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Mason Sidney CRANE (535) born Shoreham-by-Sea 18.2.1997.
Mason Crane is a leg- break/googly bowler and right-hand batsman, who was coached by Raj Maru at Lancing College, and played for England under-19s from 2014-2016. He joined Hampshire, and made his debut in all three formats in 2015, taking 5-35 v Warwickshire at the Ageas Bowl, still his best Championship figures. He played more regularly in the following year, taking 31 Championship wickets, but in 2017, played in just seven Championship matches, with a best of 5-40 v Somerset in the first of those games. In 2016/17, he played first- class cricket for New South Wales, the first overseas player to do so for some decades. In 2017, he played for England Lions, then for the full England side in two T20s v South Africa, and he went on the ‘Ashes’ tour to Australia, where he made his Test Match debut in January 2018 in the final Test, taking 1-193. He then joined the England Lions in the Caribbean but came home with a back problem, which prevented him from playing any first-class matches that season. He took just five wickets, in Championship matches in 2019 although he seemed back to his best in the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020 with 14 wickets in the five games at 13.57.
He has often been most effective in T20 matches for Hampshire, and has 41 wickets from 35 games with a good economy rate of 7.04, and he has 61 limited-overs wickets from 37 matches. Despite that injury in 2018, he did appear in the Royal London Cup missing only the semi-final and although less than fit in the Final he bowled seven overs (1-53) and effected a fine run-out but that ended his season; he played no T20 matches. In 2019 his 14 List A wickets came at just over six runs per over and he took 11 wickets in the T20 at 16.63, following that with nine wickets in 2020 at his best economy rate of 6.60. Squad number 32.
His figures for Hampshire:
First-class: 34 matches; 308 runs at 9.33; HS: 29. 80 wickets at 42.41; BB 5-35.
List A: 37 matches; 109 runs at 27.25. HS 28*. 61 wickets at 31.11; BB 4-30.
T20: 35 matches; 43 runs at 21.50. HS 12*. 41 wickets at 20.26; BB 3-15.
Scott William CURRIE (564) born Poole, Dorset, 2 May 2001
Scott Currie is an all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls medium-fast. Like his older brother, Bradley, he played for Minor County Dorset (from 2017) and for England under-19s in ODIs in 2019/20. He played for Hampshire Academy from 2017 making his debut for Hampshire 2nd XI in 2018 – he was a member of the 2nd XI that won the 2019 Championship. In 2020 he made his first-class debut for Hampshire v Kent at Canterbury in the last match of the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy season, scoring 38 and taking 3-42 in the first innings. He also played in four T20 matches in that season. Squad number 44.
His figures for Hampshire:
First-class: One match v Kent (Canterbury) 2020: 2 innings, 38 & 0; 3-42 & 0-16
T20: 4 matches, 2 runs at 2.00, HS 2, one wicket at 58.00, BB 1-28
Ajeet Singh DALE (562) born Slough, Berkshire, 3 July 2000
Ajeet Dale is a right-arm fast-medium bowler and lower order batsman. He played his early age group matches for Surrey (under-14s and under-15s), then for Hampshire at under-17. He played in the Southern League for Andover and Hampshire Academy from 2017, made his 2nd XI debut for Hampshire in 2018 and was a member of the 2nd XI side that won their Championship in 2019. He made his first-class debut for Hampshire in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy season taking 3-20 on debut, his best figures, v Sussex at Hove. He played in a second match at Canterbury and finished with four wickets at 18.25. Squad number 39
His first-class figures for Hampshire:
2 matches; 7 runs at 2.33; HS 6 v Kent (Canterbury) 2020. 4 wickets at 18.25; BB: 3-20 v Sussex (Hove) 2020.
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Hampshire Cricket History 
Although the Hampshire academy probably compares well with other counties in producing first team players very few Hampshire players historically have been born in the county. I would guess that none of the 10 members of the 2021 academy were, but would be delighted to be corrected. It would be interesting to see a “league table” of the percentage of various counties’ first class players since say 1946 who were native products (Yorkshire would no doubt be well ahead at the top). Do Hampshire suffer from having a small population, with too few maternity hospitals, or benefit from a wide catchment area of three adjacent minor counties that crowd out Hampshire-born players?
Comment by Ian White March 29, 2021 @ 11:45 amIt would take some research, but you never know Ian … When I first watched Hampshire they had Jimmy Gray, Peter Sainsbury and Mervyn Burden from Southampton, Ray Flood from there/New Forest, Leo Harrison and Malcolm Heath from around Bournemouth (then in Hampshire), Brian Timms from north of the county, Alan Wassell from Fareham and Mike Barnard from Portsmouth.
By the first B&H Final in 1988, Jon Ayling (Portsmouth) was the only player on either side from within their county – Jon soon joined by Adi Aymes (north of the county) and Adi Aymes (Southampton). Jon is the last regular Hampshire player from Portsmouth and they’ve all been privately educated since Neil McCorkell, 90 years ago.
Recently there have been some from Winchester way – Joe Weatherley, Harry Came last year and maybe still Brad Taylor, plus white-ball Chris Wood from Basingstoke. We have more players from South Africa than Hampshire.
The other thing that bothers me these days is that the young English guys are mostly privately educated from wherever. Lots of those 1950s players were ‘ordinary’ blokes, they’re not now. – we pick from a greatly reduced pool.
Comment by pompeypop March 29, 2021 @ 2:16 pm