Match Preview: Hampshire v Gloucestershire, LV= CC

Following last week’s emphatic LV= Insurance County Championship victory against Middlesex, Hampshire will be aiming to secure a third successive red-ball success when they welcome Gloucestershire at The Ageas Bowl on Thursday.

A 249-run win – the largest winning margin against Middlesex – ensured James Vince’s side enjoyed back-to-back four-day successes to start the season for the first time since 2004, and they currently sit top of Group Two with 46 points taken from the opening pair of matches.

Gloucestershire have also enjoyed a strong start to their 2021 campaign, enjoying wins against Somerset and Surrey and they arrive to the south coast just two points behind the division leaders.

Hampshire Squad:

An unchanged 13-man squad has been named for this week’s fixture.

Five Hampshire batsmen have made centuries in the first two contests of this year, with Sam Northeast and Ian Holland adding to their career ton tallies last week after Tom Alsop, Liam Dawson and James Vince all recorded centuries in the opening round against Leicestershire. The quintet will all be hoping to continue their good form against Gloucestershire with the batting order expected to remain unchanged.

Overseas seamer Mohammad Abbas, fresh from a first-career hat-trick and a superb nine-wicket match haul against Middlesex, will join Kyle Abbott in leading the side’s attack.

Whilst Keith Barker and James Fuller have made their return to action following injury for the first time this week as part of Hampshire Second XI, they remain unavailable against Gloucestershire as they continue to build back to full fitness. Aneurin Donald also remains side-lined as his ACL rehabilitation continues.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Behind-Closed-Doors:

Hampshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship match against Gloucestershire at The Ageas Bowl will be played behind-closed-doors, with no fans in attendance.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match and a link to this stream will be available at both www.ageasbowl.com/cricket and on the free Hampshire Cricket App.

Both www.ageasbowl.com/cricket and the Hampshire Cricket App will also host a live match centre with scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast for The Ageas Bowl: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6620360