Match Preview: Worcestershire Rapids v Hampshire Men, Metro Bank One Day Cup

Worcestershire v Hampshire Men

Metro Bank One Day Cup

Wednesday 13th August (11am start)

Visit Worcestershire New Road

Hampshire currently sit 2nd in the group table; whilst, Worcestershire lie in 4th (both with a game in hand).

Gubbins’ side have continued their campaign with a brilliant win against Essex on Thursday. Worcestershire also won their game on Sunday by 60 runs so both teams will be feeling confident, ready for their battle on Wednesday.

Against Essex, our bowlers were strong taking all 10 wickets for 285 runs. A career best score for Weatherley (116* runs off 105 balls) helped chase the target alongside Tilak (54 runs) and Gubbins (40 runs) to win by 5 wickets.

Hampshire Squad

Hampshire have named a 13-player squad for their third One Day game against Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.

Brandon McMullen is added to the squad for the first time, whilst Tilak Varma prepares to play his final game for Hampshire.

Full Hampshire Men squad

Worcestershire

Captain: Jake Libby

2024 Position: Quarter-final

2024 Most Runs: Jake Libby (526)

2024 Most Wickets: Jack Home (16)

Why they can win: Worcestershire are blessed with the availability of many first-team regulars who are not affected by selection in The Hundred, meaning the majority of Alan Richardson’s first-choice eleven will be involved for the Rapids across the tournament. Skipper Jake Libby and mid-season signing Khurram Shahzad will look to show their quality and blend with some exciting youngsters to compete for silverware.

Player to watch: Tom Taylor. Having registered the most wickets for Worcestershire so far this season, the right-arm seamer has been in stand-out form across all formats this summer for his side. The 30-year-old has made his name as a frugal opening bowler and will be looking to continue his consistent performances that have yielded him an impressive average of under 25 across both formats.

Young gun: Henry Cullen. The exciting 22-year-old wicketkeeper featured during this year’s Vitality Blast having been on the radar for some time at Visit Worcestershire New Road. His eye-catching displays for the 2nd XI have forced an opening into the senior set-up, with this competition the perfect platform for the cultured and efficient young batter to show off his skills.

Final thought: A promising end to the Vitality Blast campaign will offer supporters hope that the Rapids white-ball form can extend further into the summer, with the likes of Ethan Brookes central to any hopes of bettering last year’s encouraging quarter-final finish. Having lacked consistency throughout the summer, the exciting crop of youngsters will be looking to breakthrough and enjoy successful campaigns in a side more than capable of challenging deep into the tournament.

Head-to-Head

Hampshire Men’s record in the List A matches v Worcestershire:

Last five meetings:

• 11th August 2024 I Visit Worcestershire New Road I Worcestershire won by 8 wickets
• 27th August 2023 I Utilita Bowl I Hampshire won by 10 runs
• 5th August 2022 I Utilita Bowl I Hampshire won by 44 runs
• 4th August 2021 I Utilita Bowl I Hampshire won by 6 wickets
• 19th April 2009 I Utilita Bowl I Worcestershire won by 108 runs

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Men’s One Day Cup match against Worcestershire are available here.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match at https://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 Worcester: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2633563