White: Bowlers can learn from their mistakes
Giles White has backed his bowlers to learn from their mistakes as they bid to steer Hampshire towards Twenty20 Cup quarter-final qualification against Kent tonight.
The Hampshire manager was unhappy with his attack in the wake of Monday's eight-run defeat to the same opposition.
Loose deliveries and some sloppy moments in the field left his batsmen with too much to do chasing 182.
But White saw a big improvement in the bowling discipline as the Hawks bounced back with a 28-run success over Middlesex on Tuesday, meaning they will be in good spirits for the crucial encounter at the Rose Bowl.
White said: 'I was far happier with the bowling against Middlesex. The bowlers hit their areas for the most part and we didn't get that quite right at Kent.
'They are very small margins we're talking about, but it can be the difference between a dot ball and a six.
'We need to do that again when Kent come to the Rose Bowl because we know how dangerous they are with the bat.'
Two bowlers in particular showed the kind of character required to bowl under enormous pressure in a tight game and will be expected to play a key role in tonight's clash.
Sean Ervine hit back after being hammered for 23 runs from just one over against Kent. He found his form after a hamstring injury to stem the flow of Middlesex runs at a vital time.
And Chris Tremlett came in for his first Twenty20 Cup appearance of the campaign and produced two fine late overs after White had preferred him over Twenty20 regular Billy Taylor.
White said: 'It was a tough call. Chris came in for Billy Taylor who has done very well for us, but I made the call for Chris to play in the Kent game.
'He was under a bit more pressure because of that. But he came back and bowled two outstanding overs towards the end, which clinched the game for us.'
If the bowlers can do their bit, Hampshire's batsmen have shown they can make big totals as Michael Lumb bids to pick up where he left off against Middlesex after a fine 93.
White said: 'Lumby is in great form at the moment but we're confident we've got batters who can do the job.
'But Kent are a very strong side – we saw that on Monday. On paper, they are as good as anyone, but we've played well at the Rose Bowl and we will be looking to put in the performance we need.'
White added: 'Qualifying for the quarter-finals is still up in the air. It's down to us, Kent, Sussex and Essex looking towards the next stage.
'We've got to put in a couple more performances against Kent and Essex on Sunday.
'Ideally, we want to win both of those and if we do that, we will be okay. If we win one, we are looking to other teams to do us a favour.'
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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