Hampshire Cricket History

Hampshire’s former player, French-born Benny Howell, played a couple of decent innings for Gloucestershire last week and today has taken 5-57 v Leicestershire.

‘Butch’ White, like FS Trueman was often the subject of stories which may or may not have been true

This afternoon one of the Radio Essex commentators has been recounting an occasion when ‘Butch’ umpired and gave lots of lbw decisions on Day One in favour of Mark Ilot during a match between Essex and Northants which finished in two days (and presumably must therefore have been a county match?). Next morning, ‘Butch’ arrived and Mark Ilot said “Good morning Dad”

Which is a funny story except I don’t believe that ‘Butch ‘ ever umpired apart from one 2nd XI limited overs match. Does anyone know anything different?

To Bob and Steve who have alerted me to some errors typos. Keep ’em coming! I’m very grateful and will do my corrections now while listening To KD James commentating from Chelmsford

PS. They tell me Div 2 cricket isn’t very impressive. Not sure England’s captain and leading batsman would agree: 52 runs in 160 balls

PPS (3.15pm) I was about to type that Hampshire, having reduced Essex to 117-7 had conceded a further 126 runs and taken only the wicket of Cook. Then Hampshire took the new ball and Wood dismissed Napier after a partnership of 87 for the 9th wicket. Nonetheless, it has been a frustrating afternoon unless it’s a sign that the wicket has eased and Hampshire will reply with about 500 in the second innings. Essex are 46 ahead.

I have finished the 150 years season-by-season history and now I shall concentrate on whatever comes up in 2013. I shall be very grateful for any comments, corrections or observations about the history as the intention is to publish this in book form later in the year. I have a meeting about this in a couple of weeks and will now be converting it to a publication.

Let’s hope for a continued recovery at Chelmsford.

Champions: Warwickshire, CB40: Hampshire, T20: Hampshire

Jimmy Adams was appointed captain with ‘Dimi’ Mascarenhas captain for the T20, Simon Katich returned as overseas player, plus Glen Maxwell in T20 although Shahid Afridi did not obtain his visa so did not return.

Hampshire secured two very important financial deals. Ageas insurance paid for the naming rights and the ground became known as the Ageas Bowl while Eastleigh Council took over the lease to the ground and embarked on building the northern end hotel and media centre. These two deals secured Hampshire’s immediate financial future and they also chose to focus on the development of their own young players, signing fewer ‘star’ names from overseas and other counties.

The investment in their younger players paid immediate dividends as Hampshire won two trophies for the first time, the FPT20 v Yorkshire at Cardiff and the CB40 Final at Lord’s v Warwickshire. Both involved thrilling Finals. In the T20 Hampshire posted 150-6 v Yorkshire and seemed to be winning comfortably  but a catch claimed by McKenzie was not confirmed by the umpires and Miller took Yorkshire within 10 runs of victory. Adams (43) and Wood 3-26 were the key contributions. The CB40 Final at Lord’s went to the last ball with Carter of Warwickshire needing one run to win. Kabir Ali bowled outside off-stump, Carter missed, Bates gathered and Hampshire had two trophies.

Danny Briggs missed the second Final because he was selected by England in 20 and 50-over competitions. On his T20 international debut just prior to his 21^st birthday he became the youngest Hampshire player ever to represent England and the first player ever born in the Isle of Wight.

In Division Two of the Championship, Hampshire had the highest run-scorer (Adams), wicket-taker (Balcombe), catcher (Dawson) and wicket-keeper (Bates) but finished fourth and did not win promotion. Balcombe’s 8-71 v Gloucestershire at the Ageas Bowl was Hampshire’s best-ever figures on their new ground. At the season’s end, as T20 Champions, Hampshire competed in the Champions Trophy in South Africa but lost the first two qualifying matches and were eliminated. Their season had lasted six months.

Simon Katich chose to move to Lancashire for 2013 and he was followed by Kabir Ali who had played just 17 first-class matches in his three years with Hampshire. Bilal Shafayat scored 93 on debut v Derbyshire and played in eight matches but was not offered another contract.

Champions: Lancashire, CB40: Surrey, T20: Leicestershire

Dominic Cork was appointed captain and Imran Tahir returned as overseas player. Hampshire signed three other South Africans, de Wet, Myburgh and McKenzie who returned. As English T20 Champions, Hampshire played in the Caribbean T20 Competition in January, reaching but losing the Final. They reached a second consecutive Finals Day in the T20 but after a tie in their semi-final with Somerset they lost in the ‘super over’.

