Story: Taking Hampshire to Glory

[jazzyfizzle0]

Wow not seen anything like that Middlesex match on a CC T20 game before. What sort of aggression were you using?

[MateGaming]

Wow not seen anything like that Middlesex match on a CC T20 game before. What sort of aggression were you using?

Me neither, I still can't really believe it!

I always start on two bars below the maximum and then increase to one bar below once they are more settled (usually around 20-30 runs). Depending on wickets in hand, I usually go max aggression for the final couple of overs.

I only tend to drop aggression below two bars from maximum if we are losing wickets or facing a world class bowler.

[jazzyfizzle0]

Yep pretty similar tactic to what I use. Promising signs that the T20 engine might be a little easier to score runs

[MateGaming]

10th June 2020
Hampshire vs Essex
T20 Blast (South Group)
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Hampshire make one change from the win against Gloucestershire: Kyle Abbott returns in place of Ryan Stevenson. Essex have a strong lineup and sit in second place in the table. Hampshire won the toss and chose to bat, in the hopes that they can continue their recent success batting first.

Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Fuller, Taylor, Abbott, Wood, Crane, Afridi
Essex: Chopra, Lawrence, Westley, ten Doeschate, Henriques, Delport, Wheater, Harmer, Zampa, S Cook, Porter

Hampshire have started their last few games very well but this match was a polar opposite, as they had only reached 10-1 after four overs. They finally started to find the rope in the fifth over but Northeast appeared to be struggling for form. The pair continued to score at less than a run a ball until the tenth over when Vince cleared the rope off Zampa, but was then bowled two overs later by Harmer. Northeast finally looked to have found some rhythm when he hit Harmer for 14 off three balls, and was then dropped by Wheater the very next ball. Alsop then hit fours off Henriques and then Zampa, before Northeast cleared the square-leg boundary off the former with three overs remaining. Northeast was out on the first ball of the penultimate over, but hard-hitting all-rounder Fuller hit his first two balls for six. Porter took the final over and conceded 18 from it, all from the bat of Alsop, as the wicketkeeper-batsman looked to finally find some form this year, striking his third T20 fifty at a strike rate of 200, as Hampshire finished on 185-3 - a very good effort considering the start they had. (manhattan graph attached to show the contrast between first/second half of the innings)

Hampshire then had the perfect start with the ball when Afridi bowled Lawrence for a golden duck. Abbott's first ball was hooked for six by Westley, but the South African responded well, nicking him off 27. Essex ended the powerplay on 62-2, by no means out of the game yet, until Dawson removed ten Doeschate lbw with his third delivery and Crane had Henriques caught behind an over later, Essex now 65-4. Delport failed to live up to his aggressive reputation and fell in the same way as Henriques for a duck. The rate was up at 10 and the pressure told on Wheater who also fell for a duck. Chopra was still in on 36* but was quickly running out of partners, especially when Harmer was plumb in front first ball. A third golden duck of the innings followed as Crane trapped Zampa leg-before, followed by Cook in the same method of dismissal just two balls later. The collapse was then ended as Porter skied Dawson to Taylor to become the seventh batsman of the innings to go without troubling the scorers. Essex had lost 8 wickets for just 14 runs in 4.2 overs in a collapse of truly extraordinary proportions, with Hampshire's spinners running riot from the end of the powerplay, taking four wickets each (and Mason Crane recording career-best T20 figures of 4-3), leaving poor Chopra stranded on 38*.

Hampshire won by 109 runs
MOTM: Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Points: Hampshire 2, Essex 0

Wow! After being 10-1 after 4 overs, the last thing I expected was to win by 109 runs! Our score is owed hugely to Tom Alsop, who scored 60* at a rate of two runs per ball, to allow us to score more than 110 runs from the final ten overs, as well as Fuller's thrilling 13* off just 3 balls. After starting well with the ball, we never really looked back as the two spinners put in unbelievable bowling performances, though there was certainly some questionable batting there from Essex, who were somehow second in the group before this match. We now have three wins from three and are looking much, much better than in the opening two games. In fact, unbelievably, we sit top of the group, albeit having played one more game than Sussex who are directly below us. And conveniently, Sussex away is our next game in an early top-of-the-table clash, coming soon. Also, whilst this match was going on, Scotland were playing New Zealand in a solitary T20 match: Hampshire bowler Brad Wheal finished with 0-31 from 4.

