Match Preview: Hampshire v Lancashire, Vitality CC

Hampshire v Lancashire
Vitality County Championship (Division One)
Friday 12th April – Monday 15th April 2024 (11am Start)
Utilita Bowl

Hampshire welcome Lancashire to Utilita Bowl for their first home Vitality County Championship match of the 2024 campaign.

James Vince's side will be hopeful of playing some cricket this week, after their trip to Durham in the opening round was abandoned without a ball bowled.

The weather also affected the visitors' first match of the season against current champions Surrey which ended in a draw Emirates Old Trafford, meaning they are level with Hampshire on eight points.

Nick Gubbins scored centuries in both innings in this fixture in 2022, which ended in a draw and was the last time that Lancashire made the trip down south. Hampshire's last County Championship victory over the Red Rose was all the way back in 2009.

Hampshire Squad

Hampshire have named an unchanged 12-player squad for the match against Lancashire.

Following the abandonment at Seat Unique Riverside, Ali Orr will once again be in contention to make his competitive debut for Hampshire.

Both Keith Barker and John Turner remain unavailable through injury.

Full Hampshire Squad

Lancashire

Squad: Keaton Jennings (c), Tom Aspinwall, Tom Bailey, George Balderson, George Bell, Jack Blatherwick, Josh Bohannon, Tom Bruce, Tom Hartley, Matthew Hurst, Nathan Lyon, Luke Wells, Will Williams

After recording a fifth place finish in 2023, an opening round match against Surrey represented a daunting start to the new season for Lancashire. Though they were bowled out in first innings for just 202, the weather meant that the game was cut short and ended in a draw at Emirates Old Trafford.

Former Hampshire head coach Dale Benkenstein took over at Lancashire ahead of the 2024 season, while they also announced the overseas signing of Australian legend Nathan Lyon – though his availability has now been revised from a full season to just seven matches. Lyon joins an already talented squad, led by captain Keaton Jennings, which includes the likes of England Lions skipper Josh Bohannon and left arm spinner Tom Hartley, who was given his England Test debut in their most recent series against India.

2023 Season In Numbers

• 5th in Division One
• Leading run scorer: Josh Bohannon (1257)
• Leading wicket taker: Tom Bailey (50)

Head-to-Head

Hampshire's record in County Championship v Lancashire

P: 151, W: 19, T: 1, L: 67, D:64, A: 3

Last 5 meetings:

• June 11 – 14 2023 | Southport | Lancashire won by six wickets
• April 28 – May 1 2022 | The Ageas Bowl | Match Drawn
• September 21 – 23 2021 | Liverpool | Lancashire won by one wicket
• September 24 – 26 2018 | The Ageas Bowl | Lancashire won by eight wickets
• June 25 – 28 2018 | Emirates Old Trafford | Match Drawn

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire’s home match against Lancashire are available via the link below, while they’ll also be available on the gate each day from 9:30am.

Gates open at 10am on each day.

Click here to buy tickets.

In 2024, Utilita Bowl will be offering free entry after tea for every day of each home Vitality County Championship match.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match and a link to this stream will be available in the free-to-download Hampshire Cricket App and at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket.

Both the Hampshire Cricket App and www.utilitabowl.com/cricket will also host a live match centre with 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/6620360