On This Day: Dimi & Slug Star With Bat & Ball In Twenty20 Cup

Hampshire Cricket's historian Dave Allen takes a look back on timely memorable moments in his ‘On This Day’ series.

Dimi Mascarenhas (2-14 & 27*) & Sean Ervine (3-26 & 39*) - Essex v Hampshire, Twenty20 Cup, 28th June 2009

On this day in 2009, Hampshire ventured to so-called ‘Fortress Chelmsford’ at a time when they had met with relatively little success in the new T20 competition, but this performance hinted at what was to come.

Essex batted first and four of their top five departed in single figures – two-apiece for Mascarenhas (4-0-14-2) and Ervine (3-26) - although Graham Napier hit 47. Foster (23*), and ten Doeschate (43) then led the late charge as Essex added 76 runs from the last seven overs and Hampshire needed exactly 150 to win.

Adams went at 29, but they reached 81-1, at which point Flower (3-25) dismissed Lumb, Carberry and the promoted Tahir while just six runs were added.

But at 87-4 Hampshire’s bowling heroes came together and ‘Dimi’ (27*) and Ervine (39*) took them to victory by six wickets with five balls to spare.

Hampshire would progress no further than the quarter-finals that year but it was the first of seven consecutive years in which they progressed to the knock-out stages.