Despite currently sitting in seventh place in the South Group, the tight nature of the competition means the Hampshire Hawks are only one win away from the top spot, although they could do with improving their net run rate following a heavy loss to Somerset in their last match. Injuries to Tom Prest and Ali Orr have not helped their cause, but they remain one of the favourites for a quarter final spot.
Glamorgan have also registered two wins and two losses and will have felt they missed out at Chelmsford in their last game when they allowed the Eagle’s ninth wicket pair to put on 45 in six overs. They have a strong batting line up led by Colin Ingram with 151 runs at a strike rate of 151, the 38-year-old moving seamlessly on from his efforts in the County Championship, where he is the second highest run scorer. The bowling is less formidable, but Mason Crane has taken advantage of his loan spell with Glamorgan and taken 10 wickets at 10.80, at an economy rate of 7.20. Jamie McIlroy was their most successful bowler in last year’s Blast and he has put a disappointing start to the Championship behind him, with some excellent spells during the difficult overs, conceding just 7.85 runs per over.
The headline Hawk’s players have not really fired as yet, Joe Weatherley leading the run scoring with 124 from four innings. Chris Wood and Michael Neser have both collected six wickets, Neser having spent the last three years at Glamorgan. He will be available for the remaining four Blast games of this block before being replaced by South Africa’s Ottniel Baartman, who is currently involved in the T20 World Cup.
These two sides met once in the Blast last season in a match curtailed by weather. The Hawks were in a strong position at 97/2 from 9.2 overs when the rain came, Ben McDermott striking 54 from 27 balls. When play restarted, Glamorgan needed 83 off six overs and fell well short.
The Hawks are not playing to their full potential and with Prest and Orr sidelined, Glamorgan will fancy their chances.
Key players
Timm van der Gugten missed the start of the season having picked up a calf injury while away with the Netherlands. He and Jamie McIlory are the main new ball threat for Glamorgan, but the Eagle’s Adam Rossington took a liking to his bowling in the last game and he went for 51 from his three overs. He took 3/30 against Middlesex and will need to be back in the wickets again if Glamorgan are to keep the Hawk’s scoring in check.
James Vince has made just 84 runs from his four innings so far, with a top score of 35. However, he has now scored over 10,000 runs in T20 cricket in 384 appearances, including 17 T20 internationals and has a healthy strike rate of 134.71. It can only be a matter of time before the runs start flowing and Glamorgan will be hoping it does not begin in Cardiff.
Team news:
Eddie Byrom has now scored just 19 runs in four starts, with two ducks in the last two games and may be replaced by Tom Bevan or Billy Root. The big worry for Glamorgan is that there is no one in their current playing XI under 26 years of age.
Glamorgan squad (from): Kiran Carlson (c), Tom Bevan, Eddie Byrom, Chris Cooke (wk), Mason Crane, Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin, Colin Ingram, Ben Kellaway, Marnus Labuschagne, Jamie McIlroy, Sam Northeast, Harry Podmore, Billy Root, Will Smale, Timm van der Gugten
Ali Orr will be out for six to eight weeks after breaking his arm, while Tom Prest remains side-lined with a fractured shoulder.
Hampshire squad (probable): James Vince (c), Toby Albert, Liam Dawson, James Fuller, Nick Gubbins, Benny Howell, Eddie Jack, Ben McDermott (wk), Fletcha Middleton, Michael Neser, Felix Organ, John Turner, Joe Weatherley, Chris Wood
Weather and Conditions
The forecast is for persistent rain.
The normal fare in Cardiff is slow and low, with bowlers favouring a shorter length to get batters hitting to the long square boundaries. Given the weather forecast, chasing may be an advantage.
Date: 13th June 2024
Time: 18:30
Ground: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
