Hampshire Announce Youthful Squad For T20 Double-Header

MATCH PREVIEW

Hampshire v Essex Eagles

NatWest T20 Blast (South Division)

Friday 8 July (7.00pm Start)

The Ageas Bowl

&

Hampshire Women v Essex Women

NatWest Women's T20 Cup

Friday 8 July (1.30pm Start)

The Ageas Bowl 

England stars James Vince and Liam Dawson return for Hamshire, who have named a youthful squad to face Essex Eagles in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday, as the The Ageas Bowl hosts a hotly anticipated T20 double-header.

Hampshire will be hunting for their second victory in this year’s Blast, following Friday’s opening match between Hampshire Women and Essex Women, who battle in the NatWest Women’s T20 Cup.  

Liam Dawson and James Vince have been included in Hampshire’s 14-man squad, having both featured in England’s T20 victory over Sri Lanka in front of a sell-out crowd at the The Ageas Bowl on Tuesday night.

Resuming his role as club skipper, Vince will be hoping to reproduce the form shown when the sides met in 2014, high-scoring with 57 off 47 balls and guiding Hampshire to an 8-wicket victory.

Hampshire’s squad has an average age of 25 years, with opportunities provided for a selection of up-and-coming talents, including 19-year-olds Brad Wheal and Brad Taylor, and 18-year-old Jake Goodwin.

Goodwin – a highly capable all-rounder for the Academy and Second XI - has shown real promise with the bat and hitting 113 runs for the Academy in mid-June helped warrant his inclusion. 

Six members of Hampshire's squad are under 22 years of age - they have just 17 NatWest T20 Blast appearances between them.

Essex pose a serious threat with the bat, led by Jesse Ryder, who recently surpassed 3000 runs in the NatWest T20 Blast. Ryder remained unbeaten as he compiled a career-best innings of 107 runs when the sides met in 2015.

Skipper Ravi Bopara looks in good form, having smashed 81 off 43 balls against Kent last week. Ashar Zaidi hit 52 off 32 against Hampshire in June, before being removed by Gareth Andrew when Essex were victorious at Chelmsford.

The first match of the day sees Hampshire Women take on Essex Women, boosted by a 5-wicket victory over Worcestershire on Sunday and captained by wicket-keeper batsman Naomi Lynch.

Southern Vipers all-rounder Katie George has also been included in Hampshire's squad, looking to impress before the Vipers get underway in the Women's Super League later this month.  

Did You Know?

• In the last decade, Hampshire have won eight of their 11 meetings with Essex at the The Ageas Bowl
• Hampshire have a 100% win record at the The Ageas Bowl when Shahid Afridi is playing 

Hampshire's 14-man Squad:

Hampshire Women's Squad: Naomi Lynch(c), Sam Betts, Rachel Carrick, Clover Crosse, Sian Edwards, Katie George, Becky Hartnett, Chloe Mickelthwaite, Alice Monaghan, Ellie Musson, Amy Page, Charlotte Taylor, Emily Windsor

Coverage:

Live text commentary will be available via the Hampshire Cricket Twitter and Facebook pages.

There will also be ball-by-ball commentary available on BBC Radio Solent and online at bbc.co.uk.

Weather:

For a full forecast of Friday's weather, visit Met Office: www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast