Hampshire vs Middlesex, VITALITY T20 BLAST 2022, Today Match Prediction 27 May 2022

ham vs mdx Match Prediction & Analysis

The two-time winner Hampshire will start their 20th campaign of the Vitality Blast against the Middlesex at The Rose Bowl stadium on 27th May from 11:30 pm. Hampshire were the semi-finalists last season while Middlesex finished 8th in the points table. With both teams having a really good current season in their respective divisions of the County Championship, it can be a close game at Southampton.

After winning the 2010 and 2012 Vitality Blast, Hampshire have been unlucky to see them on the losing side of 5 semifinals. In the last season, nobody thought of them playing the playoffs after registering a single victory in the first 9 games. Hampshire made a comeback in the second half by winning the last 5 games to lock the horns against Nottinghamshire in the Quarter-final 2. They reached the semis by beating the Notts by 2 runs. But the failure of the top-order in the semis saw them getting knocked out of the tournament by Somerset by 2 wickets.

It was a similar case for the Middlesex side as they also registered a single win in the first seven games. But resistance from Stephen Eskinazi in the top-order helped Middlesex win three of their last seven games. Eventually, they finished second last in the points table with 9 points. Middlesex are having a poor record in the Vitality Blast since they won their only trophy in 2008. They have been knocked out from the group stage 9 out of 11 times and have only played 2 quarterfinals so far. In the last 10 games played between Hampshire and Middlesex, Hampshire have dominated Middlesex by winning 6 outings. Well, things got different in the last season where Middlesex chased 216 runs target set by Hampshire for the loss of 7 wickets. Joe Cracknell and John Simpson put a stand of 122 runs in 10 overs for Middlesex after losing 3 wickets for 30. With 11 needed in the final over, Chris Green who is returning this season for Middlesex hit 10 runs in 2 deliveries to help Middlesex win the match with 2 balls to spare.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Hampshire Preview

Skipper James Vince will be leading the Hampshire once again and is convinced that his side is in a more stable place as compared to the last season. As D Arcy Short is not returning this season, Vince might open with Toby Albert. Vince finished last season with 373 runs in 12 games at a strike rate of 135.63 and a century. Joe Weatherly will be playing a key role in the Hampshire top-order. Weatherly was Hampshire’s leading run-scorer last season. He scored 410 runs at a strike rate of 141.86. Though his 71 in the semi-final couldn’t save Hampshire, he will be hungry to improve his performance this season.

Hampshire have recruited two big hitters in their squad - Aneurin Donald and Ross Whiteley. Donald has been returning to the squad after getting sidelined for two years due to an injury. He can start the game with Vince too. Who doesn’t remember Whiteley’s 44 off 19 balls in the finals with 4 fours and 4 sixes? His knock helped Southern Brave win the first The Hundred title. With so much firepower in the middle order, Hampshire also have Ben McDermott to rely on. McDermott leads the run-scorers table in the Big Bash 2021/22 with 577 runs at an average of 48.08. All-rounder Liam Dawson will play alongside the new recruits in the middle.

Scott Currie and Bradley Wheal will lead the pace attack for Hampshire. The duo took 19 and 17 wickets respectively in the last season with Mason Crane who had 16 wickets also. Hampshire have recruited the death bowler specialist Nathan Elis from Australia. Apart from Crane, it will be a pace attack for Hampshire throughout the season.

Key Players: James Vince, Ben McDermott, Scott Currie

Hampshire Predicted Playing XI:

James Vince (c), Aneurin Donald, Ross Whiteley, Joe Weatherley (WK), Ben McDermott, Liam Dawson, James Fuller, Nathan Elis, Scott Currie, Mason Crane, Bradley Wheal

Hampshire Actual Playing XI:

Mason Crane, James Vince, Nathan Ellis, Bradley Wheal, Joe Weatherley, Liam Dawson, James Fuller, Ross Whiteley, Ben McDermott, Aneurin Donald, Chris Wood

Middlesex Preview

Things will be a little difficult for Middlesex as they will be playing a game against Gloucestershire a day before Hampshire. Middlesex will be looking forward to keeping the form of the County Championship where they are leading the points table of division B. Sam Robson and Stephen Eskinazi will open the innings for Middlesex. Eskinazi scored 399 runs in the last season and was Middlesex’s leading run-scorer. The top-order will comprise Wicket-keeper batter Joe Cracknell, Luke Hallman, and Nathan Sowter. Cracknell scored 77 off 43 balls last season against Hampshire to win the game by 2 wickets.

Aussie bowling allrounder Chris Green is returning to Middlesex this season. He played 7 matches last season with 10 wickets and scored at a strike rate of 140.78. Green will be playing with his countrymate Jason Behrendorff who has been signed as a replacement for Shaheen Shah Afridi. Behrendorff has 5 Big Bash Leagues in his pocket and has been playing T20 format across the world. Young seamer Ben Cullen and Afghani spinner Mujeeb Ur Rehman will play with Behrendorff for Middlesex. While Cullen was the leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets last season for Middlesex, Mujeeb was the most economical with an economy of 6.91.

Key Players: Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Green, Ben Cullen

Middlesex Predicted Playing XI:

Sam Robson, Joe Cracknell, Chris Green, Max Holden, John Simpson (wk), Luke Hollman, Blake Cullen, Nathan Sowter, Jason Behrendorff, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Steven Finn (c)

Middlesex Actual Playing XI:

Toby Roland-Jones, Christopher Green, Max Holden, Luke Hollman, Martin Andersson, Joe Cracknell, Blake Cullen, Stephen Eskinazi, John Simpson, Thilan Walallawita, Jack Davies

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The T20 is expected to play under the clouds with no chances of rain. The temperature will range between 8°C and 20°C. The wind will be flowing from the northwest at 16-17 kmh. The pitch is ideal for pacers and offers a swing as well as an extra bounce. It makes really difficult for openers to play in the beginning as the ball moves a lot. 

Venue Details

The match between Hampshire and Middlesex will be played at The Rose Bowl, Southampton. The venue holds a capacity of 6500 spectators and has hosted 7 tests & 9 T20Is so far. 

Toss: To Bat

In 9 T20Is, the Team batting first has won the game 5 times. The average batting score for the first innings is 168 compared to 143 for the second innings. Even in the last 10 games of domestic T20s team batting first has won 7 times. Therefore, the team winning the toss should bat first.

HAM vs MDX
Winning Prediction

Hampshire has a great history against Middlesex. In 33 matches, they have won 20 times including 7 in the last 10 occasions. Plus, the game is played at The Rose Bowl where Hampshire are unbeaten in the last five games. Out of these five, 2 of them were chased while 3 were defended by the Hampshire team. As Middlesex are playing back-to-back games, Hampshire will have an upper edge in the contest.
 

We predict that Hampshire will defeat Middlesex.

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