Match Preview: Hampshire Men v Worcestershire, Rothesay County Championship

Hampshire Men v Worcestershire

Rothesay County Championship

Sunday 29^th June-Wednesday 2^nd July (11am start)

Utilita Bowl

Hampshire Men return to Utilita Bowl in the County Championship as Worcestershire travel to the south coast in the latest round of fixtures, the second with the Kookaburra ball.

The Rose and Crown completed a draw in their previous match against Essex, with centuries from Tilak Varma, on debut, and Liam Dawson the standout performances, along with yet another five-wicket haul for the evergreen Kyle Abbott.

The team took five final innings wickets, but Tom Westley and Michael Pepper stood tall to ensure the points were shared.

Worcestershire meanwhile were one of only two teams to be beaten in the previous round, with seven of the nine matches ending in draws.

The side fell to a nine-wicket defeat to reigning champions Surrey at Visit Worcestershire New Road, despite a five-for from seamer Ben Allison and 68 from Matthew Waite.

Hampshire Squad

Hampshire have named a 13-player squad for their County Championship match against Worcestershire.

Dom Kelly is added to the squad and could make his County Championship debut having previously played in a First-Class match for Hampshire against the touring Sri Lanka Development XI in 2022.

The squad otherwise remains unchanged from the side that drew with Essex last week.

Full Hampshire squad

Worcestershire

Captain: Brett D’Oliveira

Head Coach: Alan Richardson

2024 finish: Sixth

2025 highest run-scorer: Jake Libby (451)

2025 highest wicket-taker: Tom Taylor (31)

Key winter moves: All-rounder, Ben Allison, and spinner, Fateh Singh, have signed three-year deals after moving from Essex and Nottinghamshire respectively following successful loan spells at Visit Worcestershire New Road. Pace bowler, Jacob Duffy, is the latest in a lengthy line of New Zealanders to enjoy a spell with Worcestershire. He is available for Rothesay County Championship and Vitality Blast cricket throughout the first half of the summer until the end of June.

What we’re looking forward to seeing: Worcestershire were the bookies favourites last summer to make an instant return to Division Two but achieved their highest finish since the competition was split into two divisions in 2000. They aimed from pre-season for a top six spot rather than just survive and the positive attitude and never-say-die spirit demanded by club captain Brett D’Oliveira, despite several key injuries, will again be at the fore in 2025 and there is more depth to the squad to give genuine hope of securing a third successive year in the top flight.

Player to watch: Although he has spent several winters playing franchise cricket plus The Hundred, Adam Hose is determined to make his mark in the red-ball format. One the reasons he moved from Warwickshire was to have more Championship opportunities and Hose has played 25 of 28 four-day games and, although lacking consistency, has made several vital contributions including in the 2024 memorable away wins over Durhan and Essex.

Final thought: Worcestershire know they will have to again perform well to have a realistic chance of maintaining Division One status with newly-promoted Yorkshire and Sussex both looking strong. But, despite go-to pace bowler Joe Leach retiring, there is genuine belief they will not be whipping boys especially if they avoid what was at times a shockingly lengthy injury list in 2024, particularly in the bowling department. The likes of Jake Libby, Gareth Roderick and Kashif Ali are capable of providing ample runs at the top of the order but they also have a posse of all-rounders like Matthew Waite, Tom Taylor and Ben Allison which mean they bat very deep.

Head-to-Head

Hampshire Men’s record in County Championship matches v Worcestershire

Last five meetings:

• September 17-20 2024 | Utilita Bowl | Hampshire won by 235 runs
• September 4-6 2018 | New Road | Hampshire won by 114 runs
• April 13-16 2018 | Utilita Bowl | Hampshire won by 196 runs
• July 6-9 2015 | New Road | Worcestershire won by an innings and 33 runs
• May 31-June 3 | Utilita Bowl | Match Drawn

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Men’s County Championship match against Worcestershire are available here.

To celebrate County Cricket Day on Sunday 29^th June, Under 17s are permitted free entry to day one of this fixture.

Gates open at 10am each day.

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 Utilita Bowl: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2634447.