[MateGaming]

12th June 2020
Sussex vs Hampshire
T20 Blast (South Group)
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Hampshire will bowl first for the first time this competition as they decided to chase. Overcast conditions are expected for the first half of the game, which could have had an impact on their decision. Hampshire are unchanged, and there's no Virat Kohli or Jofra Archer for Sussex, though they still have a strong side who will be looking to end Hampshire's three-match winning run.

Sussex: van Zyl, Wright, Evans, Bopara, Rawlins, Brown, Wiese, Jordan, Robinson, Beer, Khan
Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Fuller, Taylor, Abbott, Wood, Crane, Afridi

The decision to bowl first seemed to have paid off when Wood bowled opener van Zyl in the second over, and it appeared to be further vindicated when Wright chipped a return catch to the same bowler. Evans was then trapped lbw, before a disastrous bit of play saw Rawlins run out for 1. Sussex ended the powerplay on 36-4 and in deep trouble. The spinners bowled tightly and Dawson finished with exceptional figures of 1-15 from his four overs. But when Wiese arrived at the crease, the runs began to flow as Hampshire struggled to contain the pair. Crane struck with the first ball of his final over as he had Brown caught in the deep, before bowling Jordan three balls later. Hampshire did their best to keep Wiese off-strike, and Afridi delivered a fantastic maiden to Robinson in his last over. Sussex could manage only five runs from the last over, as Abbott closed out the innings well to finish as the pick of the bowlers with 3-23. Hampshire would require 131 to win.

Hampshire didn't start particularly fluently, but Rossouw and Northeast both hit multiple boundaries during the second half of the field restrictions, with Hampshire eventually reaching 41-1 after the powerplay. And this time, the introduction of Rashid Khan didn't immediately bring a collapse; Hampshire were patient and only punished the bad balls, still taking 17 from his first two overs. Beer fared better, however, as he had Rossouw caught behind in the ninth over, before Northeast cleared the boundary off Khan, Hampshire 71-2 at halfway. Alsop took ten off Beer's final over to reduce the rate to below six, before then dispatching Jordan over square leg for another maximum. Two economical overs then followed, but Jordan's third went for twelve as Hampshire then needed only 19 runs from the final four overs. They reached the total from the first ball of the final over, as Northeast also brought up his fifty in the process. Sussex still remain top of the group on net run rate, after they hammered Middlesex in their game in hand, but Hampshire look in excellent form at the moment with four wins from four.

Hampshire won by 8 wickets
MOTM: Kyle Abbott (Hampshire)
Points: Sussex 0, Hampshire 2

We definitely seemed to make the correct decision in bowling first as we were very efficient in restricting runs and taking wickets against a strong Sussex side. We were then always pretty comfortable when chasing and rarely had to exert ourselves, sealing the victory in the final over.

[MateGaming]

14th June 2020
Hampshire vs Warwickshire
County Championship (Div 1)
Warwickshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

After Brad Wheal took three wickets for Scotland against New Zealand in their only ODI, he returns to the squad and keeps his place in the XI as we return to Championship cricket. However, two enforced changes have been made: Lewis McManus is still injured and so must be left out of our most recent Championship XI, and Nathan Lyon is on international duty. Since we have again prepared a pitch to suit spin, we bring two spinners into the side: Brad Taylor and Mason Crane make their first Championship appearances of the season. Warwickshire are still bottom of Division One so Hampshire will be hoping for a fourth consecutive First Class victory.

