Match Preview: Hampshire v Essex Royal London Cup

Hampshire will get their Royal London Cup campaign underway tomorrow when they face Essex at The Ageas Bowl in the competition’s curtain-raiser.

A superb finish to the Vitality Blast group stage saw Hampshire progress to the knockout stages by the barest of margins for the first time since 2017, and they’ll be hoping to transfer their strong form heading into this summer’s List A competition, with Kyle Abbott taking the reins as captain.

Hampshire Squad:

A 13-man squad has been announced for this week’s opening contest.

Abbott will lead the side with James Vince absent due to his commitments with The Hundred. Liam Dawson, Mason Crane and Chris Wood will also be away with their respective franchises for the competition, providing an opportunity for Hampshire's rising stars perform on the county stage alongside a significant number of first-team regulars.

Youngsters including Tom Prest and Toby Albert, fresh from making their debuts in recent weeks, are set to feature alongside more senior homegrown talent, including Joe Weatherley, Lewis McManus and Tom Alsop. There could also be debuts for the likes of Fletcha Middleton and John Turner who are still yet to make their first professional appearance for the Club.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Fan Attendance & Tickets:

Tickets for Hampshire’s 50-over match against Essex at The Ageas Bowl can be purchased online via https://www.eticketing.co.uk/ageasbowl, on the Hampshire Cricket App or over the phone on 023 8047 2002 (Opt 2).

Coverage:

A live stream will be available for the matches and a link to this stream will be available in the free-to-download Hampshire Cricket App and at www.ageasbowl.com/cricket.

Both the Hampshire Cricket App and www.ageasbowl.com/cricket will also host live match centres with scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout.

Weather Forecast:

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for The Ageas Bowl: www.bbc.co.uk/weather/6620360