MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire v Hampshire, Metro Bank One Day Cup
While this is Lancashire’s fifth game of eight in the group stage of the MB50, it is also their fourth and final home game.
Lancashire v Hampshire
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Group One
Tuesday August 15, 2023, 11am
Emirates Old Trafford
The Red Rose are bidding to bounce back from Friday’s 95-run defeat against Leicestershire Foxes at Emirates Old Trafford when the visitors posted 411-6 and defended it.
A superb Keaton Jennings 127 wasn’t enough for Lancashire, who have now won one and lost one added to a pair of No Results.
Jennings and co remain firmly in the mix for knockout cricket later this month, but so too are tomorrow’s opponents Hampshire.
This group is log-jammed.
Leicestershire lead the way on eight points from five games. They have won four. But only four points separate them from Lancashire in sixth. Hampshire are second on six points from four games having been beaten by the Foxes at home yesterday.
The top three sides qualify for the knockout stages. Champions Kent currently hold third place on six points from five games. Lancashire are two points adrift with a game in hand and a better net run-rate.
Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire complete the top six at present.
Opponents:
Hampshire had won their first three matches until losing a high-scoring affair at the Ageas Bowl against Leicestershire yesterday.
Hampshire posted 296 all out, with opener Fletcha Middleton top-scoring with 78. But the Foxes chased that target with four wickets in hand and 2.4 overs remaining. Colin Ackermann made 93 not out.
Hampshire are missing 10 players to the Hundred, including captain James Vince. Only Surrey, who are missing 12, are affected more.
Opening batter Nick Gubbins is captaining them in this competition. Former England Test leg-spinner Mason Crane is also in their ranks.
Gubbins is their leading run-scorer so far in this competition with 264 runs, including a century. Seamer Ian Holland is their leading wicket-taker with six.
Hampshire were beaten semi-finalists by eventual champions Kent last year.
This season, they were beaten semi-finalists in the Vitality Blast and are currently third in the LV= Insurance County Championship. They are 48 points behind leaders Surrey with three games left.
Opposing player to watch:
Former England Under 19s captain Tom Prest is a very highly rated batter who hasn’t actually had the best of seasons so far. But he will surely come good in both the short and long-term.
That was indicated by 65 from number three in yesterday’s defeat to Leicestershire.
The 20-year-old led the Under 19s to the World Cup final early last year, a team which included Tom Aspinwall, George Bell and Josh Boyden.
Prest hasn’t been a regular for Hampshire across all formats this year, with his only century coming in second-team cricket. He has also played a couple of National Counties games for home side Dorset.
In 2021, he struck a triple century for Hampshire’s second team on the same day he sat an A-Level exam, and last year opted against putting his name in the Hundred draft, favouring game time in the MB One-Day Cup instead.
Previous meeting:
Hampshire won a low-scoring fixture by two wickets at the Ageas Bowl last August, chasing 184 in nervy fashion.
On a quick Southampton pitch, Lancashire, having elected to bat, slipped to 7-3 thanks to two wickets for new ball seamer John Campbell.
But Steven Croft and Rob Jones shared 119 for the fourth wicket to give the visitors something to bowl at. Croft made 47 and Jones top-scored with 84 - both playing in measured fashion.
Turner, however, finished with 5-25 from 9.3 overs as Lancashire were bowled out for 183 inside 46 overs.
In reply, Hampshire fell from 41-1 to 67-5 as Liam Hurt claimed three wickets. Toby Albert’s unbeaten 65 from number seven anchored the Hampshire recovery.
Still, Lancashire had their chance to win as Tom Bailey claimed three wickets to leave the hosts at 166-8. But Albert managed to get his team over the line with 10 balls to spare.
What they said:
Keaton Jennings says the table and qualification permutations will not alter Lancashire’s approach to tomorrow’s clash with Hampshire.
The Red Rose are in the thick of a busy battle for a top-three finish and knockout qualification, with every slip-up potentially very costly.
But the left-handed opener and captain insisted full focus should be on events out on the field: “Every fixture is a must win fixture, to be honest,” he said.
“Look, every game we play we try and win. We played some really good cricket against Leicestershire and at Blackpool last week. If this is a must win for us, cool. We’re going to try and win it anyway.
“It’s about us arriving and making sure we do some good things.
“We have four games left, and there’s plenty of cricket to be played.
“The whole cycle of the comp is longer than you think. We just need to make sure we get in and around that knockout stage.”
How’s Stat!
Since the last List A clash between these two sides at Emirates Old Trafford in 2014, Lancashire and Hampshire have played four times, winning two games apiece. All of them have been played at the Ageas Bowl.