Essex Eagles v Hampshire
Vitality Blast
Thursday 01 August
The Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford
Essex Eagles Team: Tom Westley, Cameron Delport, Adam Wheater (wk), Ryan ten Doeschate, Dan Lawrence, Paul Walter, Shane Snater, Simon Harmer (c), Mohammed Amir, Adam Zampa, Matthew Quinn.
Hampshire Team: Aneurin Donald, Rilee Rossouw, James Vince (c), Sam Northeast, Liam Dawson, Chris Morris, James Fuller, Lewis McManus (wk), Chris Wood, Kyle Abbott, Mason Crane.
Umpires: Jeremy Lloyds & Russell Warren
Result: Hampshire won by 7 wickets
Match Highlights:
Match Report:
Essex Eagles crashed to defeat in their Vitality Blast clash with Hampshire at The Cloudfm County Ground after they were bowled out for just 133 in 16.4 overs.
Put into bat, they had reached 81 for the loss of only one wicket, but then capitulated to leave the visitors to cruise to a 7-wicket triumph with 26 balls to spare.
After Cameron Delport departed to the first ball of the match, when he edged to Liam Dawson at slip when facing Chris Wood.
Tom Westley and Adam Wheater then set about repairing the damage and seemed to have paved the way to a testing total.
Westley struck three sixes and three fours in making 44 from 29 deliveries whilst Wheater struck a six among his five boundaries when compiling 39 from 26 balls. But once Westley was bowled by left-arm spinner Dawson, the floodgates opened.
Wheater clipped a Mason Crane leg-break to mid-wicket and the remainder of the Eagles batsman, apart from Paul Walter surrendered timidly. The departure of Westley signalled a disintegration that saw nine wickets tumble in the space of 47 balls while 52 runs were scored.
Half of those came from Walter whose unbeaten 26 came off 13 deliveries and included one six and three fours.
Crane was the main beneficiary of the Eagles demise returning 3 for 24 from his four overs while Wood and Dawson picked up 2 for 18 and 2 for 31 respectively.
Essex welcomed Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir for his first appearance of the season following and he struck with his second ball when Hampshire replied.
Aneurin Donald drove the first ball to the boundary but his stumps were left in disarray from the next Amir delivery. But any hopes the hosts may have entertained of making a fight of it were soon to evaporate once James Vince joined Rilee Rossouw in the middle.
Vince was to collect an entertaining half-century from 34 balls with the help of eight fours and a six. Vince ended up sharing a stand of 78 in 9 overs before Rossouw was caught on the boundary edge for 25 when straight driving Simon Harmer.
The Essex captain struck again by bowling Sam Northeast for 13 with the visitors just two runs short of victory but Vince was to finish with an unbeaten 87 from 54 balls. He smashed 3 sixes and 12 fours as Hampshire secured their first victory at Chelmsford in five attempts.
The Eagles return quickly to Vitality Blast action when they travel to Bristol to face Gloucestershire on Friday night.
