Match Preview: Surrey v Hampshire, LV= CC

Hampshire maintained their unbeaten start to this year’s LV= Insurance County Championship with a commanding performance against Gloucestershire last week, a match which saw them narrowly miss out on claiming a third successive victory to begin 2021.

James Vince’s side currently sit top of Group Two, having taken 58 points from the opening three matches, and will be looking to continue their strong early-season form as they travel to The Kia Oval to face Surrey in the latest round of red-ball action this week.

Hampshire Squad:

A 12-man squad has been named for this week’s fixture as Scott Currie is named in the travelling party alongside the starting XI that lined-up against Gloucestershire.

Hampshire’s top-order impressed once again at The Ageas Bowl last week with Ian Holland striking his second century in as many games and Tom Alsop also recording his second hundred of the season. Seven centuries have been struck by five different Hampshire batsmen in the opening three contests this season and they’ll be hoping for further success in the capital.

Spin duo Liam Dawson and Mason Crane were crucial to Hampshire almost securing a stunning final day win against Gloucestershire, bowling 107 overs between them across both innings – the pair will likely play an important role again this week.

Overseas seamer Mohammad Abbas has already claimed 16 wickets at an average of just 11.18 in his first three games for the Club – he currently sits fifth in the list of top wicket-takers in the competition – and will be key to Hampshire’s fortunes this week.

Fellow seamers Kyle Abbott and Brad Wheal have also enjoyed a strong start to the season, taking 11 wickets at just 23.36 and 20.81 apiece respectfully, and will also be integral to the side’s success.

Whilst Keith Barker and James Fuller have recently made their return to action as part of Hampshire Second XI, they remain unavailable as they continue to build back to full fitness. Aneurin Donald remains side-lined as his ACL rehabilitation continues.

Full Hampshire Squad:

Behind-Closed-Doors:

Hampshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship match against Surrey at The Kia Oval will be played behind-closed-doors, with no fans in attendance.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match 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 a live match centre with scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.

Hampshire Cricket will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the football community in taking part in a social media boycott from 15:00 BST on Friday 30th April to 23:59 BST on Monday 3rd May to show solidarity with football and amplify its message that nobody should have to suffer abuse, racism or harassment on social media because they play, or are involved in professional sport. As such no social media coverage will be available during these periods of the match.

The Hampshire Cricket App and www.ageasbowl.com/cricket remain the best way to stay close to the action and all things Hampshire Cricket, with the live stream and match coverage with these platforms unaffected by the boycott.

Weather Forecast:

Please click here for the weather forecast for The Kia Oval.