Royals Ready for Dragons CB40 Opener

Full squad and match preview for Hampshire's Clydesdale Bank 40 match against the Welsh Dragons at The Ageas Bowl

Hampshire Royals v Welsh Dragons
Clydesdale Bank 40
Monday 7 May (13:45 start)
The Ageas Bowl

The Clydesdale Bank 40 competition kicks into life this Bank Holiday Monday as Glamorgan’s Welsh Dragons travel to The Ageas Bowl to take on the Hampshire Royals.

It should be a fantastic occasion as the Club’s new official mascot, Reggie the Royal is unveiled and 50 patients, family members and volunteers from the Wessex Heartbeat charity turn up to cheer on the side.

For the hosts, bowler Kabir Ali is available again following an injury sustained during the Club’s pre-season tour of Barbados. He joins the squad having impressed by making 42 with the bat in a Second XI Championship match earlier this week. Danny Briggs, who also made a stubborn 24 in that SEC match against Essex to take the game to the penultimate over may also figure.

The Dragons, meanwhile, have former Hampshire players Simon Jones and Marcus North back in the squad for the match. The former enjoyed a Man-of-the Match performance for the Royals in the first fixture of last season’s competition, taking 4-52 against Warwickshire. If selected, North will make his debut for the Welsh side having only arrived in the country earlier this week.

One bowler who will relish the opportunity to play in this match is Hampshire seamer, Chris Wood. He comes off the back of seven-wicket performance in the LV= County Championship against Northamptonshire, but he also spent two seasons alongside Jones and was Hampshire’s leading wicket-taker in this competition last season.

He said; “I like bowling with the white ball and expressing my skills so it’s my favourite form of the game. There’s more entertainment! I do like playing Championship cricket but I feel, at the minute, where I am, I probably offer a bit more in the one-day form.

“We might come across Simon Jones. He was with us last year so we know what he’s about... we want him to play down there at Glamorgan and do well but hopefully not too well against us on Monday!”

To hear more of this interview click on the audio below:

Full Squad: 

(3) Simon Katich*	(18) David Griffiths
(7) Sean Ervine	(19) Danny Briggs
(8) Liam Dawson	(25) Chris Wood
(10) Sean Terry	(33) Kabir Ali
(14) James Vince	(38) Hamza Riazuddin
(15) Michael Carberry	(84) David Balcombe
(16) Michael Bates+

Keep Up: 

Click here to find out how to follow all the action live and, in the case of any extended rain delays, the Ageas Bowl Match-Day Information Line (02380 475 662) and Twitter Feed (@TheAgeasBowl) will be updated regularly with revised timings of play and any other relevant information. You can also get live updates sent direct to your mobile phone by texting "FOLLOW @TheAgeasBowl" to 86444 (charges may apply).

Please note: gate opening times for this match will be 90 minutes before the start of play. The official Hampshire Cricket CB40 Tournament Guide will also be available around the ground.

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Words: Simon Vincent
Images: LMI Photography

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