Match Preview: Surrey v Hampshire

Hampshire will be seeking a second Specsavers County Championship win in as many matches when they take on Surrey at the Oval on Friday.

Hampshire Squad:

A 14-man squad has been named for Friday’s contest, with Chris Wood, Joe Weatherley and Chris Sole featuring alongside the final XI that lined up for Hampshire’s opening four-day victory over Worcestershire at the The Ageas Bowl.

Kyle Abbott, Gareth Berg and James Vince all impressed at the The Ageas Bowl last week and will be looking to continue their good form to begin the season, whilst Hashim Amla returns to face a Surrey side that he featured for back in 2013.

Mason Crane and Ian Holland remain unavailable due to injury.

The Opposition:

Surrey will get their 2018 campaign underway on Friday, having not had a fixture scheduled last week, and new skipper Rory Burns will be hoping his side can begin the season well following last year’s third place finish in the competition.

The hosts will be without new Kolpak signing Morne Morkel who is still recovering from a side strain, as well as Tom Curran who is away at the IPL, however latest signing Dean Elgar is set to make his Surrey debut at the top of the order after agreeing a deal last week.

Did You Know?

• Jimmy Adams (144) and James Vince (104) both struck centuries the last time Hampshire faced Surrey at the Oval in the Specsavers County Championship  
• Hampshire have lost just one of their last eight first-class matches against Surrey
• James Vince averages an excellent 56.80 with the bat against Surrey, notching two centuries in five innings
• Hashim Amla holds his career high score of 311*, made at Surrey's home ground, The Oval, in the first Test of the 2012 tour against England, making him the first Proteas to score a triple-century in international duty

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 Oval: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcpuvk7px

Tickets:

Tickets for all four days of Hampshire’s match against Surrey can be purchased online via the following link: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/surreytickets