Opening Duo Power Royals to Comfortable Victory

Kabir Ali removes Stewart Walters' middle stump

Match report from the Hampshire Royals' Clydesdale Bank 40 match against the Welsh Dragons at The Ageas Bowl

Hampshire Royals v Welsh Dragons
Clydesdale Bank 40
Monday 7 May 2012
The AGeas Bowl

Summary: The Hampshire Royals beat the Welsh Dragons by 48 runs
(Duckworth-Lewis Method)
Welsh Dragons: 173-7 (34 / 34 ovs)
Hampshire: 151-2 (23.5 ovs)
Scorecard
Concurrent Table

Royals Team
Terry, Dawson, Carberry, Katich*, Vince, Ervine, Bates⁺, Wood, Ali, Briggs, Griffiths
Dragons Team
Rees, Walters, O Shea, Wallace *⁺, Wright, James, Cooke, A Jones, Cosker, S Jones, Owen

An opening partnership worth 142 from Hampshire openers Michael Carberry (60) and James Vince (83) helped the Royals romp to victory in their opening Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Glamorgan's Welsh Dragons at The Ageas Bowl.

The target set by the visitors – 173 for 7 – was made to look well below par and the victory was all but wrapped up by the time poor light intervened and a 48 run victory was determined by Duckworth Lewis.

Earlier in the day, a happy return to action for Kabir Ali (3-44) – who’s been scoring runs and taking wickets in the Second XI of late – saw him perform the star turn with the ball to help strangle the Dragons' scoring.

Hampshire take two points for the victory and move onto an LV= County Championship match against Derbyshire at The Ageas Bowl starting on Wednesday. The next match in the CB40 competition is against the Scottish Saltires on the 20th May at Uddingston CC.

The Dragons (formerly known as Glamorgan) won the toss and chose to bat on a pitch which looked as though it was going to give encouragement to the bowlers. It still took Hampshire until the eleventh over to make the first breakthrough when Danny Briggs was brought into the attack. The Dragons’ openers had put on 49 when Gareth Rees chipped Briggs’ delivery straight back to him and fell for 27.

Seeing that taking the pace off the ball could be effective the Royals’ stand-in captain Simon Katich brought on Liam Dawson and the move paid off immediately when the spinner also took a fantastic high catch in his follow through and a stunned Michael O’Shea was on his way back to the pavilion for 2; the visitors 51-2. Although it was Dawson’s only wicket his tight bowling (1-26 off 7) was instrumental in keeping the Dragon’s total a modest one. Only Chris Wood was more economical, and that by just two runs.

The main contributors to the Dragons’ total were Stewart Walters (68 off 89 balls) and Nick James (37 off 36). Both innings were ended by Ali, returning from his injury sustained pre season. Brought back into the attack at the death he struck in his first over to remove Walters with a yorker. He then removed James, caught by David Griffiths at short fine leg, and finally took care of Ben Wright, caught and bowled for 7.

Carberry-Vince-Blues-Bat-Glamorgan-AgeasBowl-LMI-1-410 If Hampshire’s bowlers were ruthlessly efficient, their opening batsmen [pictured left] sparkled in the increasing gloom. Carberry stated his intent by hitting the first ball, off spinner O’Shea, for four, but it was former colleague Simon Jones who was targeted by both Royals’ openers. Carberry took 16 runs off his first over, including two exquisite off drive boundaries, and Vince took three fours off Jones’ next.

Dragons’ captain Mark Wallace had no option but to remove Jones from the attack but Carberry and Vince continued to score freely off the pace of Alex Jones and Will Owen and now the competition between them seemed to be for the most sixes. Carberry was first, with a massive hit over mid wicket but next over Vince hit out behind square on the leg side. Carberry won that particular battle with a six over mid off and Wallace was forced into introducing spin at both ends.

Although the pairing of O’Shea with the vastly experienced Dean Cosker slowed the Royals’ run accumulation down there were plenty of overs left to reach the total. The Dragons went wicketless until the 23rd when Simon Jones caught Carberry for 60 (65 balls, 5 fours, 2 sixes) off the returning Alex Jones and in the next over Vince was caught behind off Owen for 83 (78 balls, 11 fours, 1 six).

After all the excitement the game ended shortly afterwards in a slightly anticlimactic manner as dark clouds appeared and the covers came on. But the umpires didn’t make The Ageas Bowl crowd wait long for the result, and Hampshire came away smiling despite being allowed the opportunity to celebrate the winning runs.