Match Preview: Hampshire v Lancashire - NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day 

Hampshire face Lancashire Lightning in the NatWest T20 Blast semi-final stage for the second time in as many years as this year’s competition reaches its climax.

James Vince’s side were victorious in their crucial quarter-final fixture against Worcestershire to see them reach a record sixth consecutive finals day and after falling short in last year’s semi-final, they will be hoping to make amends at Edgbaston this year.

Hampshire Squad:

Hampshire name an unchanged 15-man squad for Finals Day, with Gareth Berg, Joe Gatting, Mason Crane and Jimmy Adams all included in addition to the final eleven that featured in the convincing quarter-final victory.

The Opposition:

Lancashire secured their place at the 2015 semi-finals after an impressive win against South Group winners Kent in the first knock-out stage.

England keeper and destructive batsman Jos Buttler is available for Steven Croft’s side and is sure to be a threat after proving his hitting prowess with a match-winning half-century in their quarter-final.

However Lancashire will be without seamer Kyle Jarvis for the clash after he suffered a serious hand injury during a squad training session.

Did You Know?

• James Vince’s tally of 92 boundaries is the highest by any player in the 2015 T20 competition
• Vince needs just 14 more runs to go to the top of the run scorers’ chart for 2015, 37 more will also see him surpass Jason Roy’s record of 677 runs in a season
• Hampshire have won eight of the last nine T20 matches when batting first.

What The Team Say:

Hampshire skipper James Vince: ‘Six Finals Days is obviously an achievement and one that me and the rest of the guys are proud of – to be able to get there again this year is a testament to how well we’ve performed.

‘We’ve been (to Finals Day) a lot but haven’t done enough and won it in the last couple of years but we’re feeling confident heading into Saturday and hoping to put that right this year.’

Hampshire all-rounder Yasir Arafat: ‘I’m very excited about our chances, if we play to our potential we can win it. We’ve got a very good side; good spinners, all-rounders and match-winners – we’ll keep it simple, focus on the semi-final and then hopefully the final.’

Hampshire Squad:

Michael Carberry, James Vince (c), Adam Wheater, Owais Shah, Liam Dawson, Joe Gatting, Jimmy Adams, Sean Ervine, Will Smith, Gareth Berg, Chris Wood, Yasir Arafat, Danny Briggs, Mason Crane, Fidel Edwards.

Coverage:

Live text commentary will be available via the Hampshire Cricket Twitter and Facebook pages. A feed to these will also be available on this page.

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

The game is also live on Sky Sports Two HD along with the first semi-final fixture and final. Coverage starts at 10:30am.

Weather Forecast:

Please click here to view the latest weather forecast for Edgbaston

Additional Information:

Please note that Sunday 30^th August is the designated reserve day for Finals Day.

Tickets:

Please note that General Admission tickets are fully sold out.