The Hampshire Academy have stolen a march on all their ECB Southern Premier Division rivals with a mid-February tour to La Manga, where they played two T20s and two 50-over matches against the Middlesex Cricket Board, who included former England U19 captain Max Holden in their ranks.
They shared the spoils in the T20 matches, lost the opening 50-over match by 43 runs, but were rain robbed of a potential revenge victory over Middlesex in the final game.
Middlesex posted 198 in the first T20 and then took two quick wickets. George Metzger (40) and Fletcha Middleton (36) added 66 for the third wicket before Huw Wheeler, last season’s Under-15 Player of the Year, struck an unbeaten 37 from 29 deliveries, including two fours and two sixes before Hampshire (166) came up 32 runs short.
Second time around, Hampshire’s batsmen were unable to impose themselves against the Middlesex bowling and needed a late flurry from James Trodd (18) to push them to a respectable score of 129.
But it proved enough as seam duo Harry Broderick (3-16) and James Trodd (1-25) struck early blows before spin duo Kamran Khanna and Monaam Abbas restricted the rate. Middlesex could only muster up 116 from their 20 overs leaving Hampshire victorious by 13 runs.
The Academy’s spin twins were on their game in the opening 50-over match, Khanna (3-41) and Abbas (3-29) sharing six wickets as Middlesex were dismissed for 209.
Hampshire slumped to 118-9 before a tenth wicket partnership of 48 between Harry Petrie (25) and Josh Croom (23*) lifted the Academy reply to 166 all out.
The final game of the tour was a scheduled 45-over rain affected affair in which Fletcha Middleton (74) top scored in Hampshire’s 215-9. Trodd (3-25) took all three wickets as Middlesex slumped to 43-3 before the rain in Spain won the day.
They shared the spoils in the T20 matches, lost the opening 50-over match by 43 runs, but were rain robbed of a potential revenge victory over Middlesex in the final game.
Middlesex posted 198 in the first T20 and then took two quick wickets. George Metzger (40) and Fletcha Middleton (36) added 66 for the third wicket before Huw Wheeler, last season’s Under-15 Player of the Year, struck an unbeaten 37 from 29 deliveries, including two fours and two sixes before Hampshire (166) came up 32 runs short.
Second time around, Hampshire’s batsmen were unable to impose themselves against the Middlesex bowling and needed a late flurry from James Trodd (18) to push them to a respectable score of 129.
But it proved enough as seam duo Harry Broderick (3-16) and James Trodd (1-25) struck early blows before spin duo Kamran Khanna and Monaam Abbas restricted the rate. Middlesex could only muster up 116 from their 20 overs leaving Hampshire victorious by 13 runs.
The Academy’s spin twins were on their game in the opening 50-over match, Khanna (3-41) and Abbas (3-29) sharing six wickets as Middlesex were dismissed for 209.
Hampshire slumped to 118-9 before a tenth wicket partnership of 48 between Harry Petrie (25) and Josh Croom (23*) lifted the Academy reply to 166 all out.
The final game of the tour was a scheduled 45-over rain affected affair in which Fletcha Middleton (74) top scored in Hampshire’s 215-9. Trodd (3-25) took all three wickets as Middlesex slumped to 43-3 before the rain in Spain won the day.
Fletcha Middleton in good form in La Manga.
