Hampshire Cricket History

Glamorgan and Notts are now the only unbeaten sides, but Glamorgan started on minus two for a poor pitch last year which is (points-wise) effectively a loss.

So Hampshire are still well-placed to qualify in this first week, but Middlesex won well tonight against Kent.

No game for Danny Briggs yesterday – was he dropped from that too? Jackson Bird played in the one-day win v Glams 2nd XI on Tuesday (when Weatherley scored another century and Ashraf took one wicket). No match for Will Smith this week and Tom Barber’s not in the 2nd XI – possibly not selected with Tomlinson, Bird, Wheal and Basil Akram all playing but maybe not fit? Meanwhile Brad Taylor is playing and keeps scoring runs. There is a queue of young players getting runs below Championship level – Weatherley, Alsop, Terry, Taylor, McManus – but will any of them play in the first team next week?

PS: 2nd XI won easily today bowling out Glamorgan for 143. Wheal took 4-31, Weatherley 3-26 and Taylor 2-33. Meanwhile loan signing Ashraf bowled three overs and took 0-23.

Carberry 61, Adams 47 – shame about the rest!

Tom Alsop with 68 top scored for England U-19 v Unicorns (including Graham Onions) today

Plus Joe Weatherley – see Bob’s comment on post below (thanks Bob)

I’ve found more 2nd XI – just before the close tonight:

Glams 152 (Weatherley 3-20, Tomlinson 3-26, Wheal 2-18) & 45-3 (Wheal has all three)

Hants 467-7 dec (Weatherley 150, Terry 97, Taylor 54, McManus 51

Ashraf is playing but has no wickets

Important and otherwise

Welcome back to Fidel Edwards, in today’s squad

I looked recently at the track record of players developed by Hampshire over the past 25 years (1990-2014). Here are three other lists – every one has played in first-class cricket for Hampshire and this is by debut – all between 1990-2014

From other UK sides (counties etc): D Gower, M Thursfield, M Jean-Jacques, M Keech, N Cowans, G White, P Whitaker, J Stephenson, S Milburn, P Hartley, A Morris, Z Morris, S Lugsden, J Crawley, E Giddens, D Clapp, M Brown, B Taylor, R Logan, K Pietersen, M Carberry, M Lumb, D Cork, T Parsons, Kabir Ali, S Jones, Bilal Shafayat, A Wheater, M Coles, R Brathwaite, J Gatting, W Smith (32)

Overseas: L Joseph, Aqib Javed, W Benjamin, H Streak, M Hayden, M McLean, S Warne, N Johnson, Wasim Akram, S Katich, WC Vaas, M Clarke, S Watson, C Macmillan, A Bichel, D Thorneley, S Clark, D Powell, S Bond, N Hayward, R Kleinveldt, Imran Tahir, M North, N Mackenzie, H Herath, D Christian, P Hughes, F de Wet, J Myburgh, G Bailey, Sohail Tanvir, K Abbott, G Maxwell, N Rimmington (34)

Miscellaneous: C Patel, T Hansen, N Pothas, M Thorburn, R Hindley, G Lamb, S Ervine, J McLean, D Balcombe, RG Querl, M Roberts (11)

That’s a total of 77 players imported over 25 seasons with varying degrees of success – from players who changed the club or set records, to others you didn’t even remember when they were here!

For now anyway.

I keep all the Wisdens at the Hampshire Archive but I have the 2000 edition at home today so I checked on the 50 over knock-out cup in 1999 to see whether scores had increased since the 1960s and whether they compare with today.

In 14 matches between first-class counties that year, there was still only one score over 300 and that was 315 by Somerset in their semi final. Another six innings (of the 28 total) were between 250-299

This year, after today’s 50 over matches in the Royal London Cup there have been three more scores over 300 so in 13 matches we’ve had eight above that figure – one in 14 matches in 2000, eight in 13 matches already this year.

