceding 36 in his 10 overs.
The Australian legend even got a wicket off a full toss bowled at Dublin-born batsman Kevin O'Brien, who could only push the ball up in the air to Clark at mid-wicket.
The Hampshire innings did not get off to the best start when new-signing Lumb fell in the third over with the score on 18 when he was out lbw off Haywood for eight.
Chris Benham was out for 13 when he was caught by Wilson after David Langford-Smith before Pietersen and Irvine came together to guide Hampshire to victory.
It was Ireland's second defeat in two days after they lost to Somerset by 128 runs on Sunday.