Hampshire struggled throughout in the Championship and were relegated. Michael Carberry suffered a serious illness and played in just nine Championship matches, averaging 56.64. Against Yorkshire at the Rose Bowl, Carberry and McKenzie put on 523, a record stand for any wicket for Hampshire and  Carberry scored the fifth triple century for Hampshire. In July, Hampshire were fined for a pitch with excessive turn despite a thrilling match v Nottinghamshire. For the next match v Yorkshire, the pitch was flat, the record stand was set and 1,171 runs were scored for the loss of just 13 wickets over four days.

Only McKenzie passed 1,000 runs although Dawson with 908 at 36.32 showed promise. The bowling was weak, Kabir Ali again missed more matches than he played and only Briggs with 38 wickets at 36.65 passed 30 in the season. Hampshire drew seven of their 16 matches, equalled only by Yorkshire who were also relegated.  Hampshire failed to qualify in the CB40 although Chris Wood with 18 wickets enjoyed a promising season.

The highlight of 2011 at the Rose Bowl was the inaugural Test Match v Sri Lanka in June although after a spell of dry weather it was badly rain-affected and drawn. Chris Tremlett returned to the Rose Bowl and won Man-of-the-Match with 6-48 and Nigel Gray was awarded the Test Match Special ‘Champagne Moment’. England beat India in a day/night match in September but that too was badly rain-affected and reduced to 23 overs per side.

At the end of the season Cork, Pothas, Lumb, Jones, Myburgh, de Wet and Tahir all left Hampshire. Imran Tahir would make his Test match debut for South Africa. Former players Jon Ayling and Iain Brunschweiler left the coaching staff. Craig White came from Yorkshire to replace Ayling.

Champions: Nottinghamshire, CB40: Warwickshire, T20: Hampshire

After more than 30 years, the first-class counties reverted to just three competitions and the two original limited-overs competitions were joined into the CB40 with three leagues, followed by semi-finals and a Lord’s Final, held on a Saturday evening – which was generally unpopular.

Mascarenhas was appointed captain again but he was injured in IPL pre-season and replaced variously by Pothas and Cork. There was a selection of players from overseas including H Herath, P Hughes, N McKenzie, D Christian, and A Razzaq. Cork was captain in the T20 which Hampshire won for first time with Finals Day at the Rose Bowl. The weather was not good but Hampshire beat Essex in the semi-final by six wickets and met Somerset in the Final after Duckworth/Lewis calculations resolved their match v Nottinghamshire. Somerset posted 173-6 (Cork 2-24) with their big hitter Pollard forced to retire hurt. Hampshire replied well and looked to be winning until two late wickets including McKenzie (52). Christian injured himself and required a runner for the last ball with Hampshire needing one to level the scores and take the cup. The runner, the non-striker and Christian all set off, Somerset fielded but failed to spot Christian’s indiscretion, he got home and Hampshire had won. Briggs’ 31 wickets was a record in one T20 season for Hampshire.

Hampshire struggled throughout in the Championship. Adams and Carberry passed 1,000 runs with Mckenzie, Ervine and Vince all performing well although Lumb was injured for much of the season. Tomlinson(46) and Cork (45) led the bowlers although with little support – Kabir Ali arrived from Worcestershire but struggled with fitness and played in only four matches. Another Test bowler, Simon Jones came on a match contract, seeking fitness. He played six T20 matches and one each in the CB40 and the Championship. Batting at number seven, Sean Ervine’s 237* v Somerset at the Rose Bowl was the highest ever score by a Hampshire batsman in the lower half of the batting order. Hampshire’s penultimate match was a ‘relegation-decider’ at Canterbury and they struggled on the first day, bowled out for 204 of which Adams made 84. However, Tomlinson 4-59 bowled them to a lead of 22 and four half-centuries allowed Hampshire to declare at 355-9. Kent lost wickets regularly, Cork and Briggs took four each and a fine catch by Adams sealed the victory and another year in Division One.

Jimmy Adams set a record of over 2,500 runs in the three competitions for the season. In May, Michael Lumb and Kevin Pietersen, both then of Hampshire played for England when they won the T20 World Cup in Barbados. However Pietersen found travelling from his London home to Hampshire too demanding and he moved to Surrey before the end of the season.

Champions: Durham, Knock-out Cup: Hampshire, Pro40 Sussex, T20: Sussex

Dimitri Mascarenhas was the captain but Pothas deputised for him until mid-June as he was playing in the IPL. Dominic Cork joined Hampshire from Lancashire and took 4-10 and 2-27 on debut in an opening match victory. Marcus North was the first overseas player to arrive and scored 15 on the first day v Warwickshire whereupon Australia called him into their touring side and he left the county.

