Match Preview: Kent Spitfires v Hampshire - Royal London One-Day Cup

MATCH PREVIEW

Kent Spitfires v Hampshire

Royal London One-Day Cup

 Thursday 27^th April (11:00 - 19:00)

Canterbury

Hampshire will be hoping to enhance their recent record of five wins in six visits to Kent when they open their 2017 Royal London One-Day Cup account against last year’s quarter-finalists at Canterbury.

Hampshire Squad:

Bowlers Reece Topley and Chris Wood are available for Hampshire’s first action in the 2017 competition, having been absent from last year’s competition due to injury. 

Topley’s first one-day involvement for Hampshire comes after taking wickets on his return to Specsavers County Championship action, helping secure the side’s recent home draw against Yorkshire.

Rilee Rossouw (finger) and Fidel Edwards (hamstring) are unavailable for this fixture due to injury, though England Lions batsman Tom Alsop - one of Hampshire’s prominent figures in the 2016 campaign - is available for selection after a busy winter featuring for the Lions and in the ECB’s North v South series.

Skipper James Vince and Liam Dawson provide international experience in the fifty-over format; Dawson was the highest-scoring Hampshire batsman in the Royal London One-Day Cup last season, averaging 72.

The Opposition:

Kent Spitfires won five of their eight group-stage matches in 2016, finishing two places above Hampshire in third, and were edged out at the quarter-final stage by Yorkshire.

Formerly of Hampshire, Maidstone-born bowler Matt Coles was the leading wicket-taker in the 2016 Royal London-Day Cup, whilst Joe Denly’s 428 runs in last year’s competition projected him to eighth in the batting charts, averaging 61.    

Recent Form:

Kent won by five wickets when the sides met last July, as Daniel Bell-Drummond and Denly produced an opening partnership of 203 runs to help the Spitfires chase down Hampshire’s 230-run target.

Hampshire’s latest One-Day Cup outing on the road was a comprehensive 186-run victory at Glamorgan, Dawson scoring an unbeaten century and Will Smith recording 84 with the bat.

Did You Know?

• Hampshire have claimed victories in five of their last six matches away at Kent
• Tom Alsop hit 83 not out in Hampshire’s opening match of the 2016 campaign, following up with a fifty against Gloucestershire 

Full Hampshire Squad:

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.

Tickets:

Please visit the official Kent CCC website for ticket details: www.kentcricket.co.uk/tickets-and-shop/