Hampshire v Auckland Aces live Champions League T20 2012

The teams in the qualifying round of the Champions League have another tense day at work as they look to seal their spot in the main round.

Wednesday will see two matches being played, the first of which will be played between Auckland and Hampshire.

Hampshire are the winners of England’s Friends Life t20. It is also believed very strongly that they are the last English side to feature in Champions League as clashes over dates will not allow English sides a chance to have a go at the prize jackpot from next year.

Hampshire have a squad that is capable of doing the damage against the biggest sides and will be eager to grab their chance early.

The team is led by all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas who was vocal about the depth in his team’s options. Amongst the notable stars, Shahid Afridi appears as a standout name.

Mascarenhas has made it clear that Afridi will play as a bowler and any runs from his bat will be a bonus. There is also Australian Glen Maxwell and ex-Zimbabwe international Sean Ervine in the squad who boast of plenty of T20 experience.

Auckland, on the other hand, are hoping to keep the New Zealand hopes alive at the Champions League.

Their opening day outing against Sialkot Stallions was a fairly successful one as they chased down a modest total.

The bowlers looked in control while the batsmen were in command, most notably Martin Guptill.

While there are areas that they need to fix, the team knows that it is only one win away from reaching the main round, a feat that they narrowly missed out on last year.

Azhar Mahmood, the overseas professional, will be the key once again after playing a crucial knock at the number three spot.

The match will start at 1.30pm local time.