Match Preview: Gloucestershire v Hampshire, Vitality Blast

Hampshire – coming off the back of consecutive Vitality Blast defeats against Kent Spitfires and Somerset – head to Bristol on Tuesday evening to face Gloucestershire who sit just two points above in the South Group, albeit having played a game more. This is sure to be a crucial game for James Vince’s men, who will be as determined as ever to secure a victory in order to stay in the hunt for quarter-final qualification.

Hampshire Squad:

An unchanged 14-man squad has been confirmed for Tuesday’s contest.

The one fixture of last week saw Hampshire fall to a defeat of 63 runs (DLS) as the The Ageas Bowl crowd were treated to a batting master class from Pakistan International opener Babar Azam. It was certainly not pure Somerset domination though as Chris Wood impressed with the ball in the early stages of the match once again, with the veteran Hampshire bowler gaining a wicket in his first over for the fourth time this year. The left-armer has been integral with the ball so far alongside Kyle Abbott, Liam Dawson and Chris Morris with the quartet accounting for 34 of the 44 wickets claimed in the competition so far. 

James Vince has been the most prolific with the bat for his side in this year’s Blast with his 218 runs coming at an average of 36.33 in seven innings, whilst Dawson, Rilee Rossouw and Aneurin Donald have all topped 100 runs so far.

The Opposition:

Michael Klinger’s Gloucestershire are sure to provide a testing prospect in Tuesday’s game, with an experienced batting line-up partnering a bowling attack with plenty of variety. The hosts, despite suffering a narrow defeat against Middlesex last time out, are still relatively fresh from victories against Kent Spitfires and Surrey and will be looking to resume winning ways in front of the Sky cameras on Tuesday.

Fan favourite Ian Cockbain and the versatile Ryan Higgins have been key performers with the bat so far this summer, totaling more than 350 runs between them so far in this year’s competition. With the ball, Gloucestershire are led by Australian paceman and limited-overs specialist Andrew Tye with reliable seamers and David Payne enjoying strong 2019 campaigns too – the trio have 29 wickets between them so far this summer.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Coverage:

Live 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. The match will also be broadcast live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link for the latest weather forecast in Bristol: http://ow.ly/Ovta30pllE3

Tickets:          

Tickets for Tuesday’s match against Gloucestershire at Bristol can be purchased online via the Gloucestershire website: https://www.gloscricket.co.uk/tickets/