Weston Saint

Abbott is married with a new child. It will up to him whether he signs an extention. Talks are going on but outcome not yet resolved. I understand Barker has signed a 1 year extension. He has been troubled by injury this year and presently has a groin niggle. Robin Smith has been very ill in Australia and just come out of hospital. He has a long road to recovery so fingers crossed for him. Scott Currie should be back next season after a good season with Leicester including a batting best of 120.

Spoke to Aidi, the coach. We had forced the follow on in the previous two games and not won because bowlers were tired. Wanted to give them a good time to rest. Team very comfortable with our score. Now up to bowlers. 5 down is not a bad response.

Plus youngsters of course.

kookaburra ball being used again so would not be surprised if Kent recover a little but let us see.

Not Beefy's. in our own Executive club Restaurant.

Nothing unusual in Cricket. A group of 8 of us arrange an end of season lunch with Rod Bransgrove and have been for some years. Rod invited Lottie this year but he is now away abroad for the date we arranged for this year so Giles is coming in his place. Cricket is very down to earth. We also chat to the Coach, Adie, and he is very friendly. One of the perks of being an Executive Member and Gold Debenture holder.

All I know at present is that Alice Monaghan is moving to Surrey. Georgia Elwiss is moving to Nottinghamshire. I might know more in a few weeks when I am lunching with Giles White and Charlotte Edwards although it will be "what is said at the dining table stays with the dining table" It has also been reported by BBC that Women will enter the new Women's T20 Vitality Blast in 2025 under the name of Hampshire.

Ben Brown has signed a 1 year contract extension to 2025

Felix Organ has just signed a 2 year extension to his contract Orr playing for 2nds this week so on his way back.

Weatherley has just signed a one year contract extension to 2025. Quite surprised by that but good luck to him. OK in mid order but not an opener in my opinion.

Good day for Hampshire leading by 196 runs with only 2 wickets to take in first innings. All matches using the kookaburra ball for this round which tends to go softer than Duke after about 30 overs. Only 4 overs tomorrow until new ball.

Holland has just signed a permanent deal with Leicestershire (he is on loan to them at present) His desire was to play all formats which Leicestershire can give him Good servant for us. Shame to see him go but difficult to see him in the team if he had stayed.

Middleton, Albert, Prest and Turner signed multi year contracts in December 2023 Vince and Dawson until end of 2025 Gubbins signed a new contract December 2023 but length not known Browns contract until end of 2024 as is Barker, Abbott and Abbas Orr multi year following his close season signing in 2023 Not sure about Organ or Wheal Think Weatherly and Holland end in 2024. Fuller until 2026 Scott Currie signed a multi year extension before his loan to Leicestershire

As always, I like to reserve judgement until both teams have batted but I was one who thought we had made to correct decision to field first. The covers had been on for at least 30 hours before the start and if there was much in the wicket through sweating, that is where we could press for advantage. It did not happen! the second new ball proved the key. When we batted we were very cautious and thereafter our young batsmen took over. We do have a future there with Middleton, Orr, Prest and Albert. Windows, I agree we need a top class spinner. Bowling next season could be Currie, Wheal, Turner, with others coming on. With that group we probably need an experienced bowler. Maybe Abbott, who is out of contract at end of year. Abbas is other overseas out of contract. Barker is also out of contract and may also be the one to stay but only one of the three, in my opinion. We have a great bowling coach so off the field is not an issue. Opening batting has been a big issue for a few years now but Middleton and Orr look the future and will develop. Hampshire are one of the better fielding sides. Agree we make mistakes but so do the others. Essex dropped catches and mis fielded as much as we did. White ball was poor this season and everyone is scratching their heads on this. Our coach is also the coach to SA T20 team who have won the competition for the last two years so it is not lack of his experience. On red ball no one can fully compete with Surrey. They are miles ahead. However the coach identified two areas where we could be more competitive. One was to try to increase the batting over rate by one per over and the other was to be fitter. The whole team came back this season fitter and slimmer. Very noticeable with Dawson and Abbott in particular. Let us not forget we are 4th in the Championship. Not as high as we want to be but with a good future. Let's see how the last 4 games go.

What would you consider we change? We have a world class 1st team coach, one of the best captains in championship and we are likely to have new owners before next season.

