From The Archive: Hampshire v Middlesex

We have enjoyed the better of our encounters with Middlesex in the T20, winning 17 to their 11, although we started in 2003 with a defeat at Uxbridge bowled out cheaply by Cook 3-14 and Noffke 3-22. Mascarenhas with 52 and 1-13 in four overs took us to victory in the following year (Tremlett 3-20) but Owais Shah, who would later play for us hit 72 as they posted their best v Hampshire of 210-6, and despite 59 from Nic Pothas, now coaching Middlesex, we fell 18 runs short.

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 side had their revenge at Southgate by nine wickets, Louw 4-18 and Compton 50*. Middlesex won a rain-reduced game at the same venue in 2007 (Tremlett 3-12; Keegan 3-14)while the return did not even start.

2008 produced an opening 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. He hit 40* in the return at Richmond, but it was just not enough (Mascarenhas 3-12) as we won by six runs. Middlesex returned to our ground to contest and win the Final that year, while we could only watch.

In 2009, we won easily at Uxbridge with 53 & 4-16 by Sean Ervine, while at the Rose Bowl Michael Lumb’s 93 was our highest v Middlesex; we won again, by 28 runs. In 2010, we won by six wickets at Uxbridge in the 19^th over (Adams 64), but one week later at the Rose Bowl our 99 all out remains the lowest Hampshire score v Middlesex as we lost by eight wickets. An opener called David Warner top-scored for the winners, but we won almost as easily in 2011 at Uxbridge – Afridi 3-16 – as the Middlesex score of 121-9 was their lowest against Hampshire, before the Rose Bowl game was rained-off.

We won one each in 2012 on the way to our second T20 Trophy. Roland-Jones, 4-25, negated Vince’s 64*, while Ervine’s 75* out-did Paul Stirling’s 82* at Richmond. In 2013, again at Richmond, Vince went better with 84, as we won by seven wickets with almost five overs to spare, then we won more narrowly in the return (Ervine 60&, Wood 3-31) on our way to Finals Day – but no trophy.

Vince, enjoying these opponents, hit 68 at Merchant Taylor’s School in 2014 accompanied by the former Middlesex batsman Owais Shah (49*), with Briggs, 3-20, bowling us to victory. Middlesex won the return on our ground by 50 runs (Stirling 64). In 2015, Shah 58* starred in our first victory and added 64, with Carberry 72 on a rare visit to Lord’s as we did the double over Middlesex that year. In 2016, Malan hit 93 at Uxbridge which is their highest innings against us, while a partnership of 114 by George Bailey & Simpson at the The Ageas Bowl won the game, and is their best 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. ‘Our’ new bowler James Fuller took 3-24, while in 2017, Carberry 77 and Crane 3-15 took us to three wins from three, after which we failed to win in six matches (one abandoned) until we met Middlesex again, winning by six wickets (Rossouw 60). In 2018, James Fuller returned to the The Ageas Bowl and with 6-28 recorded the best T20 figures by anyone against Hampshire. We won one each last year, Colin Munro scoring 63 at home and 58 at Lord’s, where Stirling made 60.

Dave Allen