6 days ago
Hampshire Hawks set to kick off T20 Blast campaign against Essex
HAMPSHIRE Cricket will kick off their T20 Blast campaign with a double header against Essex's men's and women's teams at Utilita Bowl on Friday.
The T20 cricket season is back, with this year's T20 Blast competition seeing men's and women's teams across all counties play side by side for the first time.
Hampshire's players will again don their iconic yellow T20 kits this season, representing Hampshire Hawks, the club's T20 side.
Hampshire Hawks' opening fixture forms part of the tournament's 'Blast-Off' round of fixtures, and will see the likes of Ben Brown, Chris Wood, Liam Dawson, Georgia Adams and Maia Bouchier all be hoping to kick off their campaigns in style.
Hampshire Hawks are the most successful men's domestic side in T20 history, having won the competition three times.
They will be hoping to bounce back from the disappointment of last year's competition, where they missed out on reaching finals day, and will be strengthened by the return of captain James Vince.
Vince, a product of Hampshire's successful youth pathway, has played in all of the side's winning finals over the years. Vince recently moved to Dubai with his family but has committed to returning to captain the Hawks for this year's T20 Blast.
Leading the Hawks' women's side is captain Adams, a club mainstay, having previously captained Southern Vipers, the former regional team based at Utilita Bowl, and the most successful women's domestic regional team.
Looking ahead to this season's competition, Adams said: 'It's a really exciting time at the club, the whole team is ready to go out there and put in strong performances for the first time under the Hampshire name.
'We've started well in the one-day cup and now it's down to us to keep that momentum going. Despite the name change, a big percentage of the squad have achieved great things together in T20, and now we're all set on trying to repeat that success.'
The men's competition is entering its 22nd year, while the women's teams will compete across two T20 Blast events, one contested by the eight counties from Tier One, including Hampshire.
The competition will dominate June and July before the group stage comes to a high-stakes conclusion with 'Friday Finale' on July 18.
'Friday Finale' will see the women race for the three Finals Day spots while the men have a last chance to book their place in the quarter-finals with eight men's matches scheduled and all eight women's counties in action.
The first-ever T20 Blast Women's Finals Day will be staged at the Kia Oval on Sunday, July 27, while the established T20 Blast Men's Finals Day taking place at Edgbaston on Saturday, September 13.
