T20 Blast: Hampshire Face Essex and Gloucestershire

NatWest T20 Blast (South Division) 

Essex Eagles v Hampshire

Friday 24 June (7.00-10.00pm)

Chelmsford

&

Hampshire v Gloucestershire

Saturday 25 June (1.30-4.30pm)

The Ageas Bowl

Hampshire have the chance to get back on track in the NatWest T20 Blast when they take on Essex Eagles at Chelmsford on Friday (24 June), followed by Gloucestershire’s visit to the The Ageas Bowl on Saturday (25 June).

Saturday's contest is also the The Ageas Bowl's Family Festival fixture meaning a whole host of free family-friendly activities will be available to enjoy alongside the on-field action.

Get up to speed with everything on offer on Saturday by clicking here.

Hampshire Squad:

Darren Sammy is set to bow out of this year’s competition at the The Ageas Bowl on Saturday, departing for the Caribbean Premier League.

Sean Ervine returns to his role as stand-in skipper on Friday in James Vince’s absence, as Shahid Afridi revisits Chelmsford, the ground where he made his Hampshire debut.

Liam Dawson hit 46 runs off 34 balls in Hampshire’s latest match against Somerset, equalling his best T20 knock, which he registered away at Middlesex on the opening day of the club’s campaign.

The Opposition:

Essex batsman Jesse Ryder remained unbeaten as his compiled a career-best innings of 107 runs when the sides last met, and he needs 29 more runs for 3000 in the NatWest T20 Blast. Tom Westley has batted consistently this season, averaging 35 in his five matches.

Matthew Quinn is Essex’s leading T20 wicket-taker with seven, including the scalps of Roy and Sangakkara, whilst a hattrick for Graham Napier at Middlesex suggested the 36-year-old medium-pacer is coming into form.

Gloucestershire batsmen Michael Klinger and Hamish Marshall hit an opening stand of 126 against Essex at Chelmsford, whilst Former Hants bowler Benny Howell has claimed 12 Twenty20 wickets this year. 

Did You Know?

• Essex have only managed one win in seven attempts versus Hampshire
• Sean Ervine was Man of the Match when Hampshire secured their first T20 victory at Chelmsford in June 2009, taking three wickets, two catches and hitting 39 runs off 22 balls.
• 3 out of 3: Hampshire have a 100% T20 record against Gloucestershire at the The Ageas Bowl.
• Hampshire defeated Gloucestershire by 2 runs in June 2014, helped along by Will Smith’s (3-26) removal of the visitors’ opening pair

What The Team Say:

Full Squad:

Coverage: 

Saturday’s match between Hampshire and Gloucestershire will be broadcast on Sky Sports 2 (coverage starts at 1pm). 

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

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

Tickets:

Tickets for Hampshire v Gloucestershire (Sat 25 June) are available to purchase via the The Ageas Bowl’s online ticketing website, over the phone on 0844 847 1863 or in person at the The Ageas Bowl’s Ticketing and Membership Office (Mon - Fri: 9am - 5pm) as well as on the gate on Saturday.

Tickets are only available to purchase online and over the phone until 5pm on Friday - tickets are available to purchase on the gate from 11:30am on Saturday.

Tickets are only available at the advance rate listed above until 5pm on Friday - after this point tickets will only be available at the standard rate.

Those with tickets for the abandoned Hampshire v Sussex Sharks match (Fri 17 June) can exchange these tickets for Hampshire v Gloucestershire tickets on Saturday at the Matchday Ticket Office from 11:30am.

Phone: 0844 847 1863

Family Festival:

Saturday's match will be played out against the backdrop of the The Ageas Bowl's annual Family Festival, with a whole host of free-family friendly activities and entertainment installed on-site.