After a thrilling 1st semi-final, we were treated to an extremely one-sided 2nd semi-final at the 2018 Royal London One Day Cup, with Hampshire recording an easy, 107-run victory over a depleted Yorkshire. Yorkshire won the toss and fielded first, and they were hit by a magnificent innings by James Vince.
The Hampshire captain came in to bat and number three and smashed his way to 171(126), before he was finally dismissed by Adam Lyth, allowing Yorkshire to breathe some fresh air in the 46th over. Vince hit 20 fours and 3 sixes in this innings, which was his second 150+ scores in his List A career.
When you look at Vince, he can really look like a million-dollar player at times, and then you see his international career and his not-so-impressive stats at that level. However, he does display what he is capable of every once in a way. If he can repeat anything close to this in the final, Hampshire are well on their way to lifting the title.
India’s Cheteshwar Pujara flew down for this game to be a part of the Yorkshire batting line-up, because India beat Afghanistan within 2 days in their maiden test match. However, Pujara’s trip was a waste as he was only out at the crease for 4 balls, which Dale Steyn softening him up to be caught in the slips for a duck.
One of the most exciting parts of the game was getting to watch Steyn in action once again, running up and spitting fire at the Yorkshire batsmen. He picked up 1/34 in his 7 overs but Liam Dawson was the real game changer with the ball, picking up 4/47 in his spell of 10 overs. Can’t wait for the Hampshire vs Kent final!
