Match Preview: Sussex Sharks v Hampshire - NatWest T20 Blast

Hampshire will look to secure back-to-back wins in the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast when they travel to Hove to take on Sussex Sharks on Wednesday evening.

Hampshire Squad:

Hampshire have named an unchanged squad from last Friday’s opening victory against Glamorgan, with Lewis McManus looking to continue his form with the bat and Shahid Afridi aiming to make another big impact with the ball after his heroics in Cardiff.

The Opposition:

Sussex Sharks also began their 2017 NatWest T20 Blast campaign against Glamorgan, but suffered a disappointing 18-run defeat against the visitors on Sunday afternoon, despite a 53-ball century from Luke Wright. 

Ross Taylor’s side have reached the knockout stages just once in the previous four seasons, and will be looking to change their fortunes this season following last week’s opening day defeat.

Did You Know?

·         Hampshire have won the last five away T20 meetings contested between these two sides.

·         Nine of the last 10 meetings between these sides have been won by Hampshire.

·         Hampshire seamer Gareth Berg has taken 10 T20 career wickets against Sussex, the most he’s taken against any side.

·         Shahid Afridi was the first bowler this season to take a four-wicket haul in the competition; claiming figures of 4-20 from his four overs against Glamorgan.

Full Hampshire Squad:

What the team say:

Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “We were pleased with last week’s result off the back of the four-day game against Surrey. The boys worked hard, threw themselves into the game and got the right result - obviously we want back-to-back wins heading to Hove which would set ourselves up nicely moving forward.”

Coverage:

Live text commentary will be available via the Hampshire Cricket Twitter and Facebook pages. A feed to these will also be available on this page.

There will be ball-by-ball commentary available on BBC Radio Solent online at bbc.co.uk, and the game will be shown live on Sky Sports 2.

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast for Hove: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcpchm3cd

Tickets:

Tickets for Hampshire’s local derby against Sussex in the NatWest T20 Blast at the 1^st Central County Ground can be purchased online, via their official club website using the link below: http://www.sussexcricket.co.uk/tickets