Report & Reaction: Hampshire Hawks Men v Essex, Vitality Blast

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Dewald Brevis introduced himself to Hampshire Hawks fans with a dazzling 68 as Hawks pumped up their highest-ever score at Utilita Bowl to annihilate Essex by 106 runs.

South African Brevis hammered his 68 in 32 balls to go along with James Vince’s returning 62 off 31 and Toby Albert’s 54 off 34 – as Hampshire posted 230.

Michael Pepper’s 51 was the high point of Essex’s innings as they fell very runs short, with Liam Dawson picking up four for 26, and Scott Currie three for 20 - Hampshire recording the largest T20 win on the ground.

The 8,139 fans was the highest for an opening day of the Vitality Blast at the Bowl since 2017, and were treated to 759 runs across a sun-kissed double header on a stunning batting track.

Essex asked Hawks to bat, and boy did they bat.

Vince continued the party, after the women had scored the fifth highest score at Utilita Bowl to beat Essex in the Women’s Blast, as he caressed his second ball through the covers for four.

The Hawks skipper has moved to Dubai so isn’t playing in the Rothesay County Championship this season, but made up for lost time with 12 fours in his 84th T20 fifty, which came in 25 balls.

He put on 97 with new opening partner Toby Albert but fell for a 31-ball 62 when he drilled to long off.

Vince is usually the main course; here, he was the amuse-bouche for one of the most outrageous Blast debuts of all time.

Dewald Brevis had spent the majority of the afternoon standing on his balcony shadow batting, looking very giddy for his opportunity.

It manifested itself by the South African, mentored by the legendary AB De Villiers, swing hard to his first ball and clearing the ropes by yards.

Where Vince had dealt in fours, Brevis cleared the boundary over and over again – each boundary met with a group in toreador fancy dress waving red cloth at a friend dressed as a bull.

He launched six of them in total, all either straight or on the leg side, one of them one-handed, as he hammered his fifty in 21 balls.

While Brevis and Vince were going ballistic, Albert was anchoring with a 50 in 28 balls, he also contributed 19 to an 80 stand with Brevis.

The second half of the Hampshire innings was more runs, but now peppered with wickets.

Harmer caught three of them, Paul Walter and Mohammad Amir picked up two scalps each and Hampshire reached 230.

Only the 249 they scored in the 2017 quarter-final against Derbyshire was larger for Hawks in their T20 history, while Australia’s 248 is the only total higher on this ground.

Essex’s chase begun in the worst possible way as Dean Elgar was run out by a sensational Vince direct hit.

Hampshire’s butterfingers in the Championship followed them to the Blast as four drops went down, but didn’t cost them too much.

Adam Rossington skied to wide mid on and Paul Walter found deep square – having put on 40 and 50 respectively with Pepper.

Pepper reach his fifty in 36 balls but he, Matt Critchley, Charlie Allison, Shane Snater, Harmer and Amir came and went quickly as Hawks soured to victory over the Eagles.