Vitality Blast T20 2022 | HAM vs SOM | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI

Hampshire will be eager to get off the mark in the T20 Blast 2022 when they face high-flying Somerset in the 23rd match of the tournament. The two South Group teams will play against each other at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on May 30, Monday. 

Hampshire kicked off their T20 Blast 2022 campaign with a defeat as they lost their opening fixture against Middlesex by 10 runs. 

They failed to complete the chase despite getting off to a good start. Ben McDermott, skipper James Vince, and Ross Whiteley showed courage with the bat but couldn't take their side past the finish line. However, Brad Wheal and Chris Wood were impressive with the ball. 

Hampshire are currently languishing at the bottom of the points table and must be eager to open their winning account in the tournament and climb up in the standings. 

Somerset, meanwhile, are having a dream run in the tournament as they have won both of their opening games with a huge margin. 

They outplayed their last year's rival Kent in the opening match, handing them an 8-wickets defeat and followed it by an easy win over Essex in a rain-hit encounter. Will Smeed, Rilee Rossouw, Lewis Gregory, and Josh Davey have been their key players so far. 

Currently placed at the second spot of the South Group points table, Somerset would be expecting their players to emulate the same performance in the upcoming games. 

Match Details:

Match: Hampshire vs Somerset, Match 23

Venue: The Rose Bowl, Southampton, United Kingdom

Date & Time: May 30 at 11:30 PM IST

Live Streaming: FanCode and ECB website.

Pitch Report: The surface here at Rose bowl always offers extra pace and bounce to the bowlers. The batters will have to spend some time in the middle to take on the bowlers. It's a 160-170 kind of a wicket, and whoever wins the toss would look to bowl first.

Head-To-Head:

The two sides have faced each other 25 times in the shortest format of the game. Somerset have won 14 of the matches, Hampshire has won seven times, one game was tied, and three games have been abandoned.

Both the teams made it to the 1st Semi-Final of the T20 Blast last year, where Somerset outclassed Hampshire by 2 wickets. 

Squads:

Hampshire: James Vince (c), Kyle Abbot, Ben McDermott, Nathan Ellis, Nick Gubbins, Ross Whiteley, Ben Brown, Toby Albert, Keith Barker, Mason Crane, Scott Currie, Liam Dawson, Aneurin Donald, James Fuller, Ian Holland, Ben McDermott, Lewis McManus, Fletcha Middleton, Felix Organ, Harry Petrie, Tom Prest, John Turner, Joe Weatherley, Brad Wheal, Chris Wood

Somerset: Tom Abell (c), Peter Siddle, Riley Roussouw, Marchant de Lange, Kasey Aldridge, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, George Bartlett, Jack Brooks, Josh Davey, Steven Davies, Lewis Goldsworthy, Ben Green, Lewis Gregory, James Hildreth, Tom Lammonby, Jack Leach, Ned Leonard, Craig Overton, Matt Renshaw, Ollie Sale, Will Smeed 

Probable Playing XI:

Hampshire: Ben McDermott (wk), Aneurin Donald, James Vince (c), Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, James Fuller, Liam Dawson, Chris Wood, Nathan Ellis, Mason Crane, Brad Wheal

Somerset: Tom Banton (wk), Will Smeed, Rilee Rossouw, Tom Abell (c), Tom Lammonby, Lewis Gregory, Lewis Goldsworthy, Ben Green, Roelof van der Merwe, Marchant de Lange, Josh Davey

CREX XI Suggestion:

Wicket-Keeper: Tom Banton, Ben McDermott

Batters: Rilee Rossouw, Tom Abell, Will Smeed, James Vince

All-Rounders: Lewis Gregory, Ben Green

Bowlers: Josh Davey, Nathan Ellis, Brad Wheal

Captain: Ben McDermott

Vice-Captain: Rilee Rossouw