Essex Eagles v Hampshire Hawks
Vitality Blast
The Cloud County Ground
Tuesday 31 May, 7pm start
Essex Eagles are looking to get back to winning ways and have named an unchanged 13-man squad for the visit of Hampshire Hawks to The Cloud County Ground this Tuesday, with T20 cricket set to return to Chelmsford for the first time in 2022.
Simon Harmer’s side got their T20 campaign off to the perfect start last Friday, defeating Kent Spitfires in the Battle of the Bridge at The Spitfire Ground after chasing down a target of 185. However, that was followed up with a trip to Somerset which didn’t go according to plan, with the hosts winning by 6 wickets in a rain-affected match at Taunton.
Squad:
Opposition:
The Hampshire Hawks were narrowly defeated in their Vitality Blast opener against Middlesex last Friday, losing by 10 runs at The Ageas Bowl. Having won the toss and elected to field first, Hawks skipper James Vince saw his side reduce the visitors to 14-3 after 2.5 overs. However, a 77-run partnership in just under 10 overs between Max Holden and Jack Davies helped steer Middlesex back on track, eventually seeing them to a score of 163-6.
The Hawks raced out the blocks and had already scored 46 of their required 164 before losing the wicket of Ben McDermott after 4.5 overs. That however was the start a mini-collapse, with Aneurin Donald, Joe Weatherley and Liam Dawson going cheaply, with Hampshire 58-4 after 8.4 overs. Despite a 48-run partnership from Vince and Whiteley, it was too much to chase down, with the Hawks falling 10 runs short.
Head to Head:
How to Watch:
There will be a Live Stream of the match from The Cloud County Ground available. You can watch this via the Essex Cricket Matchzone on essexcricket.org.uk, which also includes a live scorecard, statistics and key clips of the action.
Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
Last time out:
Last time the Eagles faced Hampshire Hawks in T20 cricket was back in July 2021, when Simon Harmer’s side were narrowly defeated by 18 runs at The Ageas Bowl.
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat, and Vince and D’Arcy Short put on a 69-run opening stand within 9 overs which paved the way for the rest of the Hawks batters to play with freedom and control.
Vince went on to make 63 whist Colin de Grandhomme added 32 add wicket-keeper Lewis McManus scored 25 to help Hampshire to 171-8, with Sam Cook recording impressive figures of 3/34 from his 4 overs. Spinners Aron Nijjar and Simon Harmer also picked up 2 wickets apiece.
The Eagles didn’t get off to the greatest start, losing opener Adam Wheater in the first over, but Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence steadied the ship with an 80-run partnership, setting up a good finish.
However, after Westley fell in the 10th over, wickets started to fall and the Eagles crashed to 129-7 after 16.3 overs. Harmer and Nijjar gave some resistance but their efforts were in vain as the game ended in defeat as they were bowled out for 153 in 19.2 overs, 18 short of the hosts score.
Tickets:
There are a very limited number of tickets still available for tomorrow night’s Vitality Blast fixture against Hampshire Hawks. In order to be one of the first to cheer the Eagles on in the 2022 Vitality Blast season, purchase tickets via the button below.
