Hampshire opens its account by beating Sussex
James Vince and Ben McDermott claimed a new record as they put on 124-run together to beat Sussex by 22 runs. By defeating Sussex, Hampshire finally opened its account of the win after having four-consecutive losses
Ben McDermott winning knock opened Hampshire account in T20 BlastVince-McDermott's match-winning opening stand
Hampshire, batting first, got a strong opening stand from James Vince and Ben McDermott as they both made 65 off 41 and 60 off 35, respectively. Having started with the beautiful caressing of the ball, a range of classic Vince strokes gave hosts a rocket start. Post their dismissal, Tom Prest, Ross Whiteley, and James Fuller could fetch only 9, 6, and 8, respectively, owing to the visitors' spectacular flying catches. While the middle-order became victim to the bowling attack despite having a good start, Toby Albert and Liam Dawson scored 23* off 15 and 14 off 5 to add quick runs to accelerate the total. The team posted a mammoth total of 199 at a loss of 6 wickets in 20 overs.
Seifert's unbeaten 100 in vain
While chasing the total, Sussex never had a stronghold in the game. Hawks started their defending effort patiently until they got a breakthrough in the fourth over by dismissing Luke Wright with Tim Seifert on the other end. Middle-order collapsed as Ali Orr, Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Ravi Bopara got dismissed for 9, 8, and 5 runs, respectively. Tim Seifert trying to fetch runs, could do nothing but see wickets stumbling from the other end. He got support from Delray Rawlins when they partnered 69 runs in 34 balls. The latter got out, making 32 runs. Not able to accelerate the game at desired strike rate, despite having wickets in hand, Sussex lost the match. Time Seifert's stand of unbeaten 100 off 56 went in vain as the team could score only 177 in 20 overs while losing six wickets.
With this match ending, Hampshire moved off the bottom of the South Group after having lost their first four matches, while Sussex remained fourth after a mixed start.
After their poor start to the tournament, a switch appeared to have flicked with Hampshire, with aggression channelled into ground strikes rather than chasing sixes. Hampshire will look to continue with the momentum in the next fixture against Middlesex on 7th July 2022, whereas Sussex will have a crucial comeback clash with table toppers Surrey on 8th July 2022.