The very next night we take the coach along the M27 to Southampton to play Hampshire in the T20 Cup.
We are bottom of the table. I am not interested. I leave the selection as it was.
We lose the toss – I should really just type that every game – and Hampshire put us into bat. They’ve obviously seen our net run rate.
We get to 73 before Luke Wright is caught by James Vince off Nathan Lyon for 33 from 10 overs
Vince takes another catch as I edge up the aggression of Shehan Jayasuriya to try and push the run rate up. He goes for 61 off 50 and we are 122-2
I put big Travis Head on full aggression because he may as well blaze. He hits 21 off 11 and we end the innings 149-2.
They’ll need 7.4 an over. We’re going to lose this.
Jofra Archer gets Rilee Rossouw in the first over, lbw plumb, hitting half way up middle stump. 5-1
They steady the ship and I bring on Gorgeous George Garton. He gets Vince for 19 caught by Jonty Jenner behind the stumps.
David Wiese gets taken for eight by Sam Northeast but then bananas one round the corner and cleans him up, stumps akimbo, 46-3 off 6.
Wiese gets his second, trapping Tom Alsop for 10. 59-4 But Hampshire still only need seven an over.
I get Luke Evans and Jayasuriya on to turn their arms over. Evans’ two overs go for 18 and Shehan gets taken for 24.
They now need 49 from six overs. I may have let the pressure go here… 101-4
I bring my “real” bowlers back on and Claydon clean bowls Liam Dawson for 34, to leave the hosts on 116-5.
Wiese comes back as Claydon finishes all his overs. My prize is Wiese getting shot of Brad Taylor for 54.
His next over, he gets Kiwi James Fuller for 13 but Hampshire only need seven from 11 balls.
Kyle Abbott snicks behind and goes for three in the same over, but they hit him for four off the penultimate ball.
That leaves two needed off six and poor Jofra is going to have to be magical. He clean bowls Mason Crane for four.
1 from 3 balls.
20 year old number 11 Shaheen Afridi tonks him for a boundary and we lose by one wicket.
For a second, I nearly cared.
Two games in a row a bowler has recorded record figures. Here, Wiese’s 5 for 24 is a new record, beating Jofra’s from the night before.
Two records, two defeats. Meh.
Bizarrely, this defeat propel us up the table to seventh.
