Yorkshire continued their Houdini-act in trying to escape relegation by comprehensively beating Hampshire by seven wickets at the Rose Bowl yesterday.

Despite a second consecutive Championship win, however, they remain bottom of the First Division table, but are now only half-a-point behind Somerset, their opponents in tomorrow's Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy final.

Now Yorkshire must overcome Leicestershire in next week's match at the Scarborough Festival, but their chances of avoiding the drop remain slim and were not helped by Leicestershire's win over Sussex yesterday.

After off-spinner Richard Dawson had helped send back Hampshire for 161 with figures of five for 49 - his second five-wicket haul in consecutive matches - Yorkshire were hurried to their 151 target by fellow left-handers Vic Craven and Matthew Elliott.

Craven hit a career-best 72 off 119 balls with nine fours and two sixes and batted with such fluency that it may cross Yorkshire's mind to play him in the final rather than have him watching from the sidelines.

Elliott's unbeaten 52 from 97 deliveries with five fours maintained his remarkable form since joining Yorkshire as their replacement for Darren Lehmann. He has now scored 83 and eight against Lancashire, 109 against Leicestershire in the Norwich Union League and 92 and 52 not out off Hampshire's attack.

On a pitch which became increasingly helpful to bowlers, Yorkshire knew they could not afford to lose too many early wickets and they had scored only ten when Chris Taylor fell lbw to Dimitri Mascarenhas.

But Craven soon went on the attack, driving Shaun Udal over long off for six and generally batting with even more freedom than Elliott. He went to his 50 in great style, hooking Neil Johnson for six and following up with two rasping cover boundaries.

Craven sailed to his best score when he overtook the 58 which he made on his debut against Derbyshire at Derby two years' ago but just before that landmark was reached both he and Elliott were put down when offering difficult chances to Johnson at slip off left-armer James Tomlinson.

The game was already safe when Craven drove Udal high to mid-off where James Hamblin took the catch to end a stand of 110 in 29 overs and Anthony McGrath then could not avoid a good ball from Tomlinson which he edged to the wicketkeeper.

This was Yorkshire's first visit to the Rose Bowl and they preserved their excellent record of results in Southampton where they have never lost a Championship match in 23 visits dating back to 1895.

Dawson, who is now producing form which may win him a place on England's Ashes tour, said: "Trying to escape relegation with Yorkshire is upper most in my mind and all we can do is win all the games which we have left.

"If we do that and still go down we will know that we really lost it at the start of the season."