James Vince labels Middlesex victory "best allround performance" of Blast campaign

KISHAN VAGHELA AT LORD'S: The Hampshire captain made 69 and South Africans Kyle Abbott and Chris Morris took three wickets each as they cruised to a seven-wicket win at Lord's

Hampshire captain James Vince hailed his side's seven-wicket victory over Middlesex as the "best allround performance" of the Blast campaign.

Kyle Abbott and compatriot Chris Morris took three wickets each as they bowled their opponents out for 128 at Lord's.

James Vince's half-century then guided Hampshire comfortably home, but the captain maintained no one individual would take the plaudits for the evening's work.

"We did need it [the victory]," Vince said.

"Right from the outset the bowlers were fantastic, the seamers executed their plans really well in the powerplay.

"[Liam] Dawson and [Tabraiz] Shamsi on debut were brilliant in the middle. The wicket seemed to take a little bit of spin and they bowled really well, they controlled the ball and picked up wickets.

^{Tabraiz Shamsi made his Hampshire debut at Lord's}

"The seamers came in at the back end and did a brilliant job, so it was probably our best allround performance of the campaign so far."

The Hampshire captain admitted that the ball seemed to come on to the bat much easier as night fell, but that patience was the ultimate key to success when batting on the surface.

"The wicket seemed to hold a bit when they were batting.

"Maybe it came on a fraction more under lights but when you are chasing 129, if you get off to a reasonably good start you can afford to bide your time, get used to the pitch and then pick off a couple of boundaries.

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"Maybe then the bowlers start searching and runs seem to come easy.

"We lost Rilee [Rossouw] early and the wicket wasn't that easy upfront because they were getting bounce out of it so I didn't want to play a hack and end up back sitting and watching.

"I took my time early and got the pace of the pitch and the timing got better as my innings went on."

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