HAMPSHIRE starlet Hamza Riazuddin is relishing his role as Dimi Mascarenhas II.

The 19-year-old did a fine impersonation of the Hampshire captain in the ten-wicket win against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Riazuddin set the tone for the victory that set up today's Friends Provident Trophy quarter-final against Middlesex with an outstanding Mascarenhas-like opening spell (10-3-17-1).

With Hampshire's captain away on England one-day duty, Riazuddin is confident of continuing his fine form with the ball against Shaun Udal’s Middlesex.

He said: “Opening up is something Dimi does so well.

“He often bowls straight through for spit so when he's away I can almost go into his role and it worked well against Notts.

“I’m very much like Dimi with my slower balls, although I didn’t mix it up too much at Notts because the ball was nipping around enough off the wicket, so I just bowled length and it worked real well.

“I’m quite happy with the way I’m playing at the moment. I know my role after playing quite a bit in the winter with the England Under-19s."

Full story in today's Daily Echo