Vince Sets Sights On Sixth Quarter-Final Victory

Hampshire skipper James Vince knows just what it takes to be part of a quarter-final winning side and as he gets set to feature in yet another last-eight fixture, he has his sights set firmly on victory.

Vince’s side booked their place in a seventh consecutive quarter-final after finishing third in the South Group earlier this year, and they travel to Worcestershire for the next instalment of the competition knowing that a win will see them reach an unprecedented sixth finals-day in a row.

Hampshire claimed victory in their final two games to ensure progression to the knock-out stage and after excellent recent showings also in the Royal London One-Day Cup, Vince is confident his side are ready for the challenge.

‘To make the quarter-finals was quite tough in the end – needing to win our last two games was difficult and we had some hard work to do but to be able to do that is credit to the guys and hopefully we can carry on that form and momentum heading into Friday.

‘We’re coming off some good results in the one day competition and we’re well placed in that so hopefully that will serve us well.’

Worcestershire are still searching for their first quarter-final victory in the T20 format having featured in four previously, however after finishing a second in the North Group in this campaign to secure a home tie, the hosts will likely be difficult opponents.

Hampshire are no strangers to playing away from home in the knock-out stages though with three of their last five victories at this stage being away fixtures. Having never faced off against each-other previously also, the fixture is sure to be an intriguing match-up.

‘Worcestershire are not a team that we’ve played an awful lot against across all formats but they’re an organised side and we still know the players reasonably well. They play similar cricket to us in that they have bowlers that like to take the pace off and they also have a couple of experienced batsman in there too but we’ll do our homework and make sure we’re ready.

‘It would be nice to do it in front of our home crowd but at least we’re there and still in with a chance to progress. I’m sure either way they’ll be a tough test but hopefully conditions will suit us and I think if we perform as we can, we’ll get over the line.’

The 24-year-old captained Hampshire for the first time in last year’s campaign and after being eliminated at the semi-final stage, Vince along with the rest of the team are desperate to bring the trophy back to the The Ageas Bowl this time around.  

‘Getting to finals day is the first aim and we know that there are no certainties for Friday – last year was disappointing to go out when we did so hopefully if we get there this year we can go a couple of steps further than before and I believe if we play as well as we can we give ourselves the best possible chance to do that.’