Match Preview: Yorkshire v Hampshire - Specsavers County Championship

Three victories from the first four Specsavers County Championship fixtures, including an excellent 244-run win over Nottinghamshire at Newclose last week, have seen Hampshire begin this year’s four-day campaign in good style.

Sam Northeast’s side head to Headingley this week in search of another positive result as they face Yorkshire in the latest instalment of red-ball action.

Hampshire Squad:

A 13-man squad has been named for the trip to Yorkshire, with Rilee Rossouw returning after being rested for the victory against Nottinghamshire. Brad Wheal and James Fuller are also included in the travelling party.

Joe Weatherley suffered a quad injury in Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup final and is unavailable for this fixture, whilst Liam Dawson and James Vince remain unavailable for selection due to their international commitments as part of England’s World Cup squad.

Fresh from his magnificent century on debut, overseas batsman Ajinkya Rahane will feature once again, whilst Sam Northeast – with which he shared a match-winning partnership at Newclose – leads the side. The stand-in skipper continued his fantastic start to the season this week, striking his second hundred of the campaign and taking his run total to 511 runs – topping the list of leading run-getters so far this season.

The Opposition:

Yorkshire’s 2019 County Championship campaign has begun well with two victories and a draw in their opening three fixtures taking them to third in Division One, one place behind Hampshire who occupy second spot.

They picked up a comfortable 172-run win last time out against Kent, with Gary Balance striking his third century in as many matches to guide his side to victory – he’ll be looking to continue that good form next week.

Overseas seamer Duanne Olivier is likely to be Yorkshire’s biggest threat with the ball with the South African impressing during the first months since joining this winter having taken 16 wickets at 29.69 apiece so far.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Coverage:

Ball-by-ball coverage and match highlights will be available via the Hampshire Cricket App and at ageasbowl.com/cricket.

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

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast for Headingley: http://ow.ly/ey7B30oPcqz

Tickets:

Tickets for all four days of Hampshire’s match against Yorkshire at Headingley can be purchased online via the Yorkshire website: https://www.yorkshireccc.com/