Royals Ready for Finals Day Showdown

Captain Dimi Mascarenhas hopes to be fit again following injury

Preview and full Hampshire Royals squad ahead of Saturday's Friends Life t20 Finals Day at the SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff.

Hampshire Royals Squad
Friends Life t20 Finals Day
Saturday 25 August 2012
The SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff

The Hampshire Royals have named a 15-man squad for Friends Life t20 Finals Day, which will see both Semi-Finals and the Final all played on Saturday at the SWALEC Stadium, Cardiff.

Dimitri Mascarenhas’ team take on familiar foes Somerset in the Semi Final for the chance to play either the Sussex Sharks or Yorkshire Carnegie in the Final (starting at 6:45pm).

Should they win their Semi (which will be the second match of the day, starting at 2:30pm), they would also qualify for the Champions League which, this season, will be held in South Africa from 9 to 28 October.

They are missing their overseas signing Glenn Maxwell, who was selected for Australia’s One Day International and T20 International squads to take on Pakistan off the back of impressive performances for the Royals. Captain, Mascarenhas and seam-bowler Chris Wood will also take late fitness tests, the former following a shoulder injury sustained in early August and the latter with a groin strain suffered during this week’s LV= County Championship match against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

However, they do have the returning Michael Carberry as well as Bilal Shafayat able to fill a gap towards the top of the order or Hamza Riazuddin, David Griffiths and Kabir Ali who could come in if an extra bowling option is preferred.

Somerset, who the Royals beat in 2010’s Final to lift the trophy but lost to in last season’s Semi Final also have their own injury concerns. Nick Compton, who’s been the country’s top run-scorer in Championship cricket, has suffered a prolapsed disc and bowlers Alfonso Thomas and Max Waller are also doubts.

Nevertheless, having beaten each other once apiece in the “other” limited overs competition, the Clydesdale Bank 40, this season and having taken their last two Finals Day clashes to the last ball one thing can be guaranteed – the Semi-Final will be a cracker! Hampshire will be hoping the result – as well as that of the Final – match 2010’s home-turf heroics.

Hampshire skipper, Mascarenhas said; "There's a lot we can learn from having played Somerset before. We've been lucky enough to play them in the last few seasons a fair bit in this format. But then just as we know them, they know us. There's no real unknowns.

"We know where they like to hit and the only different thing that could come into it is the wicket."

On his own injury, he added; “I missed 2010’s Final through injury – there was no way I could have played. So I’m doing everything I possibly can to get out there on Saturday and I’m pretty confident I’ll be available.”

The full Hampshire squad for Saturday’s event is as follows...

(3) Simon Katich	(18) David Griffiths
(4) Jimmy Adams	(19) Danny Briggs
(7) Sean Ervine	(25) Chris Wood
(8) Liam Dawson	(33) Kabir Ali
(14) James Vince	(38) Hamza Riazuddin
(15) Michael Carberry	(44) Neil McKenzie
(16) Michael Bates†	(46) Bilal Shafayat
(17) Dimitri Mascarenhas*

In the case of bad weather this match does have a reserve day of Sunday 26 August. However, every attempt will be made to play the matches on Saturday. To that end, games can be reduced to as few as five overs per side to constitute a match and timings may move around accordingly. All tickets bought for Saturday can be exchanged for Sunday. For refund policy please visit www.glamorgancricket.com.

Coverage:

Live Text Cricket Updates	Get updates sent to your phone by texting "Follow @HantsCricket" to 86444 (see link for more details)
Radio Ball-by-Ball Commentary	BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
Online and on Radio Ball-by-Ball Commentary	BBC Radio Solent (Tune-In Radio Live Event No. 11)
Live TV Coverage	Sky Sports 1