Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, and everything else you need to know ahead of the Vitality T20 Blast match
Fixture: Middlesex v Hampshire Hawks
Venue: Radlett Cricket Club, Radlett
Dates: Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Start time: 5:30pm
What's the lowdown?
It’s a battle of the bottom as ninth-placed Middlesex welcome third-bottom Hampshire to Radlett.
It’s been a far from auspicious start to the campaign for both teams with Middlesex losing both of their opening games and Hampshire going down in two from three. After beating recent Champions Essex Eagles in the second round Hampshire would have been confident moving into Saturday’s game against Sussex. As it was, they suffered a debilitating defeat, posting a below par 154 against the south coast side. It was made to look even more inferior by Phil Salt and Ravi Bopara who comprehensively dispatched the total inside 17 overs for the loss of one wicket.
Middlesex in comparison have very little to write home about, being thumped for a daunting 223 against Surrey in their first round, Will Jacks' 70 off 24 balls being particularly destructive, before joining the long list of counties that has felt the wrath of Darren Stevens this term. His three-for helped Kent to a reasonably comfortable 16 run victory over the London side on Friday night.
Both teams are in need of a victory here to spin the momentum back in their favour.
Who's in form?
Despite Middlesex’s woes, South African overseas Chris Green has made an impressive start to his stint in England claiming six wickets so far in his two games, including best bowling figures of 5 for 32. This performance, however, was a lone stand against Kent and was unable to turn the tide in Middlesex’s favour.
As has been the case with their Championship season, runs have been the issue for Middlesex and they will look to England white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan to provide them before he departs on international duty. He leads the way with 59 runs in their two fixtures.
As is often the case in modern day T20 cricket, wrist spin is the way forward, with young Mason Crane making the best start for Hampshire with the ball. He has claimed five wickets in three games at an impressive economy of 7.41, very low for a spinner of his variety. With a mixture of googly’s, leg breaks and a varied pace he will continue to be tricky all the way through the competition. James Vince has been typically stylish and has amassed the greatest amount of runs for the Hawks. He has 93 at 31.00, at the top of the order.
Last five T20 matches (most recent first)
Middlesex: LLLLWL
Hampshire: LWLWL
Head-to-head T20 record
Total matches: 33
Middlesex wins: 12
Hampshire wins: 20
Tied: 1
No result: 1
Abandoned: 3
What's the team news?
Middlesex: Stuart Law has named an unchanged squad despite seeing his side lose their first two fixtures. They are still hampered by five injuries to fast bowlers with Tom Helm (illness), Tim Murtagh (elbow), James Harris (side), Toby Roland-Jones (knee) and Max Harris (ankle) unavailable.
Middlesex squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Ethan Bamber, Joe Cracknell, Blake Cullen, Stephen Eskinazi, Steven Finn, Chris Green, Nick Gubbins, Max Holden, Luke Hollman, John Simpson (wk), Nathan Sowter, Paul Stirling
Hampshire: Felix Organ is added to the Hants squad for the first time this season, joining an otherwise unchanged group.
Hampshire squad: James Vince (c), Lewis McManus, Scott Currie, D'Arcy Short, Tom Alsop, Joe Weatherley, James Fuller, Brad Wheal, Liam Dawson, Felix Organ, Ian Holland, Mason Crane, Chris Wood, Ryan Stevenson
Latest Middlesex news: Click here
Latest Hampshire news: Click here
What's the weather forecast?
Hot and sunny is the order of the day in Hertfordshire, with temperatures peaking around 23 degrees Celsius.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice's rolling forecast for Radlett: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: The ECB are offering a streaming service which can be found here.
Middlesex will also be offering a live stream of the match which can be found here.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every Vitality T20 Blast match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets
Tickets for Middlesex's three T20 Blast fixtures at Radlett are available to members only and will be played in front of a reduced capacity crowd in line with the government's latest Covid-19 guidelines.
Click here to visit the Middlesex box office.
Travel
Address: Radlett Cricket Club, Cobden Hill, Radlett, WD7 7JL
By train: Radlett train station is around a 15 walk from the cricket club. For details of the trains that run to Radlett, visit www.nationalrail.co.uk
Upon exiting the station, turn left and follow Watling Street south for roughly 10/15 minutes. As you leave the village you will see the Cat & Fiddle pub on your right and the turning into the Club is about 50 yards past the pub on the left. There is a brown signpost on the right indicating the turning pointing to the cricket club and Tabard Rugby Club.
By road:
From the north: Leave the A1/A1M at junction 23 and join the M25 travelling West towards Heathrow. Leave the M25 at junction 22 and take the B556 towards Radlett for a mile to a T junction with the A5183. Follow this all the way into Radlett and as you leave the village you will see the Cat & Fiddle pub on your right. Turn left around 50 metres beyond the pub and follow the path to arrive at the ground.
From the west: Leave the M25 at junction 21a and take the A405 to St Albans until you reach the Park street roundabout and take the right hand/third exit, the A5183, to Radlett. Then follow the directions as details in "from the north".
From the east: Leave the M25 at junction 22 and follow the directions stated in "from the north".
From the south: Depending how far south you are: Either use the M25 and directions as directed above from the east or west; or Take the A5 Edgware Road going north to the roundabout with the A41 going straight on towards Elstree and join the A5183 towards Radlett. Follow the road until you enter the 30 mph zone and the entrance to the public car park will be signposted on the right.
For the public car park, continue along Cobden Hill and the entrance to the public car park is 300 yards on the left.
Prediction?
Middlesex have struggled for form throughout the season, whereas Hampshire have been at their mercurial best. If they turn up there is no question of the visiting side's superiority. Hampshire win.
OTHER T20 BLAST FIXTURES: TUESDAY, JUNE 15
North Group
Yorkshire Vikings v Leicestershire Foxes
Derbyshire Falcons v Lancashire Lightning
Northamptonshire v Birmingham Bears
South Group
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