Promoted Hampshire were forced to settle for a draw after a tense finish to their CricInfo Championship Second Division match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Hampshire, chasing 301, were 56 runs short of victory when rain ended play at 5.12pm with 5.5 overs remaining.

It was an earlier interruption, however, when rain had accounted for an hour's play during the afternoon session, which effectively put paid to their chances.

That they came close to victory was due largely to the efforts of Giles White and Will Kendall, who made 112 and 72 respectively.

White faced 140 balls and hit 15 fours, while Kendall smote 13 boundaries in his 93-ball stay. The pair added 138 for the second-wicket after Nottinghamshire's Nadeem Malik had removed Derek Kenway with the last ball before lunch, dismissed offering no stroke to a delivery that swung in to rap him on the pad.

Malik continued to bowl well during the afternoon session but White and Kendall held firm.

It took a stunning one-handed catch by wicketkeeper Chris Read - diving low and to his left - to remove Kendall, who injudiciously followed an away-swinger from Richard Logan.

Robin Smith played on to Kevin Pietersen for no score, the off-spinner also accounting for Jon Francis, who dollied up a simple catch to Guy Welton. Logan and Read also combined to dismiss Neil Johnson.

Earlier, Nottinghamshire took full advantage of 'joke' bowling to crash 226 runs inside 88 minutes during the morning session before declaring on 314-7.

South African all-rounder Pietersen flailed 87, while Bilal Shafayat compiled a career-best 75.

© CricInfo