‘Brutal’ T20 Blast format ‘magnifying’ Hampshire’s struggles after third successive South group loss to Essex at Chelmsford

Last season’s semi-finalists sit bottom of the South group after losing their opening three games.

They followed up home losses to Middlesex and Somerset with an eight-wicket caning at Essex Eagles last night.

Michael Pepper smashed his T20 Blast best as the Eagles chased down Hampshire’s below-par 150 with 37 balls to spare.

Pepper dispatched four sixes to go alongside eight fours to crash a 75-ball 42 – to better his previous best of 55 not out - as his side claimed a first T20 home win over Hampshire for five years.

Less than a fortnight ago, Pepper had blasted eight sixes and 14 fours in a stunning 41-ball 117 for Essex against Hampshire in the 2nd XI T20 tournament at The Ageas Bowl, though none of the Hampshire bowlers in that game played at Chelmsford.

Matt Critchley pummelled 45 in a 100 stand with Pepper last night to leave Hawks with much food for thought.

‘They came hard and it came off for them but we didn't play very well,’ said Birrell.

‘We aren't getting any starts. We have a good team but as I've just said in the dressing room, three games ago we played in a semi-final in this format. Three games later we are not a bad team.

‘With a bit of belief and form as a team and the form will turn around. We have a bit of a job to do in the next few games.

‘T20 is a brutal format and when it isn't going your way it is magnified in all departments.’

Essex opener Will Buttleman was caught and bowled off his glove and Adam Rossington was starved of the strike before Nathan Ellis kissed his leg stump. But Pepper dominated from then on.

He showed power with conventional shots but mixed it with some inventive flicks. The shot to bring up his half-century, however, was the combination of the two – a ramp shot with some added wrist to take the ball the distance.

Pepper was the Eagles’ top run-scorer in the Blast last season, with 260 runs – he wasn’t finished at a fifty as he dispatched Liam Dawson for back-to-back sixes over midwicket and then into the Hayes Close End gardens.

Mason Crane was his victim in the following over with another straight six, while Critchley went somewhat under the radar for his 24-ball 45 – which included two huge maximums.

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Earlier, Essex won the toss and elected to bowl first – their previous six victories all coming when chasing in this format– and after a 25-minute delay due to rain they stifled the Hawks in the powerplay.

The visitors only managed to get to 33 with the departure of the yorked Aneurin Donald.

Sam Cook was the main architect of the strong start with a boundary coming off his first delivery and then 11 dot balls – with his second over a wicket maiden.

James Vince and Ben McDermott – on his 100th T20 appearance – both fell as Hampshire laboured to 59-3 after 10.1 overs.

That followed starts of 56-5 at the halfway mark against Somerset and 58-4 against Middlesex.

But Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley and James Fuller made sure they had a total to defend.

Weatherley swept both sides of the wicket with excellence in his 37, while Whiteley and Fuller used brute force to clear the shot boundaries; both striking two sixes each.

Curiously Essex’s two best bowlers, Cook and Simon Harmer only bowled three of their allocation, both with identical figures of 2-16. Critchley’s miserly 1-20 was also exemplary.

Hampshire travel to The Kia Oval to face Surrey in their fourth South group tie tomorrow evening.