Hampshire won the Friends Provident Trophy v Sussex at Lord’s with Dominic Cork Man-of-the-Match. In the final qualifying match, Hampshire beat Nottinghamshire by 10 wickets and when Worcestershire lost to Ireland, qualified for a home quarter-final v Middlesex which they won thanks to 100 by Lumb. In the semi-final at Old Trafford, Lumb and Adams opened with 159 and the latter took two stunning catches to take Hampshire to Lord’s. Sussex batted first and Cork struck as Sussex slipped from 30-0 to 43-4. Hampshire’s target was 220 and everyone contributed as they won by six wickets with almost 10 overs to spare.

Hampshire’s 316-2 v Ireland was their highest limited overs score at the Rose Bowl. Hampshire finished fifth in the Pro40 and reached a T20 quarter final at Northampton a few days after their Lord’s Final. At 121-6 they needed 14 to win from 10 balls but failed to add a run and were bowled out.

In the Championship, Hampshire won just three matches but finished sixth, avoiding relegation. Imran Tahir returned in mid-season and took 52 wickets although at an average above 30. Hampshire scored 654-8 declared v Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge with 219 by Lumb. Adams, Carberry and Lumb passed 1,000 runs and Pothas averaged 74.18. Apart from Tahir, Griffiths with 32 was the highest wicket taker.

James Vince made his first-class debut and Danny Briggs became the 500^th player to make his first-class debut for the county since entering the Championship in 1895. Briggs appeared in the same side as David Griffiths, the first occasion on which two men from the Isle of Wight had played in the same first-class side.

Former captain Nick Pocock was elected President to succeed Barry Richards. At the end of the season, John Crawley retired, Chris Tremlett moved to Surrey and Billy Taylor left the staff.

Michael Carberry has been selected for the England Lions next week v New Zealand  which means he cannot play for Hampshire v Gloucestershire at Bristol. Presumably Dawson will move up to open but if Hampshire opt for another batsman it will have to either Michael Roberts or Sean Terry. If they choose a bowler (Riazuddin or Griffiths) it would leave a long tail.

Champions: Durham, Knock-out Cup: Essex, Pro40 League: Sussex, T20: Middlesex

‘Dimi’ Mascarenhas was appointed captain, and in May became the first county cricketer to appear in the T20 Indian Premier League. Hampshire finished third again in the Championship but this was the result of a significant late improvement after they had lost four and drawn six of the first 11 matches. Even their one victory, in Durham, was by just four runs. Then Tomlinson and Tahir induced a second innings collapse by Yorkshire, Hampshire won as they did from three of their last four matches and they rose rapidly away from threatened relegation. By this time Giles White had replaced Paul Terry as Cricket Manager.

Hampshire’s first overseas player of 2008, Shane Bond, took 7-66 v Sussex at the Rose Bowl, the best ever figures for Hampshire on Championship debut. After he departed, Hampshire signed leg spinner Imran Tahir who equalled that innings record and his match figures of 12-189 were the best ever on Hampshire debut. Pothas dismissed 10 batsmen in the match v Durham at Chester-le-Street to equal the Hampshire record.  On his only Championship appearance for Hampshire in five consecutive seasons, Kevin Pietersen scored a century v Somerset at Taunton. Pothas and Brown passed 900 runs but no one reached four figures. James Tomlinson’s 67 wickets were Hampshire’s highest for a first-class season since moving to the Rose Bowl and in seven matches, Imran Tahir took 44 at 16.68.

Hampshire played well in the Pro40 finishing runners-up to Sussex with two of their eight matches ending as No Result. They failed to qualify in the Friends Provident Trophy while  Ian Harvey and Nantie Hayward played as overseas players in the T20 but Hampshire failed to qualify again and their 85 all out v Sussex, was their lowest T20 score at the Rose Bowl.  T20 Finals Day was held at the Rose Bowl, and won by Middlesex including Shaun Udal and with Richard Scott as a coach. Michael Brown moved to Surrey but not before he captained Hampshire 2nd XI to their Trophy success, beating Essex by 7 runs. James Vince top-scored with 58 and Danny Briggs showed promise with 2-47.

On Saturday 13 September, a Hambledon XII met 12 men from Broadhalfpenny Down Association to mark the centenary of the only first-class match on the ground when the commemorative stone was unveiled. Hampshire cricketers Nic Pothas, Michael Brown, Derek Kenway, Will Kendall, John Stephenson, James Bruce, Ian Turner, Raj Maru appeared as did James Fry, the great-grandson of CB Fry and grandson/son of former Hampshire players. JRT Barclay captained the Broadhalfpenny Down side and in the evening there was a supper in the Bat & Ball Inn with musical entertainment arranged by David Rayvern Allen and a group of singers.