Match Preview: Hampshire v Middlesex & Glamorgan v Hampshire, Vitality Blast

A nail-biting final-ball tie against Essex Eagles at the The Ageas Bowl on Sunday ensured that Hampshire head into this week’s final two Vitality Blast games needing victories in both matches to be in with a chance of qualifying for the quarter-final stage.

James Vince’s side take on Middlesex in the final home T20 match on Thursday before heading to Cardiff to take on Glamorgan in the last South Group fixture on Friday.

Hampshire Squad:

A 15-man squad has been named for this week’s back-to-back Blast encounters.

Sam Northeast’s excellent 73 against Essex on Sunday saw him pass fifty for the first time in the competition and he’ll be hoping to build on that with a strong finish with the bat in the final two fixtures this week. A superb spell of 3-15 from his allocation at the weekend saw Kyle Abbott take his competition tally to 18 wickets at an average of just 16.33 with two games to go, good enough for third in the list of top wicket-takers so far this summer – he’ll be crucial to any success against both Middlesex and Glamorgan.

Aneurin Donald returns to the squad after missing the last two T20 contests with concussion whilst Mason Crane has made good strides in his recovery from a side strain and returns as part of the 15

The Opposition:

Middlesex

Middlesex head into the final week with a good chance of securing qualification for the competition’s knockout stage, although they’ll likely need wins in both of their final two games in order to completely guarantee a quarter-final place.

The visitors’ impressive squad, one which features including England World Cup winning skipper Eoin Morgan, Pakistan star batsman Mohammad Hafeez as well as former England internationals Toby Roland-Jones and Steven Finn, is bolstered even further by the addition of South African superstar AB de Villiers who returns for their final two matches.

Glamorgan

Glamorgan have had a difficult Vitality Blast campaign, suffering eight defeats in their 13 fixtures in this summer’s competition to sit in last position in the South Group with one game to go.

Destructive batsman and skipper Colin Ingram is always integral to their chances of a positive result, even without fully firing this year, and his 430 runs at an average of better than 53 in 2018 show why he’s the home-sides best chance with the bat on Friday.

Merchant de Lange has been impressive with the ball so far this year, picking up five wickets at just 16.40 apiece, whilst Andrew Salter’s five scalps have come at a less than 15 each – both bowlers will be looking to add to their tally further on Friday.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Coverage:

A live stream, ball-by-ball coverage and match highlights will be available via the Hampshire Cricket App and at ageasbowl.com/cricket.

There will also 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://ow.ly/O85t30p4xiB

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast for Cardiff: http://ow.ly/p1qb30pqotw

Tickets:

Tickets for Thursday’s match-up against Middlesex at the The Ageas Bowl can be purchased online via the link below, through the Hampshire Cricket App, over the phone on 023 80472002 (option 1), or by visiting the The Ageas Bowl’s Ticketing & Membership Office via normal working hours.

Tickets for Friday’s match against Glamorgan at Cardiff can be purchased online via the Glamorgan website: www.glamorgancricket.com.