Preview: Warwickshire v Hampshire, Metro Bank One Day Cup semi-final

Sam Hain returns from The Hundred to strengthen Warwickshire’s squad ahead of the Metro Bank One Day Cup semi-final shootout against Hampshire.

briggford

2023-08-28T16:03:16.000Z

Sam Hain returns from The Hundred to strengthen Warwickshire’s squad ahead of the Metro Bank One Day Cup semi-final shootout against Hampshire.

Hain – who averaged 33 in five innings for Trent Rockets – is expected to make his first start in the competition as a replacement for Alex Davies who has a back injury.

Warwickshire powered through Group B with seven wins from eight – the only blemish being a one-run defeat to Durham – to secure home advantage for Tuesday’s last four clash. Tickets are available for only £10 for adults and free for under 16s, while Members also go free.

Victory will see them face either Leicestershire – who topped Group A – or Gloucestershire in the final at Trent Bridge on 16 September.

Bears’ 50-over campaign has been underpinned by standout performances from experienced heads Olly Hannon-Dalby – the leading wicket taker on 24 – and Ed Barnard who’s revelled at the top of the order where he’s smashed 590 runs.

But First Team Coach Mark Robinson has been quick to praise his entire squad, including the contributions of teenagers Hamza Shaikh, Kai Smith and Tazeem Ali, plus rookie seamer Michael Booth.

He said: “Everyone has played a part in the team’s success and the younger players, who’ve gained valuable experience, have not looked out of place in the senior side.

“As players have been released from The Hundred it’s made the side stronger, increased competition for places, and posed us selection quandaries.

“Davo (Alex Davies) went down with back spasms at the weekend and has been ruled out. With Hamza playing on Monday for England’s under-19s, we felt it wouldn’t be right to bring him out of that environment.

“Hainy was back in training on Monday and is available to slot in for Davo. Dan (Mousley) and Benji (Chris Benjamin) won’t be involved as it’s right to reward those players who’ve got us to this point. They will be starting their transition back to red ball.”

Hampshire qualified from Group A in similarly impressive fashion (7 wins from 8) and denied fans a Bears vs Pears semi-final with a 10-run win against Worcestershire on Sunday.

Robinson knows it’ll be his side’s toughest assignment yet in this year’s One Day Cup with star players like Liam Dawson and James Vince potentially involved for the south coast side.

He added: “Hampshire have gone really well with overall quite a young team. They’re a lot stronger now than they have been during the group stages, but so are we so I expect it to be a close game and hopefully a good spectacle for our supporters.

“We’ll make sure we’re prepared technically and mentally, that our processes are right, and then we’ll hope the cricket gods shine on us at the key moments.”

Hamza Shaikh and Taz Ali remain with England’s under-19s for ODIs against Australia.

Squad

Ed BarnardJacob BethellMichael BurgessDanny BriggsEthan BrookesHenry BrookesSam HainOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottCraig MilesWill RhodesKai SmithRob Yates

How to Follow

Members and supporters can follow the match live in our Match Centre at edgbaston.com, which will include a free to watch Live Stream, with BBC commentary, and a live text commentary.

Supporters can get involved by sending their match day comments and thoughts on Twitter via @WarwickshireCCC and we’ll publish the best ones on our live text commentary in the Match Centre.

Supporters can also watch the Live Stream and get instant push notifications of all wickets, innings and match results via the Edgbaston app, which is free to download on iOS and Android.

Match updates will also be available across the Club’s social media accounts, simply search for @WarwickshireCCC.