Match Preview: Surrey v Hampshire Hawks, Vitality Blast Double Header

Surrey v Hampshire Hawks

Vitality Blast

Thursday 5^th June

Women’s match – 2pm start

Men’s match – 6:30pm start

Kia Oval

Hampshire Hawks travel to south London in their latest Vitality Blast fixtures.

Hawks Women completed a dominant victory over Lancashire Thunder yesterday as Bex Tyson and Ella McCaughan’s Hawks-best performances of 3-27 and 68* respectively helped the side to an eight-wicket win.

Hawks Men are yet to play since their trouncing of Essex on Blast Off, where James Vince, Toby Albert, and Dewald Brevis all struck fifties before Scott Currie and Liam Dawson picked up seven wickets between them to complete a mammoth 106-run victory.

Surrey come into the double header with their women’s side having only played one game – an eight-wicket victory over Somerset on Friday – whilst their men’s side have played twice with one win and one defeat, despite scores of 92 and 69 from Jason Roy.

Hampshire Hawks Squads

Hampshire Hawks Women have named a 16-player squad for their Vitality Blast match against Surrey.

Freya Kemp comes back into the group having been rested for their trip to Manchester.

Pace bowler Lauren Bell and spinner Linsey Smith are currently with the England Women’s ODI squad whilst Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry will join the club in July.

Hampshire Hawks Women

Hampshire Hawks Men have named a 13-player squad for their battle with the Three Feathers.

Bjorn Fortuin joins the squad and is set to debut whilst Liam Dawson has joined up with the England men’s IT20 squad.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius is currently playing for South Africa A against West Indies A in the first of two unofficial Test matches in St Lucia.

Hampshire Hawks Men

The Opposition

Surrey Women

Captain: Bryony Smith

Overseas players: Grace Harris (Australia, available from June 5 until the end of competition)

Key winter moves: The big arrivals over the close season are England international Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Australian Grace Harris, both free-scoring batters who fit the profile of a side renowned for aggressive run-making. Alice Monaghan also comes in from Hampshire to offer options with both bat and ball.

The big question: How will they fit all the batters in? An already strong line-up now includes Harris and Wyatt-Hodge, the former possessing a higher strike rate (155) in international T20 than any batter achieved domestically in the format last year. Bowling stocks, be that seam or spin are hardly light either, even with skipper Smith and vice-captain Tash Farrant currently battling injuries.

Wildcard watch: Emma Jones. The all-rounder, a student of veterinary surgery at Cambridge, has had three separate contracts with The Hundred franchises, but been held back by injury. Trent Rockets have kept faith for 2025 when Jones’ height with the ball and long levers with the bat may mean that faith is rewarded.

Final thought: Under the guise of the South East Stars, the bulk of this group made Finals Day in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in three of the four years it was contested. Only Sophia Dunkley and Alice Davidson-Richards will miss the start of the competition on England duty while rival sides are harder hit.  Smith’s leadership and powerplay hitting will be missed if her current muscle injury persists, but this squad has depth and should be contenders regardless.

Surrey Men

Captain: Sam Curran

Overseas players: Mitchell Santner (New Zealand, first eight matches), Nathan Smith (New Zealand, full competition)

Finals Day appearances: Nine (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2023, 2024)

Titles: One (2003)

2024 finish: Semi-finals

2024 leading run-scorer: Jamie Smith (285)

2024 leading wicket-taker: Tom Curran (16)

Key winter moves: New Zealand’s white-ball captain, Mitchell Santner, makes his Surrey debut and is available for the first eight group games plus the knock-out stages in September if the team – now captained by Sam Curran, who has succeeded Chris Jordan – qualify for a third consecutive Finals Day tilt at the title. Left-arm spinner Santner’s fellow Kiwi, all-rounder Nathan Smith, has already impressed in the Rothesay County Championship as the club’s other new overseas signing this season.

The big question: As ever, and especially after a second successive semi-final exit against Somerset, who beat them by 24 runs in 2023 and then by six wickets last year, Surrey are desperate to jettison the tag of only winning the T20 Cup once before – the inaugural tournament under Adam Hollioake’s captaincy in 2003. There have now been eight unsuccessful Finals Day appearances since that triumph.

Wildcard watch: Dom Sibley. England’s erstwhile 22-times capped Test opener reinvented himself in last season’s Vitality Blast by unveiling some previously unseen strokes – including an extraordinary reverse-scoop for six in his quarter-final winning 67 not out against Durham. Sibley scored 269 runs in 11 matches at the top of the order, at the highly creditable strike rate of 133.83.

Final thought: Surrey are used to it by now – 24 players appeared in last summer’s Blast campaign – but juggling their resources around international call-ups means another big test of the squad’s envied depth. A major plus, however, is Sam Curran’s availability throughout the group stages. Surrey’s new T20 captain, at present surplus to England’s white-ball requirements, played only five Blast innings last year but smashed 13 sixes while scoring 237 runs at a strike rate above 150. 

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Hawks Vitality Blast double header match against Surrey at the Kia Oval are available here.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match and a link to this stream will be available in the at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket, along with a live match centre with the scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.

Weather Forecast

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for The Oval: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6690601.