Wheal wraps up a superb fightback
Hampshire bowlers star in dramatic Eagles slump
Hampshire had kept alive their flickering hopes of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals, beating Essex by 18 runs to wrap up a third successive victory in the first match of a double-header at The Ageas Bowl yesterday.
Essex looked on course to chase down the 172-run target after England batsman Dan Lawrence and Tom Westley put on 80 for the second wicket, writes IAN McCULLOUGH.
But Hampshire's bowlers clawed back control as the
Eagles lost their nine wickets for just 68 runs to be bowled out for 153.
Hampshire started the match well after winning the toss, with James Vince, fresh from his superb century for England against Pakistan, continuing from where he left off at Edgbaston with a superb 63 that included eight boundaries and a six.
VInce and D'Arcy Short put on 69 after eight overs, laying the foundations for a potentially huge target.
However, the Eagles fought back well when Aron Nijjar dismissed Short and Liam Dawson inside three balls to slow down the home side's progress..
Vince continued to score freely and put on 56 with Colin de Grandhomme before the Hampshire skipper mistimed a big shot over mid-off off spinner Simon Harmer and caught in the deep by Jimmy Neesham.
It was Vince’s highest T20 innings for Hampshire since an unbeaten 66 against Middlesex at The Ageas Bowl in August 2019.
De Grandhomme fell for 34 when veteran Ryan ten Doeschate took a sharp catch off Sam Cook's bowling in the 16th over as the Hawks' hopes of passing the 180-mark took a huge dent.
The outstanding Harmer and Nijjar continued to slow down the scoring with wickets falling regularly as Joe Weatherley, Chris Wood and James Fuller all exited cheaply.
Lewis McManus thumped two huge sixes in the final two overs to help his side to a decent total, despite the Hawks losing two wickets in the final over to Cook..
Wood struck in the first over of the Essex innings, dismissing former Hampshire wicket-keeper Adam Wheater for a second-ball duck, before Lawrence and Westley steadied the ship.
But Westley, who reached 39 almost effortlessly, was deceived by the flight of a Mason Crane ball and McManus whipped off his bails for a smart stumping.
Dawson and Short continued the good work by the spinners with the wickets of the dangerous Neesham and Michael Pepper for singlefigure scores.
Crane struck again when he dismissed ten Doeschate (9) after he holed out to Fuller after 15 runs had been scored from the first five balls of the leg-spinner's over.
But Essex's hopes of victory dissipat- ed when Lawrence departed for 60 after he gloved Scott Currie to McManus, who claimed his third victim.
With 31 needed from the last two overs, Essex fell well short with Brad Wheal taking two wickets in as many balls to dismiss Essex with four deliveries to spare.
■ Jamie Smith and Laurie Evans kept Surrey’s T20 Blast campaign alive as they beat Gloucestershire by seven wickets on the final day of the Cheltenham Festival. Surrey faced a mustwin game at the College, their final fixture, and knocked off a chase of 178 with 10 balls to spare.
Smith set things up with 60 from 47 balls and Evans took his side to the verge of victory with 58 from 36.
Gloucestershire will get another chance to seal a quarter-final spot in their final game against Somerset at Taunton on Sunday, but they will need to raise themselves with defeat here coming two days after their Championship hopes were ended by Hampshire.
Having been sent in, the home side only played in fits and starts.
A more measured start than previous matches saw them to 69-1 in the eighth over but they then lost three wickets in 18 balls.
Kiwi Glenn Phillips’ 48 from 26 balls picked the innings up but 177-9 proved well short.