Dawson Stars as Hampshire beat Bangladesh A

Aug 6 2013

Liam Dawson did well with both bat and ball

Hampshire v Bangladesh A
Tour Match
Tues 6 August 2013
The Ageas Bowl

Summary: Hampshire beat Bangladesh A by eight runs
Hampshire: 233 all out (49.1 ovs)
Bangladesh A: 215-9
Full Scorecard

Hampshire Team:
Roberts, Terry, London, Mascarenhas, Davey, Dawson, Rouse+, Riazuddin, King, Sheppard, Taylor
Bangladesh A Team:
Anamul Haque, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam*, Mominul Haque, Naeem Islam, Marshall Ayub, Farhad Reza, Sohag Gazi, Elias Sunny, Rubel Hossain, Robiul Islam

A somewhat one-sided, but nevertheless important last wicket partnership of 54 from Liam Dawson (97) and 16 year old debutant Brad Taylor (2*) turned out to the be difference between the two sides as Hampshire beat Bangladesh A by eight runs at The Ageas Bowl.

Having made 223 and all but seen out their 50 overs, the hosts limited their touring oponents to 215-9 from their full allocation... but some big hitting from Bangladeshi number 11, Robiul Islam certainly made it interesting at the end!

In truth, it could as easily have been billed as "Hampshire A" vs Bangladesh A as the hosts fielded a mixed team with their Second XI involved in a Second XI Championship match against Gloucestershire and the First XI preparing for an all-important Friends Life t20 Quarter Final clash against the Lancashire Lightning at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday night.

However, it will prove valuable experience for a number of youngsters and provide Dawson and Dimitri Mascarenhas - both of whom performed well - with some good preparation ahead of that knock-out round tie.

Bangladesh A won the toss and inserted Hampshire and, following some decent contributions from Mascarenhas and Michael Roberts (both 35), Dawson joined the action with the score on 86-4 in the 25th over. His first priority was to build steadily and that he did in partnership with Middlesex loanee, Josh Davey (19).

However, it wasn't until the all-rounder was joined by his young off-spinning number 11 that he really started to give it some tap. Taylor only saw four balls in the partnership as Dawson, at the other end, smashed 11 fours and three sixes (including a massive 19 runs off one Farhad Reza over).

But, on the brink of a first-ever List A century, a swat to square leg from Dawson in the final over of the innings saw him caught just three short of the landmark and the Hampshire innings come to an end.

Faced with a required rate of 4.5 to win, the tourists never looked like catching Hampshire, especially when Dawson (3-11 off seven overs) saw off two of the top three inside the opening nine overs.

He was ably supported from the other end by Mascarenhas who bowled with an economy rate (1.25) that would have been impressive in a First Class match, let alone a List A one, and once again it was Taylor who also shone, taking 2-23 off his seven overs.

With just under six overs to go (and one wicket remaining!) the 67 runs Bangladesh required seemed a tall order. However, the last 35 balls saw Robiul (34 off 19 balls) smack five sixes alongside Sunny Elias (45*) and, together, they put on their own 50-run partnership for the last wicket. 

22 were required off the final over and some more six-hitting hinted that that might be doable but, in the end, the visitors fell short. They will now go on to face Yorkshire in their next tour match on the 9th August.

Words: Simon Vincent
Images: LMI Photography