MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire v Hampshire, Vitality County Championship
Lancashire’s fourth defeat of the season, against Surrey at the Kia Oval on Sunday, has left them with work to do heading into the final month of the summer.
Lancashire v Hampshire
Vitality County Championship, Division One
Thursday August 29 - Sunday September 1, 11am
Emirates Old Trafford
With four games remaining in the County Championship, the Red Rose are second-bottom in Division One, though very much within striking distance of the three teams above them.
Lancashire have 103 points in ninth place, with Nottinghamshire directly above them on 104, Warwickshire in seventh on 109 and Worcestershire sixth on 114.
Of those three sides, Lancashire only play Worcestershire in the run-in. They are the county’s final week opponents down at New Road next month.
Their next two opponents are Hampshire this week, against whom they have a superb home record, and Durham away early next month. They beat the North East county at Blackpool in late May - one of two wins from 10 matches so far.
Hampshire, who Dale Benkenstein has previously coached, come into this fixture fourth in Division One having won three of their 10 matches.
Realistically, they are playing for places. They won’t go down, but equally they won’t win the title.
They head into this fixture on the back of a rain-affected home draw against Essex last week when both sides only just completed their first innings - Hampshire 424-8 declared, Essex 438-8 declared.
The next two rounds in the Championship will be played with the Kookaburra ball.
Opposition:
Reeling in Division One leaders Surrey may be a task too far for Hampshire - the gap is 46 points - but they could very realistically finish the season second in the table.
They are only 11 points adrift of current incumbents Somerset having won three and draw six of their 10 games so far.
Should they achieve that, it would better last season’s third-placed finish.
Captained by James Vince and coached by Adi Birrell, they have experienced overseas seamers Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott at their disposal.
In that high-scoring, but rain-affected, draw against Essex at the Utilita Bowl, their two standout performers were young batters Toby Albert and Tom Prest, who made 124 and 156 respectively.
Former England batter Vince is Hampshire’s leading Championship run-scorer this season with 704 from nine matches. He has reached three figures twice, including a best of 211.
Another former England international, the left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, is their leading wicket-taker in 2024 with 32, including a pair of five-wicket hauls.
Opposition player to watch:
Liam Dawson will play his 200th first-class match this week.
He has 20 international caps to his name across all formats for England, but the 34-year-old left-arm spinning all-rounder has been out of the international picture since late 2022.
His name has regularly been banded around for a recall, but it hasn’t quite happened for the Wiltshire-born fan of Bury Football Club (his father was born in the area).
Still, as this season’s 32 wickets have shown, he remains a potent threat.
That haul is the joint best for a spinner in either division of this season’s Championship, with Essex leg-spinner Matt Critchley also on 32.
Emirates Old Trafford should suit Dawson, who may well be helped with the re-introduction of the Kookaburra ball for the third of four rounds this summer.
Given the Kookaburra ball doesn’t do as much for seamers, spinners have been brought more into the game.
And, of course, if Dawson doesn’t get you with the ball, he could do with the bat. He is Hampshire’s second leading run-scorer this season with 602, including one century.
Previous meeting:
Lancashire had the better of an early-season draw at the Utilita Bowl, with their bid for victory thwarted by some top order resistance from Hampshire in their second innings and some fourth day rain.
Nathan Lyon claimed three first-innings wickets in Hampshire’s 367 all out after the hosts had elected to bat, but the Red Rose hit back with 484.
Captain Keaton Jennings’ 172 represented the innings of the match, never mind the innings, though he was disappointed to see George Bell fall agonisingly short of a maiden first-team hundred. He was run out for a superb middle order 99.
He and Jennings had shared 166 for the fifth wicket from 211-4.
Hampshire, faced with a 117-deficit, closed day three on 39-2, but a combination of 69 not out from opener Nick Gubbins, an unbeaten 45 for Tom Prest and the fact only 49.1 overs were bowled on the last day denied Lancashire.
Hampshire finished on 179-4, but a second-round haul of 13 points provided encouragement.
What they said:
Former Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein is confident his current side have what it takes to secure safety in Division One over the next four matches.
The Red Rose coach takes his side into game number 11 of 14 in 2024 with them situated in the bottom two in Division One following their last-round defeat to champions and current league leaders Surrey at the Kia Oval on Sunday.
“I am confident, and I think we’ve played some good cricket,” said Benkenstein.
“We just need one or two senior players to perform, and they are good enough to do that.
“Hopefully we also start to see some green shoots from these younger players in the next four games, putting in some match-winning performances.
“It’s going to be a fight, but we are up for it.”
How’s Stat!
Hampshire have not won a County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford since May 1992. In the 10 EOT matches since then, Lancashire have won four and drawn the other six.
Hampshire’s only win against Lancashire - home or away - in the Championship since that 1992 success in Manchester was down the M62 at Liverpool in 2009, a 10-wicket victory.
Lancashire have won seven, drawn one, lost none of their last eight home matches, including at outgrounds, against Hampshire.