Dave Allen: Hampshire's T20 Quarter-Finals

Hampshire have played in ten T20 quarter-finals, losing the first two but winning all eight since then. The first in 2004 was easily the worst as Lancashire came to visit and won it by nine wickets with three-and-a-half overs to spare. Our best efforts came from Michael Clarke (36) and ‘Dimi Mascarenhas 33* but skipper Shane Warne in one of just two T20s for Hampshire batted at three, failed to trouble the scorers and took 0-22 in his four overs.

Five years later and a few days after a Lord’s Final triumph we travelled to Northampton and watched the rain fall throughout the scheduled day. On the following day, chasing 135 to win, ‘Dimi’ led the way again with 36 but needing 14 from the last ten balls we lost our last four wickets without adding a run and lost by unlucky 13. After that we learned how to win quarter-finals, not least as it coincided with James Vince beginning his run of appearing in all of the victories. He has scored 378 runs in the eight matches, three times not out, with a best of 107* (Worcester in 2015) at an average of 75.6. Chris Wood has been alongside him for seven of the eight and Liam Dawson for six.

Our first quarter-final victory came at Edgbaston in 2010, winning with one ball to spare after fine contributions from Danny Briggs (3-29) and Vince (66* from 52 balls). We then returned to the Rose Bowl of course and won the trophy for the first time. In the following year we had a comfortable home victory over Durham led by Neil McKenzie (56) and Sean Ervine who added 66 for the fourth wicket. Danny Briggs then took 5-19 and Durham fell short of three figures despite a top score by promising youngster Ben Stokes.

In 2012 we would win the trophy for the second and (so far) last time, after a quarter-final win at Trent Bridge reaching our target and 182-6 from the last ball of the match. ‘Aussie’ spinner Glenn Maxwell took 3-36 and Neil McKenzie hit 79*, foiling the best efforts of Samit Patel (60 & 3-26). We were now in the middle of a consecutive run of six winning quarter-finals and in 2013 we posted an impressive 202-3 with Michael Carberry reaching 100* in 66 balls (Vince 60). Danny Briggs then took 2-36 but forties from Brown, Moores and Croft took Lancashire within two runs of victory.

In 2014 it was our turn to impress in the chase – once more at Trent Bridge – after Nottinghamshire posted 197-2. Vince hit 93* from 51 balls and aided by Sean Ervine (39) we got there with an over to spare. 2015 saw the oddest victory, away at Worcester a ground without floodlights but for the purposes of television being screened on a mid-August evening. Hampshire reached 196-4 with Vince on 107* but after darkening skies threatened the safety of the fielders, the umpires stopped the match due to bad light. Worcestershire, 58-2 after one ball of the ninth over lost on Duckworth/Lewis and the home crowd departed, less than pleased.

Since then we have been less consistent in the competition and further on we have lost our last five semi-finals but in 2017, we enjoyed an emphatic quarter-final victory at Derby built around Shahid Afridi’s opening score of 101 from 43 balls. A target of 250 was well beyond Derbyshire who, despite adding 46 for the 10^th wicket, lost by 101 runs (Abbott 3-25, Dawson 3-28). Finally, last year we won perhaps the craziest of them all on our third quarter-final trip to Trent Bridge. We were restricted to 125-9 (Tom Prest 44, James Fuller 30) after which Nottinghamshire were cruising at 83-3 at the start of over 13. We then reduced them to 109-9 before a late flurry took them to within three runs of a victory when the final wicket fell with two balls to spare (Dawson 3-24, Scott Currie 2-16). Will there be similar excitement this year?

Hampshire's Previous Quarter-Finals Appearances:

19 July 2004 | The Rose Bowl

Hampshire 120-9 (M Clarke 36, Mascarenhas 33*; Chapple 2-14)

Lancashire 121-1 in 16.3 overs (Loye 64*; Taylor 1-13)

29 (No play) & 30 July 2009 | Northampton

Northamptonshire 134-6 (Hall 39*; Ervine 2-8 in 2, Mascarenhas 2-24 in 4)

Hampshire 121 in 19.4 overs (Mascarenhas 36, Ervine 28; Hall 3-25)

26 July 2010 | Edgbaston

Warwickshire 153-5 (Maddy 44; Briggs 3-29)

Hampshire 154-5 in 19.5 overs (Vince 66*, Abdul Razzaq 33; Piolet 2-32)

7 August 2011 | The Rose Bowl

Hampshire 154-6 (McKenzie 56, Ervine 35; Claydon 2-15)

Durham 99 in 18.3 overs (Stokes 28; Briggs 5-19)

25 July 2012 | Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire 178-7 (Patel 60, Lumb 39; Maxwell 3-36)

Hampshire 182-6 (McKenzie 79*, Dawson 30, Mascarenhas 19*; Patel 3-26)

7 August 2013 | The Ageas Bowl

Hampshire 202-3 (Carberry 100*, Vince 60)

Lancashire 201-4 (Brown 49, Moores 44, Croft 43*; Briggs 2-36)

3 August 2014 | Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire 197-2 (Wessells 62*, Patel 53*, Hales 51; Coles 2-36)

Hampshire 198-5 (Vince 93*, Ervine 39; Fletcher 2-26)

14 August 2015 | New Road

Hampshire 196-4 (Vince 107*, Carberry 42)

Worcestershire 58-2 in 8.1 overs

Bad light stopped play. Hampshire won by 17 runs (D/L)

22 August 2017 | Derby

Hampshire 249-8 (Afridi 101, Vince 55; Critchley 3-32)

Derbyshire 148 in 19.5 overs (Cotton 30*; Abbott 3-25, Dawson 3-28)

25 August 2021 | Trent Bridge

Hampshire 125-9 (Prest 44, Fuller 30; Paterson 3-22, Carter 2-18)

Nottinghamshire 123 in 19.4 overs (Clarke 42, Carter 23*; Dawson 3-24, Currie 2-16)