Two In Line for Debuts Against Loughborough

Apr 16 2013

Michael Roberts could be in line to make his Hampshire First Class debut

Hampshire v Loughborough University
First Class MCCU Match
Wed 17 – Fri 20 April 2013 (11am start)
The Ageas Bowl (Nursery Ground)

Hampshire manager Giles White has made a number of changes to his squad for Wednesday’s MCCU match against Loughborough at The Ageas Bowl.

Play starts at 11am on each day.

Hampshire Squad:
Wicketkeeper-batsman Michael Bates and all-rounder Hamza Riazuddin come into the squad for the first time this season with batsman Mike Roberts and on-trial pace bowler Glenn Querl also in line to be handed their First-Class debuts.

David Griffiths could also play having been left out of the side that faced Leicestershire last week.

The Opposition:
Though a relatively unknown side, Loughborough are expected to field a few familiar faces at The Ageas Bowl. Adam Soilleux, Toby Lester and Devon Endersby are in their squad for this match and all played in the corresponding fixture last season.

Last Season:
The two sides met each other in the corresponding fixture last season and it was Hampshire who triumphed by 274 runs.

From Hampshire's point of view, the match as most memorable for Bates' first innings 93 and James Vince's 128 - an ominous sign for the students given the form that he's been in recently! Chris Wood also claimed 5 for 41.

Loughborough's threats with the bat came in the form of William Travare (61) and Kent player Sam Billings (49 and 69) – neither of whom will be available for them this season.

Form:
On the back of an impressive 148 v Leicestershire, Vince will be looking to add to his already considerable season’s total while Liam Dawson will be hoping he can replicate his pre-season form again, after just missing out on a half-century last week with 46.

Loughborough all-rounder Gavin Baker has already proven he can play against county opposition, as he top scored with 44 and took two wickets against Sussex earlier this month. The hosts must also be wary of medium-pacer Will MacVicar, who took the high-profile scalps of Chris Nash and Rory Hamilton-Brown in their last match.

Squad:

Coverage:
Periodic updates from the match will be available via the Hampshire Cricket Twitter (@HantsCricket) and Facebook (facebook.com/HantsCricket) pages.

There will be no TV or radio coverage.

Tickets:
Entrance to the ground will be free.