Ervine confident Hampshire can defy slow start
SEAN Ervine still believes that Hampshire can reach a seventh straight T20 Blast finals day despite suffering a third defeat in four group games.
Kent Spitfires’ Sam Billings, recently back from a stint in the Indian Premier League, smashed 55 from just 30 balls as his side scored 193-3 on Wednesday with Joe Denly also making a half century.
In reply, limited overs captain Ervine top-scored with 56 from 49 balls but his side, featuring overseas stars Darren Sammy and Shahid Afridi, fell eight runs short of their target.
“It’s a little bit concerning, as we want to get up and running in this competition,” said Ervine.
“But it’s a long competition.We’ve gone on to win it from this position in previous years.
“We want to build momentum going forward and there’s probably one or two tweaks that we can make to combinations, but in terms of the general play, it’s there or thereabouts.”
England’s Billings was pleased to find some form with the bat but admitted he and his side have plenty to work on.
“I’ve been a bit scratchy since I’ve come back from India so it’s nice to get a few in the middle of the bat,” he said.
“It’s a long competition and it’s about peaking at the right time and getting through this very difficult South Group.
“We have got plenty to work on and can get better than that performance, which is pleasing. As a white-ball outfit we’ve come on leaps and bounds – hopefully we can continue the momentum.”
Glamorgan sit on top of the South Group table after their five-wicket victory on Friday night over Hampshire in Cardiff.
Aneurin Donald hit 55 off just 27 balls as Glamorgan successfully chased down 141 with Aussie pace- man Michael Hogan following that up with a 4-28 haul.
England one-day opener Jason Roy provided the fireworks at Hove as his 67-ball 109 propelled Surrey to 205-4 before Sussex Sharks were restricted to 185-5.
Chris Gayle was also in the groove at Taunton as he smashed 49 from 23 to help Somerset make light work of chasing down Essex Eagles’ 178-7 while Gloucestershire beat Kent by seven wickets.