Nothing is happening with james Vince at present. His contract with Hampshire is until the end of 2025 season. He is very unlikely to be selected by England. that bird has flown. I did hear a suggestion that he has been offered a new contract but he is doing nothing at present because of the situation with the attacks on his home, still unresolved. One of the most lucrative contracts is the Pakistan Super League but that is to be held in April/May in 2025 because Pakistan hosting the ICC Trophy in February. At his age it might just be too much to turn down! Let me make it clear, he loves Hampshire and hoped to see out his career here but those attacks on him home and the distress being caused to his wife and two young children as well as his mum and dad may just be too much to take!!

What you have to remember is that there is a ball from each end so in the first 20 overs the two balls are only 10 overs old. After that they begin to go soft and that is an advantage to the batsman. Both Hampshire and Worcestershire had great bowling starts but in the end both teams who batted 2nd won. Just the way it is on decent wickets with balanced sides. Better chasing We have lost the toss on 8 out of our 9 50 over games. Lets not forget that. Good effort though.

Two world class batsmen Need to get both of them. They are capable of winning this game for Leicestershire.

In order to understand where Southampton stand with their finances ahead of the August 30 transfer deadline, Southampton FC News spoke to finance expert Adam Williams. First, Williams explained how PSR works, as well as the impact of a year in the Championship, as he said: “Premier League clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million over a rolling three-year period, as long as the bulk of those losses are secured by an owner. “Southampton, however, have spent one of the last three seasons in the Championship, so their maximum allowable loss is lower at £83 million. “The club posted a pre-tax loss of £87 million in 2022/23, which is the only year of published accounts that is relevant in the current three-year monitoring period. “In isolation, that would put them already over the £83 million threshold, but you then have to add back PSR-deductible expenses such as youth and infrastructure investment.” A complex issue, Williams then went on to set out what this means for Southampton, explaining: “The Saints have a Category One academy, so you can assume £10-20 million of deductible expenses there. “Take off another £4-5 million for community initiatives and women’s football and you’re at around minus £60m. “For the 2023/24 season, Southampton made massive profit on player sales which they were able to book immediately. “I suspect they will have recorded a modest profit for the campaign, which probably gives them a fair bit of breathing space in terms of the £83 million loss limit. “In terms of their net spend based on headline figures we have seen, Southampton’s negative £45 million is actually one of the higher figures in the division. “Eight clubs have a positive net spend, and I think that illustrates that there has been a lack of liquidity in the market as a result of the absence of massive Saudi spending and the issues with the French TV deal. “And while those figures aren’t the ones that count to PSR – it is amortisation that does – Southampton’s net does give an indication of the room they have to spend. “Their PSR headroom will be extended if Armel Bella-Kotchap is sold, which would go immediately towards their PSR calculation. “So I think they have the freedom to spend without player sales if the owners are willing to put the funds in. Whether they do or not is another matter.” Exactly where Southampton stand with PSR as Russell Martin eyes additions before deadline day (southamptonfc.news)

into QF against Glamorgan away on Friday I think. it is back in our hands They had not updated points on other table when I looked. It is Leicestershire away as Glamorgan top and into Semi finals

Abbott and Abbas in last year of contract. This is a signing to take us forward.

Has a long chat with Rod Bransgrove during the interval yesterday although I am not at liberty to say what was said other than a deal has been progressing for a few months and not yet finalised. We have had a number of interested parties including some surprise ones but it is important that any investor does so to benefit the cricket and its members. There is also interest in other clubs from parties who have made approaches. We need the investment if we are to progress the club.

We needed the investment if we are to progress as a club. Lancashire and Surrey in particular are able to pay higher wages than we are and it is restricting who we can attract. We need it to bring in good experienced stars to compliment and develop our younger players and win the Championship. I spoke to the Chairman and past Chairman on this subject at the beginning of the season. It will not change the way the club is run but will help us achieve our ambitions. As a Gold Debenturer and a member of the Executive club I am keeping an open mind. Like you I have seen how it has negatively affected football As for catering the Atrium still caters for all matches and has won awards for its food. The concessions will not come for the 50 over as the crowd are not enough to justify their cost of having a spot. Likewise the under the stand catering does not take enough to cover costs of staffing. It is just a fact of life in County Cricket at present.