Hampshire vs Essex: July 22, Royal London One-Day Cup 2021 Prediction

Hampshire vs Essex is match 2 of the Royal London One-Day Cup 2021 to be held in Southampton on July 22. In this article, we preview the game and make our match prediction, after considering the current form of the sides in the fray, as reflected in the betting odds they attract.

Match Predictions and Team Previews

Analysis

The last time these sides met was on 28 April 2019 in Chelmsford. Batting first, Essex got off to a steady start, with an opening stand of 60 before Alastair Cook got out in the 10th over. Though his fellow opener Rishi Patel was also dismissed 7 runs later, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence staged a recovery with a 44-run stand for the third wicket. And after Essex lost their 4th wicket with the scorecard reading 147, Ravi Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate got together in a 150-run partnership that took the score to 297 for 5 in the 48th over. Some sensational hitting in the last 15 balls boosted the final score to 341/6. Among the Essex batsmen, Bopara and Doeschate were joint top scorers with 89 runs each, helped by innings of 48 by Westley and 35 by Patel, as well as a cameo of 22 in 7 balls by Paul Walter. Among the Essex bowlers, Liam Dawson took 2/39 while Kyle Abbott, Brad Wheal and James Fuller took one wicket each.

Chasing a daunting target of 341 runs, Hampshire got off to a bad start losing 3 wickets for only 37 runs. But despite an 83-run stand for the 4th wicket, followed by a 79-run partnership for the sixth, that took their score to 204 for 6 in 32.6 overs, the Hampshire innings fell apart, as they lost their last 4 wickets for only 26 runs to be bowled out for 230 in 40.5 overs. Barring Rilee Rossouw (93), James Vince (47) and Gareth Berg (41), the rest of the Hampshire batsmen failed to deliver. Matt Coles (4 for 48) was Essex’s best bowler, with Bopara (3 for 39), Siddle (2 for 18) and Lawrence (1 for 63) also taking wickets.

How the Teams Fared in 2019

In 2019, both teams were drawn in the South Group. While Hampshire topped the group, Essex finished 8^th, second-last in a group that had nine teams. Hampshire went on to qualify for the final in which they lost to the eventual champions, Somerset.

Head-to-Head

Essex have won four of the last five matches between the sides, while Hampshire have prevailed on one occasion.

Match Prediction

In our HAM vs ESS match 2 prediction, we expect Hampshire to prevail over Essex in the Royal London One-Day Cup game on 22 July.

Hampshire vs Essex Betting

Bookmakers favour Hampshire over Essex, quoting 7/1 to reflect Hampshire’s chances of winning the competition. By contrast, Essex are quoted at 10/1.