Dave Allen: Middlesex At The Ageas Bowl

We have enjoyed the better of our encounters with Middlesex in the T20, winning 19 to their 11 overall and we started our home encounters with a victory by 30 runs in 2004 as Mascarenhas hit 52 and took 1-13 in four overs (Tremlett 3-20).

In 2006, on the day that St Paul’s Cathedral held a memorial service for Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, Michael Carberry and Mitchell Stokes posted a century opening partnership at the Rose Bowl in a winning record score of 225-2. It was Hampshire’s highest T20 score against any side, until 249-8 in the 2017 quarter-final at Derby. The home match in 2007 was washed out.

2008 produced a curiosity at the Rose Bowl with Kevin Pietersen taking 3-33 and adding 43, but we were unable to beat Middlesex, for whom a familiar off-spinner, Shaun Udal, took 3-21. Middlesex returned to our ground to win the Final that year, while we could only watch.

In 2009 Michael Lumb’s 93 at the Rose Bowl was our highest innings against Middlesex and we won again, by 28 runs. In 2010, at the Rose Bowl our 99 all out remains the lowest Hampshire score v Middlesex and we lost by eight wickets as their opening batsman David Warner top-scored for the winners.

The 2011 Rose Bowl game was rained-off. We won one each in 2012 on the way to our second T20 Trophy. At home, we lost as Roland-Jones’ 4-25, negated Vince’s 64*, then Stirling hit 71. In 2013 we set 190-3 and won by eight runs (Ervine 60*, Wood 3-31).

In 2014, Middlesex won at the The Ageas Bowl by 50 runs (Stirling 64), while in 2015, Shah 58* and Carberry 57 starred in our victory by 19 runs.  

In 2016, a partnership of 114 by our former batsman George Bailey & John Simpson at the The Ageas Bowl won the game by 43 runs, with the best Middlesex partnership against Hampshire. In that same match at the The Ageas Bowl, their sixth bowler Ryan Higgins took 5-13 which was the best for anyone v Hampshire – but only for two years.

In 2017 at home, Hampshire won by 29 runs (Carberry 77, Crane 3-15), then in 2018 the future Hampshire bowler James Fuller came to the The Ageas Bowl came on as their eighth choice and with 6-28 beat the best T20 figures by anyone against Hampshire, despite which Munro’s 63 and 2-20 took us to victory by 21 runs.

Last year, we won by a convincing eight wickets, with nine balls to spare, thanks principally to openers Vince with 66*, and Donald 51.

Dave Allen