Jamie Overton’s miserly spell stifles run chase to keep Hampshire rock bottom of South Group
Surrey 146 for 7 (Smith 59, Currie 3-21) beat Hampshire 126 for 8 (Atkinson 3-21)
Surrey moved to the top of the Vitality Blast South Group after their bowlers successfully defended a target of 147 and kept Hampshire Hawks rooted to the foot of the table.
In the first Blast match to be played in front of a crowd at the Ageas Bowl in 22 months, the home side looked to have given themselves a great chance of securing a second win of the season after holding Surrey to 146 for 7 after winning the toss and elected to field.
On a sluggish pitch, Hampshire’s attack also bowled magnificently with the visitors scoring just 36 runs in the final seven overs of their innings.
Currie grabbed 3 for 21 from three overs with Chris Wheal taking two wickets and Mason Crane and Chris Wood one apiece.
D’Arcy Short and Hawks skipper James Vince got the hosts off to a flying start in their response as they scored 23 off the first three overs. However, Australian opener Short’s struggles with the bat continued when he thumped a full toss straight back at Overton to be caught and bowled for 13.
Short’s departure brought 18-year-old Tom Prest to the crease but the talented teenager struggled to get bat on ball against Surrey’s experienced bowling attack as the visitors put the brakes on the Hawks’ run-scoring as they limped to 40 for 1 after the powerplay.
Veteran spinner Gareth Batty then grabbed the crucial wicket of Vince when he rattled the stumps of the England batter, who departed for 19.
Overton’s tight bowling in conjunction with Atkinson and giant New Zealand quick Kyle Jamieson shut down the Hampshire batters with boundaries hard to come by as Prest departed for 20 and Colin de Grandhomme for six.
Joe Weatherley tried manfully to up the run rate with a glorious shot that found the rope only to find himself back in the pavilion after the next ball thanks to a stunning flying catch on the boundary from Pope off Overton.
Hampshire scored just one four in the final five overs as wickets continued to fall, leaving them needing 27 runs from the final six balls for victory as Surrey closed out an impressive victory.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo