2021 County Championship – Hampshire vs Middlesex Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Hampshire vs Middlesex taking place? Thursday 15th April, 2021 – 11:00 (UK)
Where is Hampshire vs Middlesex taking place? The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
Where can I get tickets for Hampshire vs Middlesex? The County Championship will initially be played without spectators but it is worth checking each county’s official website for updates
What channel is Hampshire vs Middlesex on? This match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Hampshire vs Middlesex? Matches can be streamed live on the official websites of the First-Class Counties
THE PREDICTION
Hampshire’s remarkably impressive performance in their opening match of the season could be viewed as something of a marker for the rest of the campaign. James Vince’s double-century at a strike rate of over 100 is a signal of intent as they made 621-5 declared off just over 120 overs with centuries for both Tom Alsop and Liam Dawson. That was followed up by bowling out Leicestershire for 202 and 305 with Mason Crane taking three wickets in each innings to support a bowling attack led by Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott; simply international quality cricket throughout from Hampshire.
Middlesex will be extremely disappointed with their defeat to Somerset at Lord’s last week. A first-innings lead of 141 runs was conceded as they fell to a six-wicket defeat. A second-innings collapse from 88-3, and a lead of 229 with seven wickets in hand, to 143 is where the match was lost. It is even more concerning when their first-innings score of 313 was heavily reliant on 165 runs from the bat of Sam Robson. An impressive bowling performance led by a 4-46 and 3-24 from Tim Murtagh and Ethan Bamber will give some hope to them this week.
One side were relentlessly impressive and one side were quite average and had such a close opening match due to one individual performance with the bat. Hampshire will head into this as favourites tio make it back-to-back victories to begin their campaign.