(Incidentally there was one low scoring match tonight, 160 played 160-8, but it involved Lancashire who aren’t scoring well at present and perhaps crucially, it was played at Blackpool. I wonder whether ‘outgrounds’ affect the figures?)

I reckon this is all pretty conclusive. It feels like scores and scoring rates have risen over the years – particularly since the T20 in 2003 – and all the evidence so far, says that’s the case.

I will stop now – but keep watching the scores.

I’m still enjoying these comparisons but maybe I need to start ‘living’ after this bit – unless anyone has a particular thought. I’m not going to compile a complete record of domestic limited overs games since 1963, but here’s one more set of figures.

I’ve checked all the 65/60 overs matches between first-class counties from 1963-1968. I’ve not included any matches involving Minor Counties who came in in 1964. I’ve stopped in 1968 because in the following year the counties all played 16 Sunday League games as well and while we’ve seen from Hampshire’s 1969 ‘stats’ that they were not high scoring, they may have gradually increased

I’ve organised the scores in bands of 50 (300+, 250+, 200+ etc) and I’ve compared the scores in the 188 matches in those six seasons, with all 105 completed matches from last year (2014) when the games lasted just 50 overs.

In the 1960s there were four scores (2%) over 300 – highest 317

In 2015 there were 15 scores (14%) over 300 and two of those over 350 – highest 360

In the 1960s there were 125 scores (67%) under 200, including 18 under 100

In 2015 there were 30 scores (30%) under 200. Only three scores were under 100 but all three were winning scores in matches reduced halfway through by D/L – only six wickets lost in those three innings.

In the 1960s there were 59 scores (31%) between 200-299

In 2015 there were also 59 scores (56%) between 200-299

Given the change from 65/60 overs to 50, there’s no question that rates now are faster and scores higher than in the early days. What I’ve not checked is whether it’s been a continuous upward climb. It may be that sometimes wet summers have an effect, helping bowlers a bit more – although 2014 was a pretty wet period for that competition. For example only one of Hampshire’s four home games went the full distance, the others were rain affected (in the figures above I’ve made no allowance for those reductions).

I gather some people are – never seen the attraction myself

However – you may like to know that in the centre spread of the Sports section in today’s Guardian there is a very interesting article about the club’s excellent academy. It certainly puts my lot to shame (including that Oxo Chamberlayne bloke who went to school in Pompey, and is probably a descendant of Thomas)

I’m rather enjoying this!

1965 was the third year of the knock out competition (60 overs). Yorkshire’s 317-4 won them the Final and was the only score over 300. In the second round when 16 first-class counties took part in the eight matches, only two scored in excess of 170 – Hampshire with 208 at Portsmouth and Sussex 206 at Worcester, both all out. Not one score of 3.5 runs over the full 60 overs.

Writing about the Final in the Playfair Annual, Gordon Ross suggested that Surrey’s semi final victory against Middx was “perhaps … the greatest” because they won it after “needing 57 off the last ten overs and getting them!”

57 off 10! Amazing!

PS Glamorgan won last night, coming back after a rain break to score 95 runs in 44 balls. Gordon Ross would have liked that!

Ageas isn’t keen that I’m citing one score by Hampshire yesterday as representing a ‘trend’. Fair enough but the World Cup suggested that limited overs scores are generally on the rise (some over 400) although changes in fielding restrictions and using two balls (?) might change that back towards bowlers

But consider these stats:

In 1969, the first season of the Sunday League Hampshire were runners up so one of the better scorers. In their 16 matches, the overall average score by both sides (32 innings) was 135 or just under 3.5 per over.

Compare that average of 135 with last week’s T20 match when Hampshire made ‘only’ 143 but managed to win. Hampshire played 14 T20 matches this season and in just three did neither side reach 150, while in ten matches both sides passed 150 and in one both sides passed 200. The average score in Hampshire’s 14 T20 matches (28 inns) in 2015 was 165 – 30 more than in 1969 in half as many overs. In 40 overs in 1969 there were just two scores above 200 – 211-6 and 201-9.

