Report & Reaction: Hampshire Hawks v Kent Spitfires, Vitality Blast

Words by Alex Smith, ECB Reporters Network

James Vince demolished Kent Spitfires with an obscene Vitality Blast century as Hampshire Hawks romped to a fifth straight victory.

Hawks skipper Vince recorded his third T20 century with exactly 100 in 54 balls as he combined with Tom Prest – who impressed with his second format fifty – for a 128 stand for the second wicket.

With Ross Whiteley’s six-ball 23, the hosts bashed their third-highest T20 score of 221 – something Spitfires never looked like chasing, eventually falling 54 runs short, in front of the largest The Ageas Bowl crowd of the season.

After four straight losses to start the Blast, Hampshire have got on a roll and moved into the top four for the first time. Holders Kent remain rooted to the bottom of the South Group with two wins from nine.

Having been stuck in, Hampshire were only 32 for one – Ben McDermott skied Grant Stewart – at the end of the powerplay, and 12 of those came in the sixth over. That inauspicious start ramped up as Prest and Vince found their gears quickly.

They started by using the expansive The Ageas Bowl outfield to milk ones and twos, before accelerating into boundaries. The turning point from normal accumulation to intergalactic striking was Stewart’s third over which went for 25 runs. Prest started with a slog-swept six before Vince rounded it out with six, six, four.

From then on, the Hawks flew. Only one over in the second half of the innings went for fewer than nine runs. Both Prest and Vince reached half-centuries in 34 balls as they became the first Hampshire duo to put on 100 together in a T20 versus Kent.

After Vince had taken George Linde for 17, including a huge maximum over the leg side, Qais Ahmad ended the partnership on 128. Prest’s slog sweep only went up as he departed for a season-best 52.

If Vince had noticed his partner had morphed into Joe Weatherley or not his steely demeanour and crisp ball-striking wasn’t affected. His second fifty came in 19 balls – 53 balls in total – and was coloured by three towering sixes into the leg side and five fours.

He fell a ball later, which only brought Whiteley to the crease. He and Weatherley put on 40 in 10 balls to take Hawks miles past 200 – with 30 coming off the final over.

The ginormous score, albeit the third-highest around the country on Friday night, was only beaten in Hampshire's record books by 249 at Derbyshire in 2017 and 225 vs Middlesex at home in 2006.

Kent’s reply couldn’t have started worse as Daniel Bell-Drummond and Jordan Cox were both caught in the ring before the end of the third over. Sam Billings was bowled by James Fuller not long after, but Joe Denly and Alex Blake added 54 to momentarily fight back.

Denly drilled to long off, Alex Blake to long-on, Linde to a sprawling mid-off, Jack Leaning was cleaned up and Qais was caught and bowled as Kent ended up on 167 for eight and Hampshire cruised to the two points.

Fans enjoying a summer’s afternoon or evening of Vitality Blast action at The Ageas Bowl can look forward to free family-friendly activities, live music and a whole host of off-pitch entertainment as well as the best food and drink in English cricket – that’s in addition to all the edge-of-your-seat cricketing action that T20 promises.

Vitality Blast Passports have now sold out after a record number of fans secured their seven-match passes. Individual match tickets are on sale for this summer’s Vitality Blast at the discounted Advance rate until 11:59pm the day before each match. Click the link below to purchase yours.

Hampshire Hawks have also announced a brand-new type of ticket for this summer’s T20 matches at The Ageas Bowl, the Vitality Blast Plus ticket, which offers an upgrade on general admission tickets with premium reserved seating and access to a private, pitch-facing lounge and bar.

A limited number of these new Plus tickets are still available at the Advance rate for each of Hampshire Hawks’ remaining Vitality Blast matches.

Getting to The Ageas Bowl for this summer’s Vitality Blast will be easier and more affordable than ever before as fans will be able to make use of free buses running to and from The Ageas Bowl from Hedge End and Southampton Airport Parkway train stations. 

These free direct buses will be available from both Southampton Airport Parkway Railway Station and Hedge End Station, running continuously from 4:30pm for weekday fixtures and 12pm for weekend fixtures.

The buses will depart from immediately outside both stations - simply head for the Hampshire Hawks flags upon arrival at the stations!

The buses heading back to the stations from The Ageas Bowl will depart from opposite the West Gate turnstiles and the last bus back to the stations will leave 30 minutes after the end of the match.

You won't need a ticket or any accreditation to use the free buses - simply turn up at the stations and get on board - however, if you are planning to use the buses we would ask you to complete the short registration form (available below) to ensure we're able to provide enough vehicles for all fans using the services.