Match Preview: Hampshire v Kent Spitfires, NatWest T20 Blast

 MATCH PREVIEW

Hampshire v Kent Spitfires
Thursday 2 June - 7:00pm start
The Ageas Bowl
&
Glamorgan v Hampshire
Friday 3 June - 6:30pm start
SSE SWALEC Stadium 

NatWest T20 Blast (South Division)

Hampshire will look to return to winning ways in the NatWest T20 Blast when they host the Kent Spitfires at the The Ageas Bowl on Thursday (2 June), followed by a trip to Glamorgan on Friday (3 June).

Hampshire squad:

Captain James Vince has been made available for both matches, returning from international duty with England, and West Indian all-rounder Darren Sammy will make his Hampshire debut against Kent on Thursday.

The inclusion of last season’s leading runs-scorer, Vince, and an international player highly experienced in the short format, Sammy, is a huge boost. Shahid Afridi will make his second Hampshire appearance, having proven effective with the ball in the opener at Uxbridge. Gareth Berg and Ryan Stevenson are also included in the 14-man squad. 

The Opposition:

Former Hants pair Matt Coles are David Griffiths are both likely to feature for Kent, who kicked off their NatWest T20 Blast campaign with an 8-wicket victory over Somerset, taking just 17 overs to reach 200. Daniel Bell-Drummond scored 83 off 47 balls in their opening match, and skipper Sam Northeast is a key threat with the bat. Fabian Cowdrey took 3-18 against Somerset, set to feature alongside Coles and Griffiths at the The Ageas Bowl on Thursday.

South African paceman Dale Steyn is set to make his Glamorgan debut against Essex Eagles on Wednesday, ahead of Hampshire’s visit to the Swalec Stadium on Friday - Steyn has made 42 T20 international appearances. Like Kent, Glamorgan also opened their Natwest T20 Blast campaign with an 8-wicket victory, comfortably defeating Surrey at the Oval, as Australian-born Netherlands bowler Timm Van der Gugten took 4-14.   

Did You Know?

• James Vince scored 165 runs against Kent in last year’s NatWest T20 Blast competition, including an unbeaten 99 at Canterbury.
• Hampshire have won back-to-back NatWest T20 Blast matches away in Wales against Glamorgan

Full Hampshire Squad: 

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.

Tickets:

Gates at the The Ageas Bowl open at 12 noon on Thursday, ahead of:

1.30pm start: Hampshire Second XI v Armed Forces XI

7pm start: Hampshire First XI v Kent Spitfires

All tickets for Armed Forces Day allow the holder to watch both matches on Thursday, so come and show your support for both games.  

Weather:

For a full forecast of Thursday's weather, please CLICK HERE.