Maxwell's Silver Hammer Bludgeons Eagles

Match report from the Hampshire Royals' Friends Life t20 match against the Essex Eagles at Chelmsford

Essex Eagles v Hampshire Royals
Friends Life t20
Friday 29 June 2012
Ford County Ground, Chelmsford

Summary: Hampshire beat Essex by six wickets
Essex Eagles: 176-4
Hampshire Royals: 177-4 (18 ovs)
Scorecard
Concurrent Table

Eagles Team
Pettini, Franklin, Napier, ten Doeschate, Foster*†, Wheater, Smith, Westley, Phillips, Masters, Topley
Royals Team
Adams, Vince, Katich, McKenzie, Ervine, Maxwell, Dawson, Mascarenhas*, Wood, Bates†, Briggs

Glenn Maxwell struck 30 runs off a single over to turn this Friends Life t20 match from being a tight-one – probably being shaded by Essex – into a comfortable victory for Hampshire at the Ford County Ground, Chelmsford.

The prodigiously talented overseas signing proved lightning does strike twice as he showed all the traits exhibited in his game-changing knock against Kent again here, whacking six fours and four sixes in a 24-ball unbeaten 60 to guide his side to 177-4 and a six wicket victory with two overs to spare.

It meant he more than made up for bowling an expensive 20th over that went for 18 as a James Franklin (78)-led Essex innings recorded 176-4 from their full allocation.

The result means Hampshire have now won three in a row and leap-frog their opponents into second (and an automatic quarter-final qualification place) in the South Group ahead of Saturday’s return to The Ageas Bowl to take on Surrey in the same competition.

 

Having lost the toss and been put in to bat, Essex openers Franklin and Mark Pettini started quickly, hitting four sixes and three fours while scoring at a rate of 10-an-over for their first five. And with another over of powerplay still left to go things didn’t look promising for new bowler, Chris Wood.

But the left-arm seamer responded well, conceding just four off his first over, and that prompted not only a slowing of the run-rate, but also the wicket of Pettini (38) – caught by Wood at deep extra cover off Liam Dawson in the ninth.

Then, having assisted with one scalp, Wood [pictured below] took one of his own, encouraging Graham Napier (1) to inside-edge onto his own stumps. At this stage the Basingstoke-born player’s figures read 1 for 6 off 1.5 and the Royals were fighting back (in total, he conceded just one boundary off his four overs and ended with very good T20 figures of 1-21).

But Pettini had just picked up his 50 and was looking settled. Indeed, with five overs to go and his team on a delicately balanced 128-2 he might have been looking to accelerate. How important, then, that both he and the dangerous Dutchman Ryan ten Doeschate (22) would go in near carbon-copy fashion, both holing out to the deep to leave their side 154-4 with two overs left to go.

In the end the Eagles finished 176-4 – one run short of the total they had posted the night before against Sussex. They had lost that match off the penultimate ball and the Royals might have fancied their chances of repeating the beating when James Vince started promisingly, clubbing a first six of the innings off the first ball of the sixth over to help his side to 47-1 after the opening powerplay. That was only seven runs behind their opponents – who had subsequently slowed - at the same stage.

But then Essex made a bid for control of the match. Next over, Tim Phillips caught and bowled Vince (32) before having Neil McKenzie stumped first ball; Hampshire 47-3. That brought the Royals’ previous-match key partnership of Simon Katich (42*) and Sean Ervine together again. And, as good as the seventh over had been for the hosts, the 10th belonged to Hampshire as both men struck Greg Smith for six; 15 off the over leaving Hampshire 79-3 (requiring 98) at the half-way stage.

These two had put together a 69 run partnership against Middlesex two days earlier and, in doubling their team’s score here they certainly kept Hampshire in the match – if always a fraction behind the worm. The closeness of the two scores was there for all to see when, following Ervine’s (22) departure in the 12th over, the Royals were just two runs behind Essex’s 97-2 at the same stage.

So, if acceleration was what was needed, who better to join his fellow Australian at the crease than the ever-aggressive Maxwell? He swept two near-identical fours off an 11-run 14th over and the pressure clearly started to tell as home captain James Foster ran down the wicket to remonstrate with umpire Martin Saggers over a delivery called wide two overs later.

Big mistake. Maxwell, of course, is at his best when he smells blood and that was when he took the game by the scruff of the neck. Starting the 17th over on 23 he hit Phillips for 4, 6, 4, 6, 6, 4 to give his side 11 to win off 12 balls. A comparatively quiet next over lulled the crowd into a false sense of optimism before, off the final ball of the over – what else – a glorious fourth six of the Maxwell innings saw the Royals claim only a second T20 victory in these parts in nine attempts.

Words: Simon Vincent
Images: LMI Photography

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