Hampshire Hawks v Lancashire Thunder & Kent Spitfires

Vitality Blast Double Header

Sunday 5 July

Hawks Women v Lancashire Thunder – 11:30am start

Hawks Men v Kent Spitfires – 3:30pm start

Utilita Bowl

Hampshire Hawks return following a week off from the Vitality Blast, with both teams comfortably in qualification places for the knockout stages of the competition.

Hawks Women are second with five wins from their eight games, three of which have come with a bonus point.

They comprehensively defeated Durham at Utilita Bowl last Sunday, with an eight-wicket win over their north east opponents.

Spinner Bex Tyson picked up 2/24 with seamer Poppy Tulloch claiming 2/28, and a strong all-round bowling performance restricted Durham to 128 before Maia Bouchier smashed 63 as the Hawks chased their target down in the 17^th over.

Hawks Men were beaten by Kent Spitfires in their previous outing at Canterbury. Despite a blistering 84 from James Vince, his highest score of the season, the Hawks fell to defeat by seven wickets after Sam Billings and Daniel Bell-Drummond made half-centuries.

Lancashire Thunder were comprehensively beaten by Durham in their previous Vitality Blast match.

Bowled out for 79, with Darcey Carter’s 32* the top score, Lancashire failed to put pressure on hosts Durham, who chased their target down inside 14 overs; leg spinner Venus Weerappuli took 2/18, with Kate Cross claiming one wicket.

Kent Spitfires too fell to a resounding defeat in their most recent match, at the hands of Worcestershire Rapids.

Matt Milnes continued his good form in the competition with 3/20, with overseas quick Tom Rogers picking up a couple. But the positives ended there for the Spitfires, as they were skittled for just 59, their lowest ever T20 score.

Hampshire Hawks Squads

Hampshire Hawks Women

Hawks Women have named a 14-player squad for their Vitality Blast match against Lancashire Thunder.

Ella McCaughan and Abi Norgrove return from England A duty following the conclusion of their 50-over match at Taunton on Saturday 4 July.

Maia Bouchier remains in the squad ahead of England Women’s Test match against India at Lord’s, which starts on Friday 10 July.

Hampshire Hawks Men

Hampshire Hawks Men have named a 15-player squad for their clash with Kent Spitfires.

The squad remains the same from last Sunday’s trip to Canterbury, with fast bowler Sonny Baker having been released from England Men’s IT20 squad.

Australian batter Hilton Cartwright is fit to play following an injury scare last weekend.

The Opposition

Lancashire Thunder

Previewed by Graham Hardcastle, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captain: Ellie Threlkeld  

Overseas player: Meg Lanning (Australia, full campaign)

2026 standings: 8th 

2026 leading run-scorer: Meg Lanning (325)

2026 leading wicket-taker: Venus Weerappuli (12)

Key winter moves: Talk about statement signing, hey. Lancashire’s capture of Australian batting legend Meg Lanning is not only a boost for the county’s hopes of Blast glory but also the county game in general. The best players in the world want to come and play here. Happy days. She replaces compatriot Alana King, the leg-spinner who was Thunder’s joint top wicket-taker last year.                                                                                                  

The big question: Can Lancashire complete the set? Champions last year in both the Vitality County T20 Cup and then the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, this is the missing one they would love to put into the Emirates Old Trafford trophy cabinet. That they fell short of a place at Finals Day last year really stung a side who are hungry for sustained success.  

Wildcard watch: Grace Johnson. Not an automatic pick in Thunder’s XI, but perhaps more likely given the impending absence of Scotland duo Ailsa Lister and Darcey Carter because of T20 World Cup duty. An Academy graduate who bowls seam and bats in the middle order, the now 21-year-old captained Lancashire’s U18s to two national titles in 2024.

Final thought: It certainly hasn’t been the start to the season Lancashire were wanting, with batting fragilities leaving them with an uphill task to defend their One-Day Cup title. They will be banking on Meg Lanning’s presence to really give that area of their team some oomph in the Blast. Friday July 10 looms as a historic day for the county as they host a televised T20 Roses double header at Emirates Old Trafford. The women open a blockbuster day with an afternoon clash against Yorkshire. 

Head-to-Head:

Hampshire Hawks Women’s record in T20 matches v Lancashire Thunder:

Recent meetings:

• June 9 2026 | Blackpool | Hawks won by eight wickets (with 27 balls remaining)
• July 9 2025 | Falkland CC, Newbury | Lancashire won by eight wickets (with six balls remaining)
• June 4 2025 | Old Trafford | Hawks won by eight wickets (with six balls remaining)

Kent Spitfires Men

Previewed by Fred Atkins, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captain: Sam Billings

Overseas players:  Tom Rogers (Australia, all) Keith Dudgeon (South Africa, all). Dian Forrester (South Africa – when commitments with A tour permit)

Finals Day appearances:  Four (2007, 2008, 2009, 2021)

Titles: Two (2007, 2021)

2026 standings: 3rd in South Group

2026 leading run-scorer: Sam Billings (338)

2026 leading wicket-taker: Matt Milnes (14)

Key winter moves: There was genuine excitement when Kent swooped for both Jake Lintott, on loan from Warwickshire, and Forrester; while Bertie Foreman joins from Buckinghamshire. Jack Leaning has gone to Sussex and Nathan Gilchrist to Warwickshire, but the side that reached the last eight in 2025 is otherwise intact. Holding on to Muyeye was a very smart bit of business.

The big question: Will the new format work in Kent’s favour? It should make their path to the quarter-finals significantly easier as they no longer have to play the most recent champions, Somerset and Gloucestershire, home and away, but still get to play their local rivals. Travelling distances have been slashed, significantly enhancing player welfare.

Wildcard watch: Coach Adam Hollioake believes Chris Benjamin has the potential to be one of the world’s most destructive batters. His 2025 campaign was ruined when he dislocated his shoulder grounding his bat at Lord’s, but his red-ball form this year has been outstanding, and with Billings keeping wicket he’ll be able to concentrate purely on his batting.

Final thought:  The St. Lawrence remains one of the great places to watch T20 cricket, but since winning the Blast in 2021, Kent have oscillated wildly. Off the pace in 2022 and 2024, they were unlucky not to go further in 2023 and 2025: Billings put last year’s quarter-final exit in a low-scoring affair at Emirates Old Trafford down to their failure to get Liam Livingstone out. Signing Lintott, Forrester and Foreman, all in the space of 24 hours, feels like a statement of intent.

Head-to-Head:

Hampshire Hawks Men’s record in T20 matches v Kent Spitfires:

Recent meetings:

• June 28 2026 | The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury | Kent Spitfires won by seven wickets (with eight balls remaining)
• June 8 2025 | The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury | Kent Spitfires won by eight wickets (with six balls remaining)
• June 2 2024 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by three wickets (with one ball remaining)
• June 9 2023 | The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury | Kent Spitfires won by six wickets (with three balls remaining)
• June 17 2022 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by 54 runs

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Hawks’ Vitality Blast double header against Lancashire Thunder and Kent Spitfires are available here.

Buy the day before the game and save £6 per ticket, with entry for U17s just £5.

Coverage

The match will be live streamed on the Hampshire Cricket YouTube channel, with radio commentary available on the BBC Sport website and app, and on BBC Sounds.

A live match centre with scorecard, statistics, and insight will be available via www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/news.

Fans can stay updated on the match via the Hampshire Cricket X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, where regular score updates, photos from the game, and match clips will be shared.

Weather Forecast

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Utilita Bowl: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2634447.