Jones Set to Fire Against Dragons

HAMPSHIRE ROYALS v GLAMORGAN DRAGONS
Friends Life t20

Wednesday 8 June 2011 (Start: 19:00)
The Rose Bowl

The Hampshire Royals will be looking for their fourth consecutive Friends Life t20 victory on Wednesday against the Glamorgan Dragons.

The match is due to start at 7.00pm at The Rose Bowl with gates opening at 5.30pm.

Hampshire:

Hampshire manager, Giles White makes one change to the squad that defeated Kent Spitfires by twenty runs in a rain-hit, five-over-apiece match on Sunday.

Leg-spinner Imran Tahir is rested for the fixture with Simon Jones potentially in line to deputise against his former employers. Jones got the nod in the aforementioned victory at Tunbridge Wells, taking two wickets for the price of just two runs in his one allowed over. However, such as substitution would mean a slight change in emphasis, swapping spin for seam.

Liam Dawson and Johann Myburgh are included in the squad and would both prove useful spin options despite both being more obviously recognised as batsmen. At the top of the order, meanwhile, Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams will be looking to continue their excellent starts to the campaign. The pair combined to hit eight sixes in nine balls to guide their team to victory over the Spitfires on Sunday.

A victory for the Royals would extend their 100% winning record in the competition this season – a run which has taken the Rose Bowl club to the top of the South Group table.

The Opposition:

Glamorgan, meanwhile, have only played one match in the competition so far - a convincing win in a rain effected match against Middlesex. Captain Alviro Petersen made up 72 of the 199 runs his side posted in a match that was not only delayed by rain but also the malfunction of the flood lights part way through the Middlesex innings.

They name an unchanged squad, minus the injured Gareth Rees, for their trip to the South Coast so expect the Dragon’s big threats to come in the form of the first three batsmen. South African, Petersen has shown to be a leader in all formats, averaging close to 33 runs.

Meanwhile, Tasmanian opener Mark Cosgrove has returned again for another stint having scored more than 2,000 runs for the county in all competitions last season; a feat which also saw him become the third highest scorer in Twenty20 cricket.

These two, coupled with the Western Australian come Englishman, Jim Allenby - who is a powerful striker of the ball and a vital cog to Glamorgan in the shorter formats of the game, averaging 27.69 - should make Glamorgan a tough prospect on a Wednesday evening.

The orginal article was for Hampshire CCC and can be found here

Words: Stuart Appleby / Olly Reid