Ervine: Hampshire will be ready to show true T20 pedigree

The captain saw his side suffer a disappointing 69-run defeat against Middlesex at Uxbridge in their opening game of the competition.

They are now boosted by the inclusion of West Indies T20 World Cup winning captain Darren Sammy who makes his debut.

Sammy missed out at Uxbridge because of registration issues.

With Hampshire needing Ryan McLaren for their County Championship game against Middlesex it meant Sammy had to be left out.

Hampshire are also waiting to hear if last season’s top run scorer in T20 cricket James Vince will be available to return.

He is currently with the England Test team against Sri Lanka and could be released by the English Cricket Board to play for the county between test matches.

His presence would also give Hampshire a massive confidence lift.

At Uxbridge the visitors under performed and were well beaten.

‘We were all disappointed in the changing room afterwards,’ said Ervine.

‘It has only made us more determined to put things right.

‘Middlesex took the initiative from the start with some excellent batting and we just couldn’t make a breakthrough in the opening six overs.

‘They took the game away from us during that period.

‘At one stage they looked on to make an even bigger score but our bowlers did well to drag them back around the half-way stage of their innings.

‘We managed to keep them below 200 runs but were still left chasing a big score.

‘Their bowlers got more out of the wicket than we did and a few things didn’t go our way.’

Though disappointed to lose the opener Ervine insists there is no reason to panic.

‘There is still a long way to go in the competition,’ said Ervine.

‘We pride ourselves at Hampshire in having a good T20 team with an outstanding record.

‘Over the next couple of weeks we get the chance to concentrate more on white ball cricket.

‘We have plenty of experience in our squad but at the same time we have to go out and do the business.

‘This is our first home game and I expect all of us to go out and put on a show for the fans.’

It will be a welcome change in formula for Hampshire who lost by an innings and 116 runs as they lost to Middlesex in the County Championship yesterday.

Four-day skipper Will Smith wants to ensure the result is not repeated.

He said: ‘We need to make sure this kind of result doesn’t happen again.

‘We have a break, three weeks, until our next four day game.’