Hampshire: Organ, Holland, Vince*, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Taylor, Barker, Abbott, Crane, Wheal
Warwickshire: Rhodes, Hain, Bell, Burgess, Pollock, Yates, Lamb, Stone, Patel, Miles, Hannon-Dalby

Warwickshire began very well to take full advantage of the favourable batting conditions on Day 1. It took until more than midway through the afternoon session before Hampshire finally broke the opening partnership, with Crane trapping Hain lbw. It definitely seemed like spin-to-win for Hampshire from then onwards, as Crane had bell caught, and Taylor dismissed Rhodes for his first wicket of the season. The collapse continued as Burgess edged to Organ off Crane, but Pollock and Yates countered with a thrilling partnership as they both attacked the spinners. Hampshire took the new ball immediately and former Warwickshire seamer Barker repaid Vince's faith, as he took a stunning hat-trick, owing somewhat to Organ who took an unbelievable catch in the gully to dismiss Patel. Wheal then pinned Hannon-Dalby to end the innings on 331, a decent first effort from the Warwickshire lineup.

Hampshire's openers were separated early as Stone removed Organ, and then Patel bowled Vince shortly after the score passed 50. Northeast then got off the mark by whipping Miles for six, but he didn't last long as Patel took his second wicket. Holland passed fifty with a single off the Kiwi spinner, continuing his excellent Championship form, and continued to rebuild with Alsop whose return to form was also carrying through into the Championship. Shortly after tea on Day 2, Holland reached his century, his fourth overall and third of the season (second in the Championship). He was eventually caught on Nelson, but Alsop carried on his form and reached his own hundred before close of play, the third of his career and second against this opposition. He was accounted for by Stone, but Dawson contributed his highest score of the season, ably supported by Taylor, as the pair added 78. Barker played fluently also, as Hampshire were bowled out for 460, a lead of 129 and about four and a half sessions left in the match, which was currently headed for a draw.

Barker pinned Rhodes early with a inswinger. A partnership then followed between Hain and Bell, but they were both dismissed in quick succession, Hain courtesy of a diving catch from Dawson at slip. Burgess hit Crane for a six over long off, but the bowler had his revenge just two balls later, having him lbw. Taylor's introduction against the left-handed pair proved effective as he dismissed Pollock with half an hour remaining on Day 3, and Barker returned to bowl Yates with Warwickshire still trailing by 3 runs. The tail offered little resistance as two wickets followed for Dawson, as well as one each for Wheal and Holland, as Warwickshire were rolled over for 182, leaving Hampshire an easy target of 53 to win from just over two sessions.

That didn't stop Hampshire making a meal out of it though - they took two hours to score the runs and lost five wickets in the process - scoring at barely 1.5 runs an over.

Hampshire won by 5 wickets
MOTM: Ian Holland (Hampshire)
Points: Hampshire 22, Warwickshire 4

Based on each teams' records coming into the game, it should have been an easy win for us, and it turned out to be, despite our lack of application in the final innings. Warwickshire now have lost all seven matches they've played and it's looking like it will take a minor miracle for them to stay up. The result leaves Hampshire in fifth place, and now only 17 points behind leaders Somerset, who have now lost three games, and have also played one more than nearly everyone else, meaning it's all to play for when the Championship returns later in the season.

[MateGaming]

18th June 2020
Hampshire vs Somerset
T20 Blast (South Group)
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Hampshire have named the same XI that beat Sussex six days ago, as they aim for a fifth consecutive win in the Blast, continuing to push for a place in the next round. Standing in their way are Somerset who sit below Hampshire in third, and who boast one of the strongest opening pairs in the competition, in Tom Banton and Babar Azam. With rain looming, Hampshire elected to bowl first - a 51 minute delay saw a reduction of the match by one over.

Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Fuller, Taylor, Abbott, Wood, Crane, Afridi
Somerset: Babar, Banton, Bartlett, Anderson, Hildreth, Davies, Gregory, van der Merwe, Philander, C Overton, Bess

Hampshire started well when Afridi removed the dangerous Banton for just one, and then Hampshire's overseas also disposed of Bartlett in his next over. World class batsman Babar Azam then hit consecutive fours off the returning Wood, but guided the next ball straight to Afridi, leaving Somerset in early difficulty at 39-3. Hildreth looked to rebuild with overseas Anderson by clearing the rope twice in successive overs off the spinners, but was then run out by wicket-keeper Alsop as he tried to steal a single. Crane was convinced he had Anderson lbw twice in his third over, but the umpire turned both shouts down. Taylor made amends as he bowled Davies for 1, his first wicket and first time bowling in the competition. He may have bowled one over too many, however, as Anderson went berserk against the young offie, hitting him for 17 runs in four balls. He was then dropped off Abbott but fell in Wood's next over anyway for an impressive 66. Gregory targeted Afridi but Wood bowled an excellent final over, conceding just two runs and ending with the run out of van der Merwe.

Somerset started perfectly with the ball as in-form Vince edged to Gregory to slip for a diamond duck. And things got even better as Northeast skied his first delivery and Overton took the catch, leaving Gregory on a hat-trick to begin the innings. Alsop struck two fours to get Hampshire up and running, but was then bowled by Philander as Hampshire's horror start continued. Dawson narrowly avoided being caught on the boundary off a top-edge, but the top order were completely decimated when Rossouw edged to slip. Hampshire wouldn't have thought things could get any worse, but they certainly did as Fuller was plumb in front. Dawson was really struggling to lay bat on ball and the rate was already up at 11, with the hosts 39-5 after eight overs. But 19 came from the next over, Taylor playing two beautiful shots before Dawson cleared the boundary for a second time. Taylor hit van der Merwe for six as he comfortably surpassed his previous T20 best, leaving Hampshire 72 to win from the final six overs, a tall order with five wickets down. And so it proved, as Taylor missed a straight one from Bess to go for 30, and the same bowler removed Abbott, leaving Dawson as Hampshire's only hope. But he had his furniture rearranged in the next over and Hampshire crumbled to a pathetic 108 all out, losing by a massive 50 runs.

Somerset won by 50 runs (DLS)
MOTM: Lewis Gregory (Somerset)
Points: Hampshire 0, Somerset 2

I was afraid our run would soon come to an end and we were emphatically brought back down to earth with a potentially demoralising defeat to Somerset, who now lie top of the table. Thankfully, we only drop to third and we have a chance to recover our form soon against Gloucestershire.

[MateGaming]

20th June 2020
Gloucestershire vs Hampshire
T20 Blast (South Group)
Gloucestershire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Brad Wheal, who has had a good season so far, returns to the lineup in place of Kyle Abbott who hasn't been on his best form in the Blast so far, in our only change for the trip to fifth-placed Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Gloucestershire: Dent, Hammond, Bracey, Cockbain, Higgins, J Taylor, Roderick, Howell, van Buuren, Qais Ahmad, Tye
Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Fuller, Taylor, Wood, Crane, Wheal, Afridi

Afridi again took a wicket in his first over as Dent edged behind, but young talent Bracey hit his first ball for six. Wood responded by having Hammond caught at mid on, and Wheal had Cockbain lbw after he had taken 14 off a Wood over. A rain delay then saw the match reduced to 14 overs per side. Upon the resumption, Wheal went for 15 in his second over, but Dawson had Bracey lbw as he looked to accelerate the scoring. Higgins was then trapped in front by Crane as Gloucestershire faltered. Roderick was then caught off Wood and Afridi closed the innings well as Gloucestershire mustered 114-6 from their 14 overs.

Somehow, there was no adjusted DLS target for Hampshire which they would have been more than happy with, but they appeared to follow suit from the last match, as the opening stand was broken in the first over again, Vince falling for another duck. Again, the start got even worse as Northeast feathered behind off Tye, and it was an infuriating case of deja vu as Alsop holed out for a duck. Hampshire's utterly pathetic start continued as spinner Qais Ahmad took two wickets from his first two balls, as Rossouw tried to reinstate some credibility as he took 15 off a Tye over, but the collapse continued in Ahmad's next over, as first Fuller edged to slip, and then Rossouw, more out of frustration than anything, hit in the air to mid off. Wheal cleared the boundary from the first ball he faced, leaving Hampshire with an extremely remote chance of scoring 18 from the final over. They could only manage five, and fell comfortably short, yet again due to a spineless top order performance.

