Southampton milestones for Howell and Tye
17 August 2018
Benny Howell and Andrew Tye both reach the landmark of 100 T20 matches worldwide at the Ageas Bowl this evening in Gloucestershire's final South Group game in the Vitality T20 Blast against Hampshire.
Howell reaches his hundred against the county where he started his career before moving to Gloucestershire in 2012. The vast bulk of his appearances have been in England, whilst for Tye it is more of a global blend, split between two seasons with Gloucestershire, his native Australia and the IPL.
Gloucestershire go into tonight's match knowing a win will take them to 20 points, a mark which could also be reached by Kent if they beat Essex. South Group leaders Somerset - who have finished their schedule - already have 20 points, so the top three positions could be decided on net run rate, with the team left in third place facing an away draw in the quarter finals.
Howell and Tye have taken 26 wickets in the Vitality T20 Blast this season and captain Michael Klinger admitted both are players he would want in his team.
"You don't have to give either of them too many ideas when you throw them the ball as they know their own variations and set their own fields" he said.
"I've played a lot with Andrew at the Perth Scorchers, and he gives you a lot of flexibility both as a wicket taker and a specialist death bowler. A lot of players are still finding out how to to be good at that and even though on some days it doesn't work it's generally something he does well."
"Benny is one of the hardest trainers with both bat and ball and it's to his credit that he keeps adding aspects to his game which keep him ahead of the opposition. People still struggle to work him out even though he's come up against the same opposition again and again in England by playing most of his T20 cricket here."
"I'm still waiting for him to have a really big day with the bat. I'm sure he will do it at some stage, and it could be an amazing innings when it happens."
Tonight's opponents Hampshire have been synonymous with progress to the knockout rounds of the T20 format, reaching finals day seven times in the last eight seasons, winning the trophy in both 2010 and 2012.
This year, however, their form has fallen short of previous standards, with nine defeats from their 13 games. A Gloucestershire victory could not only lead to a home quarter final next week, it would also be a first at the Ageas Bowl in the competition after three previous defeats and no play on the last visit in 2016.
Squad :
Klinger (c), Hammond, Cockbain, Howell, Higgins, Neoma-Barnett, J.Taylor, Roderick, Tye, Payne, Dent, M.Taylor, Lintott, Drissell
Coverage:
You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the website, or via Twitter @Gloscricket.
Ball by ball commentary is also available on the BBC Sport website.
