Match Preview: Hampshire v Essex Eagles - Royal London One-Day Cup

Hampshire will be hoping to claim a third consecutive Royal London One-Day Cup victory and continue their unbeaten start to this competition when they take on Essex Eagles at the The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday.

Hampshire Squad:

An unchanged 15-man squad has been named for Wednesday’s home fixture, with the same group available once again following Saturday’s away victory over Sussex Sharks and Monday’s four-wicket win against Surrey.

Gareth Berg and Mason Crane have both been crucial to the side’s success with the ball, claiming five and four wickets each at an average of less than 25, whilst Rilee Rossouw’s sensational knock of 90 against Surrey on Monday helped propel Hampshire to an important win on home soil. The trio will be hoping to be in the thick of the action once again on Wednesday.

The Opposition:

Essex Eagles enjoyed an excellent 2017 campaign, topping the South Group with seven wins from their eight contests, before being unfortunate to bump into a rampant Nottinghamshire side that chased down 370-5 in the final over to knock Ryan ten Doeschate’s side out of the competition for another year.

Whilst his side would have been disappointed to miss out on a Lord’s final, they more than made up for it in September after being crowned champions of Division One in the Specsavers County Championship for the first time in 25 years.

New head coach Anthony McGrath will be hoping his side can also add white-ball honours to their tally this time around, although a difficult four-wicket defeat to Gloucestershire on Sunday has seen them split their first two matches to sit fifth in the South Group.

Did You Know?

• The last time neither side won a match between Essex and Hampshire was 1995 when rain forced an early end to play at the County Ground, Southampton.
• James Vince averages an outstanding 87.80 with the bat in List A matches against Essex with one century and four fifties in six matches.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Coverage:

Match updates will be available via the Hampshire Cricket social media channels, whilst ball-by-ball coverage and match highlights will be available at ageasbowl.com/cricket.

There will be ball-by-ball commentary available on BBC Radio Solent online at bbc.co.uk.

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast for The Ageas Bowl: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcp185f25

Tickets:
Tickets for Hampshire’s match against Essex Eagles at the The Ageas Bowl can be purchased online via the link below, over the phone on 0844 847 1863, or by visiting the The Ageas Bowl’s Ticketing & Membership Office via normal working hours.