Gloucestershire won by 12 runs (DLS)
MOTM: Qais Ahmad (Gloucestershire)
Points: Gloucestershire 2, Hampshire 0

A second embarrassing showing in as many games sees us drop out of the qualification places, one point behind Sussex in fourth. It seems as though we need to make some changes somewhere in the top order to prevent these sorts of collapses, which are really holding us back at the moment. Thankfully, our next game is against Glamorgan who sit bottom of the group on only four points, providing us with the perfect opportunity to bounce back with a win.

[Badger23]

Signed in for the first time in months, just to say these are great!

[MateGaming]

Signed in for the first time in months, just to say these are great!

Cheers, glad you're enjoying them.

[MateGaming]

21st June 2020
Hampshire vs Glamorgan
T20 Blast (South Group)
Glamorgan won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Hampshire have the chance to immediately bounce back from two successive defeats with a home match against Glamorgan the day after defeat at Bristol. This match could be last chance saloon for some particular members of the top order after recent performances have been below par. Key names for the visitors include Colin Ingram and Lungi Ngidi, but those two aside there doesn't seem to be too many to worry about.

Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, Fuller, Taylor, Wood, Crane, Wheal, Afridi
Glamorgan: Lloyd, Selman, Ingram, Root, C Cooke, J Cooke, Wagg, van der Gugten, Hogan, Ngidi, McIlroy

For the third match in a row, Hampshire's opening pair failed miserably, with Rossouw bowled in the opening over for a duck. Northeast then faced three balls from van der Gugten; the first was edged for four, and he was dropped off both the other two. The same bowler then put down Vince off his own bowling in his next over, but made up for it next ball by pinning him lbw. Northeast was unable to take advantage when the change bowlers were introduced as he was bowled by left-armer McIlroy, before Dawson was bowled around his legs by Hogan. In an attempt to shift the momentum, Fuller attacked, taking 18 off Wagg's first over, before the veteran got his revenge as he trapped him in front. Hampshire rebuilt briefly but Taylor holed out to the deep of McIlroy, whose figures were somewhat tarnished when Alsop cleared the rope twice in his final over as he brought up fifty. He wasn't finished there either as he swatted the returning Ngidi for six, but feathered behind in the final over to go for 57. In the end, only one run came from the final over as Hampshire limped to 129, a pathetic effort once again from their batsmen, with the exception of Alsop.

A good start was required with the ball, and Afridi delivered, finding the edge of the bat two deliveries in a row before Lloyd was caught behind. Things got worse for Glamorgan as the dangerous Ingram was also caught behind first ball, leaving them 13-2 midway through the second. And it didn't get any better from there - Root also edged behind two balls later, to leave Glamorgan in deep trouble in the first two overs. Wheal was introduced and he trapped Chris Cooke in front for 3 in his first over, before removing namesake Joe in the same way the very next ball. The hat-trick ball was fast and straight and Wagg feathered for it, but didn't make contact, much to the dismay of the bowler. Selman was the only batsman to even look like staying in for more than about five minutes, and he hit two straight sixes of Wood to end the powerplay on 47-5. Dawson was furious to be hit for six by Wagg after he had a seemingly plumb lbw shout turned down two balls prior. The reintroduction of Wheal for the tenth over brought reward for Hampshire as the increasingly confident Selman fell for 48. Crane then drew the umpire's finger as Wagg missed a straight one and Hampshire were well and truly into the tail now. Hogan skied a slog-sweep off Crane which was easily held by Taylor, and Wheal was rewarded with a fourth over as Hampshire tried to end it quickly. He removed van der Gugten with the third ball of it, and narrowly missed out on a maiden T20 five-wicket haul as he repeatedly beat McIlroy all ends up, but the youngster finished with career-best T20 figures of 4-18. Dawson had another plumb leg-before shout rejected, but Crane finished the job as McIlroy edged behind to give Hampshire a comfortable win by 38 runs, Crane recording excellent figures of 3-15 and Alsop taking five catches in the innings.

