Essex v Hampshire Hawks
Vitality Blast
The Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford
Thursday 20 June 2024 | 7:00pm
Team News
Essex: Adam Rossington+, Dean Elgar, Michael Pepper, Jordan Cox, Paul Walter, Matt Critchley, Charlie Allison, Simon Harmer*, Luc Benkenstein, Shane Snater, Ben Allison.
Hampshire Hawks: Ben McDermott+, James Vince*, Fletcha Middleton, Toby Albert, Joe Weatherley, Benny Howell, James Fuller, Michael Neser, Brad Wheal, John Turner, Chris Wood.
Match Details
Umpires: Ian Blackwell & Anthony Harris
Scorers: Paul Parkinson & Fiona Newnham
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex won the toss and opted to bowl first
Result: Essex won by eight wickets
Scorecard: View here
Match Highlights
Match Reaction: Ben Allison
Match Report
Ben Allison claimed three wickets before Dean Elgar kept up his fine form by striking an unbeaten 60 off 44 as Essex completed an eight-wicket demolition job of Hampshire Hawks at The Cloud County Ground.
Elgar smashed his second fifty in a row, while Jordan Cox amassed an unbeaten 45 from 25 and hammered the winning four as the Eagles chased down Hampshire’s 166-7 for the loss of just two wickets in 16.5 overs.
Earlier, Joe Weatherley top-scored for Hampshire with a measured 48 before falling to Allison, who ended the innings with 3/44 alongside Matt Critchley’s 2/20 to heavily restrict Hampshire.
Having opted to insert the Hawks after winning the toss, the Essex attack found early joy as dangerous openers, Ben McDermott and James Vince, were both removed for 15.
Ben Allison was involved in both, first seeing Australian McDermott caught by Michael Pepper on the square leg boundary, before turning catcher himself off Shane Snater to take the huge wicket of Vince.
Young pair Fletcha Middleton and Joe Weatherley managed to rebuild, with their stand of 47 helped Hampshire to halfway without further loss, though the bowlers retained the upper hand at 78-2.
Paul Walter provided the breakthrough two balls into the 11th over, removing Middleton via an Adam Rossington catch for a run-a-ball 18, and there was further joy when Albert followed for 10.
It was Matt Critchley who was the architect of his downfall, with Charlie Allison claiming his maiden senior T20 catch to complete the job.
Hampshire remained in trouble at 117-6 when Benny Howell’s scratchy cameo of five from ten balls was ended lbw by Critchley, before Weatherley became Allison’s second victim in the same way.
A speedy unbeaten 39 from James Fuller off 18 deliveries gave the visitors some impetus at the end that they were otherwise sorely lacking, enabling them to at least post a target in excess of 160.
The final wicket was Allison’s third, with Elgar claiming an impressive high catch to see off Michael Neser for 12, before Walter finished the job by conceding just one from the final three balls.
Adam Rossington gave Essex a rip-roaring start, bashing back-to-back sixes as part of three consecutive boundaries on his way to an eight-ball 18 as the Eagles soared to 61-1 after the powerplay.
Elgar and Michael Pepper pressed on in typically aggressive fashion, trading boundaries aplenty to see the hosts breeze past 100 in just the ninth over, and reach 108-1 at halfway.
That left Essex with the relatively simple task of needing less than a run per ball in the remainder of the innings, and opener Elgar continued his purple patch by reaching a 34-ball fifty in the 12th over.
Pepper fell to a Neser catch off Chris Wood before he was able to do the same, though his effort of 44 from just 24, that included three sixes, kept the rate ticking.
He handed the reins to Cox, who allowed the Hawks bowlers no let-up, and alongside Elgar, steered the Eagles to a dominant victory with more than three full overs to spare.
The Eagles Have Landed: The 2024 Vitality Blast at The Cloud County Ground
Friday 05 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Somerset – SOLD OUT
Thursday 11 July, 7:00pm: Essex v Kent Spitfires – buy here
Sunday 14 July, 2:30pm: Essex v Surrey – buy here