To date this season – not including Kent v Glams high scorer tonight – the average 50-over Royal London innings is 240, even including Lancs’ 161 and the consequent low winning score of 163 or Northants’ 123.

More? From 1963-1995, Hampshire passed 300 six times in 60 overs matches and their opponents did that three times. In the B&H in 55 overs they passed 300 three times and their opponents twice – so in 33 seasons that’s 14 scores over 300 for and against – however no fewer than six of those nine 300+ scores by Hampshire were against Minor Counties or University sides, so just eight times in Hampshire inter-county matches did one side pass 300. Nonetheless in the first four days of the shorter RL Cup this year, there have already been four 300+ scores (five if Glams get there tonight*).

I can keep digging, but in broad terms there is no doubt that scores and scoring rates in recent years in limited overs matches are higher than they used to be

*PS Tonight: Glamorgan 321-7 beat Kent 317-7 – so Glams are the fifth side to pass 300 this season despite the fact that only six matches have gone the full distance so far because of the weather

Do you remember I asked about this and told you I’d been asked to nominate Hampshire’s top 25? I imposed the structure of four players from six distinct periods – which is of course artificial. Thanks for the replies – and here are the results. My choices come first alongside the dates and those in bold were chosen by everyone. Quite a few got all but one and there’s a fair amount of consensus. The great XI seems to be Wynyard, Mead, Brown, Marshall R, Marshall M, Shackleton, Smith R, Warne, Richards, Greenidge, Jesty – with Richard Gilliat 12th man although Richard’s 25th choice of Sainsbury gets him in the squad!

Four from each period (24) plus one ‘extra’ (Paul & Alan ‘cheated’ by having an extra four between 1940s-1960s so chose 28!)

19th Century: Russell Bencraft, ‘Teddy’ Wynyard, AJL Hill, RM Poore

Richard: Wynyard, Baldwin, Hill, Heseltine

Paul: A J L Hill, Bencraft, Poore, Wynyard

Alan: Lacey, Wynyard, Poore and Baldwin.

1900-1939: Phil Mead, George Brown, Hon Lionel Tennyson, Alec Kennedy

Richard: Mead, Brown, Newman, Tennyson

Paul: Mead, Brown, Newman, Kennedy

Alan: Mead, Kennedy, Newman, Brown

1950s/1960s: Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, Peter Sainsbury, Roy Marshall, Derek Shackleton

Richard: Shackleton, Marshall, Gray, Ingleby-Mackenzie

Paul (50s): Shackleton, Knott, Rogers, Gray (60s) Sainsbury, Marshall R, Ingleby-MacKenzie, Horton

Alan (50s) Knott, Rogers, Shackleton, Cannings (60s) Sainsbury, Cottam, White, Marshall R

1970s: Richard Gilliat*, Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Trevor Jesty

Richard: Jesty, Greenidge, Richards, Gilliat

Paul: Richards, Jesty, Greenidge, Turner (or Gilliat*?)

Alan: Richards, Greenidge, Gilliat, Jesty

1980s: Mark Nicholas, Robin Smith, Malcolm Marshall, Paul Terry

Ian: Marshall, R Smith, P Terry, C Smith

Richard: Marshall, R Smith, Connor, Nicholas

James: Marshall, R Smith, P Terry, C Smith

Paul: Smith R, Marshall M, Smith C, Terry

Alan: Chris and Robin Smith, Marshall, Nicholas

Recent: Shane Warne, Shaun Udal, ‘Dimi’ Mascarenhas, John Crawley

Ian: Warne, Udal, Mascarenhas, Carberry

Richard: Pothas, Crawley, Warne, Adams

James: Warne, Pothas, Udal, Mascarenhas or Aymes

Paul: Warne, Crawley, Carberry, Mascarenhas

Alan: Warne, Mascarenhas, Crawley, Pothas

25th player: Richard: Sainsbury, Paul: Arnold J, Alan: Ingleby-Mackenzie