Hampshire won by 38 runs
MOTM: Brad Wheal (Hampshire)
Points: Hampshire 2, Glamorgan 0

A brilliant performance from our bowlers papered over the cracks of what was yet another terrible showing with the bat, Alsop aside. Wheal and Crane were both outstanding with combined figures of 7-33 from 6.5 overs. However, our batting again let us down, as we could only manage 129 against a weak attack, as well as the fact they put down a total of four catches in the innings. You can expect some adjustments to the batting order for the next game as we simply cannot expect our bowlers to perform like this in every match. But for now, we're back to winning ways and looking to build a good run of form again, as we move back up to second in the table, four points behind leaders Somerset.

[MateGaming]

23rd June 2020
Somerset vs Hampshire
T20 Blast (South Group)
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Hampshire make one change from the win against Glamorgan - Joe Weatherley makes his first appearance of the season as he replaces Brad Taylor in a bid to strengthen Hampshire's batting after recent poor performances with the bat. There's also an adjustment in the order as Alsop moves up to three ahead of Northeast, as he has been in much better form recently. Hopefully this will help to stop the collapses.

Somerset: Babar, Banton, Bartlett, Anderson, Hildreth, Gregory, van der Merwe, Bowles, Philander, Bess, Davey
Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Alsop+, Northeast, Dawson, Weatherley, Fuller, Wood, Crane, Wheal, Afridi

Somerset's strong opening pair started very well indeed as 19 runs came from the opening over, and then 17 from the second. Somerset were really showing why they are top of the group as a further four boundaries followed off Dawson as Somerset reached fifty in just the third over. Everyone was travelling the distance, and by the end of the powerplay, they had reached a massive 84-0. But Fuller, who has seldom bowled in this year's competition, provided a period of brief respite, only conceding nine runs from his opening two overs. Both batsmen were looking in menacing form, and it took until the 14th over for us to finally break through, with Afridi castling Banton. Babar Azam hit Crane for consecutive sixes, bringing up his fourth T20 century in the process, but was then caught and bowled off the next ball. But replays showed the bowler had overstepped and so Babar was given a life. 26 runs eventually came from a hugely damaging over, as Somerset reached 188-1 with five overs remaining. Fuller capped off a good individual bowling performance, by removing Babar with his final ball, albeit it came 112 runs too late. Wood came back well, conceding only 11 runs and taking two wickets from his final two overs, but 16 came from the final over as Somerset reached a massive 240-4.

Hampshire had already reached a higher score previously in the competition, but it would take a special effort to repeat it, especially against a considerably stronger bowling attack. And they didn't make a particularly good start of it, as Rossouw was caught in the second over. Davey then removed an underperforming Vince in the final over of the powerplay, in which Hampshire had reached 44-2, already needing 14 an over. Philander then effectively removed any glimmer of hope by removing Alsop and Northeast in the space of three deliveries, as our top order failed us once again. From then on, it was a Dom Bess masterclass as the spinner took 5-25 as Hampshire crumbled to 113 all out, in what was another humiliating performance.

Somerset won by 127 runs
MOTM: Babar Azam (Somerset)
Points: Somerset 2, Hampshire 0

Well, probably our worst defeat of the season so far. We were again disappointing with the bat but it would be unfair to completely blame the batsmen; to concede 240 is inexcusable with our attack, no matter what the strength of the opposition may be. And from the start of our innings, we were under immediate pressure and a win looked extremely unlikely. We must improve in both departments or we could lose out on a quarter-final place.

[MateGaming]

26th June 2020
Hampshire vs Surrey
T20 Blast (South Group)
Surrey won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Fourth-placed Hampshire host seventh-placed Surrey in a huge game for hosts as they look to strengthen their position in the top four. Brad Wheal has been called up for international duty again, so Kyle Abbott returns to take his place, and Lewis McManus immediately returns to the side after recovering from a broken finger, replacing Joe Weatherley.

