Hampshire Hawks v Essex Eagles | Essex Eagles v Middlesex
Vitality Blast
The Ageas Bowl, Southampton | The Cloud County Ground
Thursday 09 June, 7pm | Friday 10 June, 7pm
The Eagles started a crucial week of Vitality Blast cricket in fine style last night as they secured a convincing victory against Kent Spitfires, maintaining their winning streak at home.
It was the first of three games in the week for the Eagles as they next face Hampshire Hawks in Southampton on Thursday before they return to Chelmsford to face Middlesex the following day.
Yesterday’s win over Kent, the second of the season, lifted the Eagles to third in the South Group table.
Squad:
A 14-man squad has been named for the back-to-back fixtures with Feroze Khushi being added to the 13 players named in the squad to face Kent Spitfires.
The Opposition: Hampshire Hawks
After a surprisingly slow start to the competition for the two-time T20 champions where they lost four on the trot, including a heavy loss at the hands of the Eagles, the Hawks have recovered in recent days.
A season of two halfs for Hampshire started with fairly heavy losses at the hands of Middlesex, Somerset, the Eagles and Surrey respectively. However, a promotion to the top of the order for captain James Vince triggered a return to form for Hampshire who have since beaten Sussex Sharks and Middlesex. With the two victories from their first six games, the Hawks are 8th in the South Group table.
Ben McDermott and James Vince lead the run-scoring charts for the Hawks with 239 and 181 runs respectively. Both also have two half-centuries each, the only Hawks batters to reach the landmark this year, both coming in the two recent victories.
With the ball, Liam Dawson is the leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets at 15.25 and an impressive economy of 7.17.
Head to Head:
Last time out: Hampshire Hawks
Last time out against Hampshire Hawks was Essex Eagles’ first home game of the 2022 Vitality Blast and a packed crowd saw Essex notch their second victory of the campaign.
The Eagles won the toss and decided to field, a decision that was rewarded as the Hampshire batters struggled for momentum, with Sam Cook bowling accurate overs that stopped the scoring; his first over was a wicket maiden.
The Hawks, on 59, lost Ben McDermott at the start of the eleventh over. They needed the middle order to provide some resistance and, most notably, Weatherley provided that by scoring 37 before Harmer took his second of the game with a sharp caught and bowled.
Essex returnee Liam Dawson and all-rounder James Fuller scored some much-needed late boundaries to drag Hampshire up to 150-6.
Essex’s response didn’t get off to the greatest of start as opener Buttleman was caught and bowled for just 9 in the second over. Rossington followed him back to the pavilion just a few overs later, but only after some positive batting had moved the score on to 52-2 .
But this was to be the last of the Essex wickets to fall, as Michael Pepper and Matt Critchley smashed the Hampshire bowlers all over the park. Player of the Match Michael Pepper, who hit 9 fours and 4 sixes, scored a match-winning 75 off just 42 balls. Accompanied by Matt Critchley, who himself hit 5 fours and 2 sixes, as he scored 45 off 24 balls.
The Opposition: Middlesex
Middlesex’s start to the competition is nearly the complete reserve of Hampshire’s. After winning their opening three games they were sat near the top of the table and looking well-placed, but three defeats on the bounce has left them in 6th position in the South Group table and needing a win.
After an excellent run of form in 2021, Stephen Eskinazi has once again been at the fore of Middlesex’s success, scoring 208 runs at 34.66 with an incredible strike rate of 170.49.
Martin Andersson and Toby Roland-Jones have been Middlesex’s stand-outs with the ball. Andersson has 10 wickets at 18.90 and Roland-Jones has 9 at just 15.33. However, no Middlesex bowler has an economy rate of below 8 runs per over, a stat they’ll be wanting to change.
Head to Head:
Last time out:
The Eagles last faced Middlesex in July 2021 when a tight encounter ended in a Middlesex victory at The Cloud County Ground.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Middlesex amassed 169-5. Their innings was propped up by a 60 for Sam Robson and some late-order hitting from Daryl Mitchell whose 43 included three maximums.
It proved slightly too much for the Eagles who fell 9 runs short as Tom Westley, Dan Lawrence, James Neesham and Josh Rymell all got scores but couldn’t go on.
How to Watch:
Thursday evening’s game against Hampshire Hawks will be live-streamed courtesy of a feed provided by our hosts and will be available via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
On Friday, the Eagles return home and a Live Stream will be available through the Essex Cricket TV YouTube channel or via the Essex Cricket Matchzone, here.
Soar with the Eagles:
The Cloud County Ground has been rocking so far this Vitality Blast season with the Eagles winning both of their fixtures.
A final 100 tickets have become available for Friday’s nights fixture against Middlesex. You will be able to purchase them by clicking the button below but act fast as they won’t be available for long.
