DORSET County Cricket Club will face Hampshire in the annual National Counties showcase match prior to the start of the Royal London Cup.

The match will be held at Wimborne CC near Bournemouth, and will take place on Sunday, July 31 ahead of the 50-over cup fixtures which begin on Friday, August 5.

Several Dorset-born cricketers have gone on to play for Hampshire, including current squad members Tom Prest, Scott Currie, Lewis McManus, and Felix Organ.

Even more players have played for both Hampshire and Dorset, perhaps most notably club legend Jimmy Adams who played in three Minor Counties games for Dorset in 2008.

Nick Eckland, chairman of Dorset CCC, said: “It’s great we can challenge ourselves against a top county side.

“We have a great relationship with the team and coaches and are very proud of our production line of players on the Hampshire first team staff and on the academy.

“We are really looking forward to the game and hope that being close to the Hampshire border at Wimborne CC we can attract a big crowd to come and see some brilliant players perform.”

Giles White, Hampshire director of cricket, added: “We have a very close relationship with Dorset and many Dorset players, over the years, have since gone on to play for Hampshire.

“It’s a pleasure to travel to Wimborne CC for what will hopefully be a great day out with some entertaining cricket being played.”

Last year saw national counties take on their neighbouring first-class county in a 50-over match, but Dorset v Hampshire was postponed, and no professional 50-over cricket took place in England in 2020.

This summer will be the first time the two sides meet on the cricket field since 2015, when Hampshire beat Dorset by 67 runs in a T20 match ahead of that year’s T20 Blast competition.