Hampshire: Vince*, Rossouw, Northeast, Alsop, Dawson, Fuller, McManus+, Abbott, Wood, Crane, Afridi
Surrey: Short, Amla, Stoneman, Foakes, Jacks, S Curran, Borthwick, Clark, Clarke, T Curran, Plunkett

Hampshire lost the toss and were inserted with heavy rain likely and Vince was soon on his way back as he was bowled by Sam Curran. Northeast was quickly into his stride though, as he hit 22 off Tom Curran's second. The pair scored quickly to reach 56-1 at the end of powerplay, before a short rain delay saw both innings reduced to 19 overs. The delay didn't appear to affect Northeast's momentum though, as he hit the second ball for six after the resumption. Sam Curran was given his final over by Surrey's captain and the move paid off as he had Rossouw caught. Alsop greeted Rikki Clarke with a six and a four, but Plunkett soon removed him lbw. Northeast then accumulated fifty from 33 balls, his third of the competition. Dawson attacked Jordan Clark by hitting him for six, but the bowler had his revenge two balls later. Fuller's terrible form continued as he skied a catch the very next ball, and unbelievably, Clark had McManus caught at slip first ball, sealing a momentum-shifting hat-trick. Northeast escaped being caught on the boundary, but a nonsensical call from new batsman Abbott saw him run out for 62. It was a surprise when Short bowled the final over ahead of either Plunkett or Clark, but he conceded only five runs as Crane was unable to get him away. Hampshire will have been disappointed with their total after the position they were in - an inexplicable middle order collapse seeing them fall comfortably short of what their mid-innings ambitions would have been.

But Afridi again started brilliantly with the ball, as he had Amla caught behind for a golden duck. But Short and Stoneman looked well in control as they negotiated the remainder of the powerplay, in an identical position to Hampshire at 56-1. Dawson's first four balls cost 15 runs but he trapped Short in front as he looked to sweep. Stoneman looked in excellent form, however, and hit a straight six off Crane to bring up his fifty from 28 balls. Abbott's return was welcomed by a six over midwicket, but the bowler responded next ball by bowling Stoneman for what proved to be a match-winning 72. Jacks hit his first ball for six, but Abbott took two more wickets in the over. Borthwick then hit two boundaries to seal a massive win for Surrey with four overs remaining.

Surrey won by 5 wickets (DLS)
MOTM: Mark Stoneman (Surrey)
Points: Hampshire 0, Surrey 2

Another hugely disappointing result after what was a very good start for us, as we were 76-1 at one point. Our middle order let us down this time as we finally saw some contribution from our top order - having said that, if I'm being honest then only Northeast contributed anything of much value to the innings. And despite our good start with the ball, a win never really looked likely as we had a below par score, and so it was no surprise when Surrey romped home having easily chased down our score. The loss sees us drop to fifth and in need of a return to form soon.

[MateGaming]

29th June 2020
Gloucestershire vs Hampshire
T20 Blast (South Group)
Hampshire won the toss and elected to bowl first.

A welcome break for Hampshire from the T20 Blast as they travel to Bristol to face Gloucestershire, who have had a very impressive first season back in Division One and sit second in the table, only eight points behind arch-rivals Somerset and with a game in hand. The current league leaders will have one eye on this game from Canterbury as they take on Kent. However, the forecast is awful for this game and a draw isn't out of the question before a ball has even been bowled. Three changes are made from Hampshire's last Championship XI, as Lewis McManus replaces Brad Taylor (but doesn't keep wicket, for no reason other than the fact that I forgot to set him as wicketkeeper), Scott Currie is rewarded with a Championship debut with Brad Wheal away, and Mason Crane drops out for the returning Nathan Lyon.

