Hampshire Cricket History

Hampshire have one trophy and are still in contention for the other two going into September. I suspect most of us might have settled for that five months ago although the Championship results today have gone against them and promotion will be tough. Still if you compare Kent’s demolition of Leicestershire today with Hampshire’s match there last week … In addition while there was a feeling that Gloucestershire were generous today, Yorkshire only won with about two overs and two wickets remaining so it looks pretty well judged (did Yorks say the same when we beat Northants two weeks ago?).

I think we should feel pretty positive about Hampshire in 2012 and I hope even more so tomorrow evening!

Day Two: It’s been a terrible summer of course but whereas yesterday Hampshire’s rivals in the Championship all had pretty good days, this morning not one match has started anywhere.

Day Three: No play for Derby, Yorks or Kent yesterday and while Derby have started today and are struggling somewhat, Yorks and Kent are off this morning so have lost a fourth consecutive session. They now have just five sessions to conjure the win that would take either/both above Hampshire.

Day Four: Play everywhere and while Derbys v Essex looks like a draw Yorkshire & Kent have ‘set up’ matches. Benny Howell has made his highest first-class (?) score with 83* in 34 balls against ‘non bowling’ and Yorkshire need 314 to win but have sacrificed all batting points. Meanwhile Kent have relinquished the prospect of two further bowling points and are trying to set a target to entice Leicestershire. With bonus points complete, the situation at midday is below

DAY FOUR TEA: As far as I can figure it Kent have about 35 overs left to take the last three Leics wickets and win (Leics 94-7), while Yorkshire need 131 more from maybe 31/32 overs and have three down. So it looks as though they may both take win points in which case Hampshire may well be fourth tonight.

5pm – Kent have won & I think they are two points ahead of Hampshire with Derbys next for them. Yorkshire match is tight. I think they need around 75 off around 15 (5 per over) with five men gone. Apologies for any ‘dodgy’ computation!

5.50pm: Yorkshire need 31 from I think 6 overs with 3 wickets left – why don’t on-line scorecards ever say how many overs remain in the Championship matches? McGrath seems to be winning it for them

Derbys 161 + 5 (166)

Hants 144

Yorks 131 + 3 (134)

Kent 125 +5 (130)

This morning I bought myself a ticket for Hove on Saturday on-line and used the home print facility. Everything went well so I shut it down

Later I received an email confirmation from Sussex telling me I had to print TWO copies. By this time I’d shut down and couldn’t get back in so I had to call Sussex who have to post one out. So if you are buying on-line take care!

My dad was an old fashioned liberal and read the Manchester Guardian. As a young man I grew up loving the cricket writing of Cardus, Arlott and others. I have continued to be a Guardian reader which makes me pretty unusual around the Committee Rooms of county cricket. My politics tend towards those of the Guardian but that’s irrelevant here. I read it principally because my professional life was spent in arts education and their coverage of both areas has been second-to-none for many years.

I did become bored with it recently when they supplemented their special Olympics pull-out section with page after page of coverage in the main news and for a few days I read elsewhere. But I went back, although I may now break the habit of a lifetime. Why? Firstly because they were the only serious ‘paper to give NO coverage to Hampshire’s success in the T20 this weekend, preferring to lead their sports section with a story about a Manchester football club not buying players. I wrote to them about that and received no reply.

But more importantly because they insist on calling Hampshire’s ground the Rose Bowl. Now this may warm the hearts of those supporters who regret the name change and I’m fine with that view so long as those people don’t celebrate the successes that the Ageas investment brings with it. But that doesn’t matter to the Guardian who don’t care particularly who wins (outside Lancashire).

So why do they insist on using the name Rose Bowl which is simply and factually incorrect? It’s not like saying the Oval rather than the Kia Oval – if they are refusing to mention the sponsors then it is the Bowl. Perhaps they are making a ‘principled’ Guardian–type PC stand against the selling of names of grounds? In which case, how come, alongside the back page story from the ‘Rose’ Bowl today they have a photo of KP wearing his Surrey sweater with the Kia logo prominently displayed? And how come alongside the match report inside they show an action shot from the ‘Rose’ Bowl with logos of Adidas, Brit Insurance and NatWest? And how come … well there are more, but you get the point.

Maybe they’re hypocrites? Maybe they’re careless? Maybe I’ll change my lifetime’s choice of reading …

Bob asks about McKenzie – as far as I’m aware today was definitely it for him for this year plus ‘Dimi’ did not play today, has a bad shoulder injury and may be out for the rest of the season. It probably won’t be a wicket for the slower bowlers at Hove so Hampshire’s team will be interesting. Will there be a batsman to replace McKenzie or another bowler as it’s 40 overs (they had hardly anyone spare to bowl at Cardiff)?

Bob notes my incorrect prediction about Warwickshire but looking at the Yorkshire side today it appears there were nine changes from Saturday. If that was a Football League game – with so much on it – wouldn’t there be an enquiry? I wouldn’t be best pleased if I was on the Kent Committee, even though they were stuffed

Hampshire’s T20 Triumph is their fourth title of the 21st Century and their third in four years. They may not be finished yet this season.

Top of the 21st century list is Surrey with six titles but only one since 2003. Then Gloucestershire with five but nothing since 2004 and Sussex with five spread between 2003-2009. Hampshire are fourth but they have more recent successes than the three sides above them. Ref the remainder of 2012 Warwickshire could win two more to add to the three they have won so far since 2000 but they’re unlikely to qualify in CB40 which is probably between four from Lancs, Hants, Surrey, Sussex and Kent.

A couple of thoughts about press reports about Saturday. In the Times Michael Atherton seemed to miss McKenzie’s Miller ‘catch’ entirely. He praised Hampshire’s youngsters Wood, Briggs and Vince but ignored the one who for me has been the pick of the young bunch this season, Liam Dawson. Still anything is better than the Guardian which led its sports section with a story about Manchester City’s manager not buying new players and ignored Hampshire’s success completely. I guess it’s consistent with their report last week on the Surrey game, when they referred throughout to the match being at the ROSE Bowl. What would Arlott say?

Just that (except to note that it’s actually 9.45 – this Blog clock doesn’t adjust to BST)

Interesting to watch the first Semi-Final at Cardiff completed. Anyone watching the weather forecast yesterday wouldn’t have anticipated any cricket being played there all day but there has been more sun than rain so far.

Interesting too to note that Sunderland’s (football) match with Reading has been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. I wonder whether that has ever happened before in a top division match in August? It’s relevant because if the forecast is more accurate for Monday, Hampshire’s last CB40 match against Durham just along the road from Sunderland may not happen. If it doesn’t they get one point so Somerset cannot catch them but Surrey might if they manage a huge victory to turn around the differences in run-rate. HOWEVER, if Hampshire do qualify, I think any semi-final will be away at either Lancashire or Kent.

In the post yesterday came the annual end-of-season renewal, accounts and latest newsletter from the Hampshire Cricket Society. The main feature in the latter was a piece by their excellent editor Alan Edwards about Hampshire’s best 10th wicket partnerships – including nine that have passed 100 and one recent one that ended on 99. Walter Livsey was there (70*) with the highest score by a Hampshire number 11 and so too Alec Bowell, EM Sprot, Phil Mead and two men who would not survive the First World War, CH Abercrombie and A Jacques.

Alan reported that the last century partnership for Hampshire’s 10th wicket came 60 years ago at Bournemouth, by Reg Dare and Ralph Prouton and then what happened? Just one day later Chris Wood (105*) and David Balcombe (73) put on 168, which is the second highest, just 24 short of the record by Bowell and Livsey, while Balcombe became the highest scoring number 11 in Hampshire’s history.

I think Alan may have secret powers!

In 1942 the Government tried to find ways to entertain people who could not pack their bags and take off to the seaside. With the news from Leicester and the weather forecast for Cardiff I hope this might cheer you up. It includes Hampshire’s John Arnold, Arthur Holt and Lloyd Budd plus Jack Treherne whose son Roger is still on Hampshire’s committee. John Arlott once described Jack as perhaps the best local bowler never to play first-class cricket for Hampshire although he did play for the 2nd XI.