By Huzaifa Yousafzai from Merchant Taylors School
Hampshire defended 276 against Middlesex in the final round of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup group stages in order to finish third and qualify for the quarter finals.
Despite having mixed form coming into the game and relying on other results going their way, Hampshire’s captain Nick Gubbins was confident that his side could get over the finish line in North London.
“We did it the Hampshire way by keeping everyone on their toes,” said Gubbins. “It wasn’t the greatest trip up north (losing to Lancashire, Durham and Worcestershire) but we knew coming in to today that we had a chance (of qualifying) and when you have 11 blokes believing it can happen, things do happen.”
Not only did Hampshire need to beat Middlesex, but they also required Derbyshire to win against Durham whilst simultaneously staying below their net run rate; something Gubbins admitted was in the back of his mind.
“We knew how close it was there (at Durham vs Derbyshire) but it was really a massive case of doing our job as Middlesex pushed us really close. At the end of the day we would have kicked ourselves had we been worried about all of that and not done it ourselves.”
“You try and not find out what’s going on (in the other game) and just put it to the back of your mind. The first I heard about what was going on was that (Derbyshire) needed 36 off 30 with six wickets down so in my head we had a chance of qualifying. We were taking poles at that point, so it just made everything clear in my head that we need to get the job done ourselves.”
Gubbins was also quick to praise his own players, particularly Toby Albert who scored 75 not out in the first innings. Kyle Abbott and Mohammed Abbas also received plaudits with the pair taking six wickets combined.
“Toby Albert played another magnificent innings; he’s having a great summer in all three formats and Abbo (Kyle Abbott) who has turned himself into a specialist at the back end (of games) with both bat and ball.”
“(Mohammad) Abbas was exceptional today, he’s a very fine bowler and when you want to pick up a wicket you call someone like (Abbas) back to remove the two set batters in one over. He was a bit unlucky early on (in the second innings) as we thought he had an LBW not given but he showed his class and is just an exceptional professional bowler.”
Another player heavily praised by Gubbins was Liam Dawson who scored 48 runs and took two wickets with the ball. However, it wasn’t just for his performance but more his commitment towards playing for Hampshire despite taking part in a Hundred game for London Spirit just the night before.
“It was massive (to have Dawson available) and it just shows how much he loves Hampshire. People would have been watching their TV’s last night as he finished his game up in Leeds (against Northern Superchargers) at about ten o’clock and I think I was actually tucked up asleep in bed as he was walking off the ground. Guys like that want to come and play and it makes you realise how important (the One-Day Cup) is to the club and how much everyone enjoys (playing for Hampshire).”
Despite Dawson’s availability being a positive, it does pose some interesting selections dilemmas for Gubbins with the Hampshire Captain having to choose between guys who have led the team to the knockouts and higher quality players returning from elsewhere.
“It’s a tricky one because we want guys who have played every game and got us here (to the knockouts) but we also want to put our strongest side out. It’s a fine balance that we will hopefully get it right as we think we got it right last year. Things might get a bit complicated if we get to the final stages and everyone’s available, but we’ll be taking each game as it comes.”
Having reached the next round of the competition, Gubbins remained adamant that his side still have a lot more to offer in terms of quality of performances.
“Tournaments are funny things as it’s all about peaking at the right time and there’s no doubt we haven’t peaked yet. We hope we can go up on Friday (against Leicestershire) and put in a better performance than we have been doing. It’s a sign of a good side that you are not really playing your best, but you still qualify and there’s no doubt there’s plenty of miles left in this team.”
“We probably played our worst this year, but we’ve got through and that’s what matters. We try and make (Sport) process based and everything but it’s really about outcomes. Essentially it is three cup finals and that’s how we see it.”
Hampshire will face reigning champions Leicestershire in a repeat of the 2023 One-Day Cup final with the south coast side travelling away from home for the quarter final matchup.
“If you could give us one game (for the quarter finals) it would be (against Leicestershire) especially after last year. They’ve done really well in the last few years in this competition, and they’ll be a good side on their home patch. I don’t think there’s any (extra) motivation needed and there won’t be any team talk from me or Adi (Birrell).”