Gloucestershire: Dent, Hammond, Bracey, Roderick, Williams, Higgins, JMR Taylor, van Buuren, Payne, M Taylor, JE Taylor
Hampshire: Organ, Holland, Vince*, Northeast, Alsop+, Dawson, McManus, Currie, Barker, Abbott, Lyon

Hampshire's seamers put Gloucestershire's openers under early pressure in overcast conditions, and were rewarded when Abbott trapped Hammond in front. Dawson then put down Bracey early on, but Holland made amends by bowling him for 34. Hampshire perhaps hadn't bowled as well as they could have done in the morning session, but Barker removed Dent with the final ball before lunch to ensure the session was fairly even. But Hampshire turned it on after lunch, as Holland had Roderick caught behind, and Barker dismissed Zimbabwean Sean Williams for 15. Jack, the first of the three Taylors, was also removed by Holland, before a quick partnership followed as the pair took particular liking to Championship debutant Currie. Dawson then cleaned up the tail either side of tea as Gloucestershire were all out for 245, certainly not a bad effort under the conditions.

Hampshire did well to see off the openers, but Jerome Taylor came into the attack and dismissed Holland. Hampshire would have been glad of the umpires' decision to suspend play due to bad light, meaning they finished Day 1 on 39-1. Conditions didn't improve by Day 2, as Organ battled fiercely despite the loss of Vince at the other end, as he reached a 5th fifty of the Championship season, an impressive knock in the circumstances. Northeast decided that attack was the best form of defence as he looked to be positive against Gloucestershire's change bowlers. Hampshire scored a total of 101 runs in the morning session as they reached lunch with no further loss - they could be very pleased with their position going into the afternoon. They lost Northeast early in the session but Organ continued on, again looking nervous in the nineties but this time reaching that elusive hundred, much to the relief and joy of himself and his teammates. Unfortunately, he soon became Matt Taylor's first wicket of the match as he went for 106, but he'd batted Hampshire into a very good position in this match. Alsop played fluently for 67 as Hampshire looked to bat Gloucestershire out of the game. But their lower order offered little resistance and they were bowled out for 362, with a healthy lead of 117 runs going into the second innings.

Conditions were still heavily in favour of the bowlers and so Gloucestershire's gung-ho approach may not have been the best method, as Hammond fell early again, and Lyon bowled the talented Bracey with his first delivery. The final two sessions were largely affected by rain but Hampshire would have been disappointed to take so long to break the partnership, as the reintroduction of Lyon did the trick shortly before stumps. But Gloucestershire ended the day badly, with overseas all-rounder Williams playing a horrible slog off the final ball of Day 3 and edging behind, much to the disgust of the coaching team. Higgins lasted only 19 minutes on Day 4 before he was bowled by Dawson, before a leading edge off Dent's bat earned Hampshire a vital breakthrough before lunch. Hampshire were keen to remove Jack Taylor and van Buuren early, and their wish was half-granted as the latter succumbed to Dawson's spin. The final three wickets fell after half an hour of the afternoon and Hampshire would require 137 runs to win.

Hampshire could only manage 39 runs in the 22 overs before tea, but had only lost one wicket so shouldn't struggle too much to score 99 in the final session, with the sun now showing itself and making batting at least slightly easier. Despite the loss of slow-scoring Holland, and then Northeast four balls later, Hampshire got home with 24 minutes to spare, courtesy of a typically calm innings from Vince, well supported by a run-a-ball 25 from Dawson.

Hampshire won by 6 wickets
MOTM: Liam Dawson (Hampshire)
Points: Gloucestershire 2, Hampshire 22

An encouraging return to form with another win in the Championship against a side who have performed admirably so far this year. We bowled well throughout and the first-innings century from Organ was a key contribution to our win. The result sees us up to fifth and just 17 points behind Somerset, with a game in hand. Gloucestershire drop down to fifth after a poor result, leaving us hot on Somerset's heels alongside rivals Yorkshire and Lancashire.

[Lynx54321]

I've found t20 batting much more difficult compared to last year and it looks like you're experiencing the same?!

Could be worth a thread in the main forum to feedback and see if others are finding the same.