High-flying Hampshire welcome struggling Kent to the Ageas Bowl looking to earn a fifth win in the Natwest T20 Blast South Group. Kent are down in seventh in the standings but are just two points off the quarter-final qualification spaces.
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Match Preview – 1st August – 1900 – Ageas Bowl, Southampton.
Hampshire will be looking to keep up their pursuit of a quarter-final berth as they host the Kent Spitfires. Our Hampshire vs Kent preview features two sides separated by three positions and two points in the Natwest T20 Blast South Group. Hampshire are fourth and looking to cement their position, while Kent know they are just one win off the top four.
Hampshire have traditionally always had big personalities on their books and few are bigger than Shahid Afridi. The former Pakistan leg-spinner draws crowds wherever he goes and will be influential with bat and ball in this game. For Kent, they have plenty of exciting young talent in their ranks, none more so than Sam Billings. Billings has been a mainstay in the England T20 team in recent months and has a full repertoire of shots, enabling to score 360 degrees around the ground.
Hampshire opened the competition with three big wins overs Glamorgan, Sussex and Middlesex respectively, but have one once in their last five matches, their most recent outing against Gloucestershire at Bristol. Kent meanwhile, won two of their first three matches, but have managed just one win in their last five matches – a seven-wicket win over Somerset at Canterbury.
Ahead of our Hampshire vs Kent prediction, we first look at the head-to-head record between Hampshire and Kent. The sides have met four times in Natwest T20 Blast competition, sharing the spoils with two wins apiece.
Hampshire are favourites to win the match, but have struggled in recent matches. Kent have also endured a mixed run of form so both will want a win in this match to ensure momentum and progress in the Natwest T20 blast. The Ageas Bowl traditionally provides a good battle between bat and ball and with the talent on display its looking set to be a brilliant contest. Hampshire have the edge because of more experience among their ranks.
Two of the most exciting batsmen in the Natwest T20 Blast featue in this match and both will be key to the success of the respective sides in this contest. George Bailey is one of the premier limited-overs batsmen in Australia, while Sam Billings is an exciting part of the England coloured clothing revolution. Both are instrumental to their teams and will need to score big runs at the top of the order to get their sides in a position to post match-winning totals.