Hampshire v Essex Eagles
Royal London Cup
The Ageas Bowl, Sunday 21 August
Team News:
Hampshire: Nick Gubbins (c), Ben Brown (wk), Tom Prest, Aneurin Donald, Fletcha Middleton, Toby Albert, Ian Holland, Felix Organ, Scott Currie, John Turner, Jack Campbell.
Essex Eagles: Feroze Khushi, Robin Das, Tom Westley (c), Grant Roelofsen (wk), Nick Browne, Luc Benkenstein, Aron Nijjar, Shane Snater, Jamal Richards, Ben Allison, Jamie Porter.
Match Details:
Umpires: Naeem Ashraf & Robert Bailey
Match Referee: Philip Whitticase
Toss: Essex Eagles won and elected to bat
Result: Hampshire won by 3 wickets
Scorecard: View Here
Match Highlights:
Match Report:
Essex Eagles fell to a narrow defeat in their final Royal London Cup Group B fixture of 2022, with Hampshire claiming victory by 3 wickets at The Ageas Bowl.
Hampshire had found themselves behind the rate despite Tom Prest’s 76 and required 78 from the last 10 overs on a pitch difficult to score on.
But Toby Albert, who had match-winning 84 and 65 not outs against Derbyshire and Lancashire, continued his form with 34 in 26 balls before Felix Organ, Ian Holland and Scott Currie took the hosts over the line.
Hampshire found timing the ball a chore almost from the off of their chase, as Nick Gubbins was brilliantly caught at slip by Khushi in the fourth over before Ben Brown was bowled.
Aneurin Donald added some impetus with a slog-swept and on-driven sixes and Prest looked at his most fluent during their 54-run partnership, the required run rate had gradually inclined though.
Donald was run out attempting a push and run and Fletcha Middleton’s attempt to wrestle back the rate saw him sky straight up.
Prest reached his third fifty of the competition in 73 balls before he hoisted to long off, having twice been dropped during his innings of 76.
But Albert’s flair in a vital 60-run partnership with Organ took Hampshire to 31 needed from 28. That was dragged down to 12 needed when Organ was caught at midwicket for 30.
That dozen was knocked off by Ian Holland and Scott Currie with 10 balls to spare.
Tom Westley had won the toss and chosen to bat, with Feroze Khushi and Robin Das rushing to 44 inside six overs but a bowling change to Jack Campbell reversed the momentum.
The fast left-hander struck with his fifth delivery when he found extra bounce to have Khushi caught behind before getting Tom Westley to loop to midwicket – both wickets sandwiched by Das flicking Ian Holland to deep square to leave Essex 48-3.
Grant Roelofson, the Eagles’ leading run-getter in the competition, lived a charmed life as he was dropped a couple of times before Toby Albert finally clung on under a steepler at deep square.
Nick Browne and Luc Benkenstein had also departed by this point, with Essex 112-6, with Aron Nijjar following when leg before to Nick Gubbins’ leg spin.
But Shane Snater and Richards recovered things and took the side towards a par score. Netherlands international Snater caught the eye with a huge slog sweep but it was his intelligent gap finding that accumulated runs quickly.
His maiden format fifty came in 51 balls during a 96-run stand with Richards, who only scored one boundary in his unbeaten 31. Snater was eventually caught at cover for 64 but Ben Allison thwacked two sixes to take Essex to 257-8.
