Two of the bigger teams in the South Group of the Vitality Blast meet in Southampton on Tuesday as the English domestic T20 competition resumes after a day off when former champions Hampshire and Surrey do battle.
Hampshire begin the evening in fourth spot in the South Group and will be out to consolidate their chances of reaching the knockout stages but Surrey will claim that position in the table should they win so this is a key match for both teams.
Where to watch
This match has full TV coverage for us to enjoy with it being shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Cricket channel. The build-up begins after the earlier women’s match and the first ball will be bowled at 7pm.
Hampshire
In an unusual turn of events, Hampshire actually started the season very positively. Their supporters are used to them taking a week or two to build into the different format and overseas players to bed in before they see the best of their side but that wasn’t the case this time around. They won their opening three matches and looked pretty good in them too, one of those wins being in the reverse meeting with Surrey which was a positive. They have gone quiet since then though with defeat at Kent followed by a rain affected tie with Middlesex so they’ll be looking to get back to winning ways here.
Hampshire bowled very well in those early three wins. That wasn’t so much the case in their defeat against Kent and we can’t really judge them in a six over slog off in damp conditions against Middlesex but they will look to get back to a strong showing with the ball. The positive in the tie with Middlesex was the fact that Lhuan-dre Pretorius made his debut for the club and hit the ground running. That strengthens the Hampshire batting nicely.
Surrey
In contrast to Hampshire, we are used to Surrey blasting their way out of the blocks and dominating the South Group but that hasn’t been the case this time around either. They have been quite inconsistent so far but successive wins over Kent have given them an extra win on their ledger to defeats and another victory here would move them up to third place as we get towards the break at the halfway point in the group phase.
To be fair to Surrey, we are in the period of the season where they are seeing players coming and going and if and when they can name a settled side you would imagine that they will go on a winning run because this is a team who have all bases covered. They are aggressive at the top of the order, bat deep, have good new ball bowlers, a spinner who can strangle sides and a death bowler who is above the average at this level. When Surrey play well they will be hard to beat.
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Key Players
James Vince started the season off like a house on fire for Hampshire with 62 in the win over Essex and 33* in the rain shortened game with Surrey but he has gone quiet in the last three innings and his side will be hoping he can go big here.
On a baking hot night in Southampton and with a women’s match earlier in the day, Will Jacks could be a key player for Surrey here. Not only can he get them off to a decent start with the bat if he gets after the bowling but he can also be useful with his off-spin.
Betting
The run line for this one is up at 347.5 which might just be a little on the high side here. There is a women’s match on this pitch earlier in the day and Tuesday is going to be a scorcher down on the south coast so the pitch will be plenty dry enough by the time these two get on it so the ball might not come onto the bat in the way that the two teams would want. There is no shortage of class in these bowling units to take advantage of the dry conditions either.
Surrey matches haven’t really caught fire yet. They have played five games and none of them have covered this line while Hampshire have been involved in slightly higher scoring matches but that was before this current band of heat that has gone across the country. With top class spinners in Mitchell Santner and Liam Dawson around and bowlers who can take the pace off the ball well such as Benny Howell, Scott Currie and both Curran brothers not to mention good quality new ball bowlers scoring could be difficult here. Hampshire have already restricted Surrey to 141/7 this season and Surrey have lost Ollie Pope since then. That match and the conditions make this line look a little high to me.
Tips
Back Under 347.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
