Match Preview: Gloucestershire v Hampshire Hawks Men, Vitality Blast

Gloucestershire v Hampshire Hawks Men

Vitality Blast

Friday 20th June (7pm start)

Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol

Hawks Men head to their second leg of their west country road trip as they head to Bristol to take on the reigning champions, Gloucestershire.

The Hawks dominated the Glosters when they visited Utilita Bowl earlier in the competition, with wickets shared around as Gloucestershire were skittled for 119.

An unbeaten 73 from Toby Albert, his highest score for the Hawks, helped see the chase home with five overs to spare.

Gloucestershire won their first game at their sixth attempt this week when they beat Kent Spitfires by seven wickets on Wednesday.

Ajeet Singh Dale was the standout with the ball as he took 3-24 from four overs before captain Jack Taylor made an unbeaten 54 from 36 deliveries, aided by Ollie Price’s 41 not out, to chase their target down in the penultimate over.

Hampshire Squad

Hawks Men have named a 15-player squad for their trip to Bristol.

The squad is unchanged from yesterday’s match against Somerset.

Hampshire Hawks Men

Gloucestershire

Captain: Jack Taylor

Overseas players: D’Arcy Short (Australia, all group matches), Cameron Bancroft (Australia, full competition)

Finals Day appearances: 4 (2003, 2007, 2020, 2024)

Titles: One (2024)

2024 finish: Winners

2024 leading run-scorer: Cameron Bancroft (534)

2024 leading wicket-taker: David Payne (33)

Key winter moves: Dynamic with the bat and a capable wrist spinner, Aussie international D’Arcy Short looks sure to prove an exciting replacement for fellow countryman Beau Webster, who featured in 13 of Gloucestershire’s 17 Blast matches last season. Aged 34, Short has represented his country 23 times in T20s and in eight ODIs.

The big question: Gloucestershire have always revelled in the role of underdogs and did so again to become surprise winners of last year’s Blast. As holders of the trophy, no one will be underestimating them this season, so can them perform as well with the added pressure of being among the favourites to reach Finals Day?

Wildcard watch: Only Cameron Bancroft scored more Blast runs for Gloucestershire last season than Miles Hammond, who notched 54 fours and 23 sixes in averaging 32.46 as an ever-present throughout the competition. The 29-year-old left-hander will again be a key figure in defending the trophy.

Final thought:  Mark Alleyne’s influence on Gloucestershire’s one-day cricket promises to be as important as when he captained the side in their glory years. No one expected a trophy last season, his first since returning to the club as head coach, but his shrewd tactical brain and winning mentality quickly transferred to the team as they beat hot favourites Somerset in a one-sided final to become Blast champions.

Head-to-Head

Hampshire Hawks Men’s record in Vitality Blast matches v Gloucestershire:

Last five meetings

• June 6 2025 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by seven wickets (with 30 balls remaining)
• July 12 2024 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by five wickets (with 0 balls remaining)
• June 7 2024 | Bristol | Hawks won by five wickets (with 19 balls remaining)
• July 2 2023 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by eight wickets (with 33 balls remaining)
• June 20 2023 | Bristol | Gloucestershire won by eight wickets (DLS method)

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Hawks Men’s Vitality Blast match against Gloucestershire are available here.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match and a link to this stream will be available in the at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket, along with a live match centre with the scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.

Weather Forecast

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Bristol: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2654675.