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Dawson and Vince Dominate as Hampshire Grab Opening 50-Over Win
Dawson and Vince Dominate as Hampshire Grab Opening 50-Over Win
Liam Dawson and James Vince were both crucial in ensuring Hampshire emerged victorious in their opening Royal London 50-Over match v Sussex
An incredible century from James Vince (103) and all-round performance from Liam Dawson (73* and 6-47) ensured Hampshire secured a valuable 87-run victory over Sussex in the opening Royal London One-Day Cup fixture at the The Ageas Bowl.
Vince batted superbly to reach his first century of the 2015 season, and with good support coming from Dawson, Hampshire reached an imposing 343-6 after their allotted 50 overs.
Matt Machan (93) was the pick of the batsman for Sussex as he fought well in the ensuing chase but Hampshire’s first-innings total ultimately proved to be too much for Sussex as they succumbed to a brilliant spell of spin-bowling from Dawson, who claimed his career-best List A figures.
Hampshire began in less than ideal fashion after electing to bat first, with opener Michael Carberry (0) departing from the opening delivery of the match but they rebuilt nicely thanks to good starts from both Jimmy Adams (34) and Adam Wheater (45).
The duo looked to be building nicely until the fluent Adams was unfortunate to chip a leg-side delivery to a waiting square-leg fielder, and when Wheater then departed also, the hosts fell to 104-3.
Although the latter departed just five runs short of his half-century, Vince looked composed at the crease from the outset to guide his side past 150 in just 25 overs, whilst also bringing up his well-made half-century shortly after.
The 24-year-old combined well with Dawson and as the pair ensured Hampshire past 200 with minimal fuss, the home-side looked to have seized control with 18 overs still remaining.
Both batsmen motored along at a rapid rate – the right-handers sharing a valuable 85-run stand. With Hampshire seemingly looking set to post a commanding total, Vince then brought up his deserved century, the landmark coming from just 79 balls.
Despite 13 overs still remaining, he departed shortly after collecting his first hundred of the season, but with Dawson at the crease, the positive momentum continued.
He brought up his half-century shortly after guiding Hampshire past 250, before late-order hitting from Chris Wood (38*) and Gareth Berg (20) saw an excellent first-innings total posted.
An early wicket for Yasir Arafat (1-40) saw Sussex stumble early on in their chasing effort with Chris Nash (4) falling in just the third over of the innings.
A partnership worth 110 runs between Wright and Machan saw Sussex battle well in response and both batsman looked mostly untroubled despite some efficient bowling to see the visitors reach 118-1 from 18 overs.
Machan looked in good-touch as he looked to take the attack to the home bowling unit but when Wright departed to the bowling of Dawson, and George Bailey (22) soon followed at the hands of Chris Wood (1-44), the away-side looked troubled once again.
Captain Ed Joyce (48) looked to lead the fightback alongside Machan but when Mason Crane (2-46) and Dawson removed both men in quick succession, the away-side’s hopes of victory quickly disappeared.
A magnificent performance from Dawson was then completed as he picked up the final four wickets of the innings to see Hampshire to a comfortable opening win.
