Hampshire CCC 2025

[Gloucester Saint]

Handy start with Fuller getting rid of NZ Test star Henry Nicholls for 0. Worcs 9/1.

[Picard]

This is going to be a draw.

[Gloucester Saint]

26 minutes ago, Picard said:

This is going to be a draw.

Is this another game with the Kookaburra?

Probably a draw as long as we bat as well as Chelmsford.

[Weston Saint]

None of the players like the Kookaburra ball!

Update on bowling.

• Baker has a knee injury and there is some hope he will be fit again next week
• Wheal has a heel injury and not available at present.
• Turner is out for the season with a stress fracture.
• Barker is available after this game.

Edited Sunday at 15:33 by Weston Saint

[Dark Munster]

11 minutes ago, Weston Saint said:

None of the players like the Kookaburra ball!

Nobody else likes it either. Just Hants luck they play against the weakest team having to bowl with a tennis ball. Maybe twice since they play them again soon.

Using this ball for some matches, along with playing some teams once and others twice, makes county cricket championship Mickey Mouse. 

[Window Cleaner]

28 minutes ago, Dark Munster said:

Nobody else likes it either. Just Hants luck they play against the weakest team having to bowl with a tennis ball. Maybe twice since they play them again soon.

Using this ball for some matches, along with playing some teams once and others twice, makes county cricket championship Mickey Mouse. 

Never mind, we're getting a look at our full range of part-time bowlers.

[stevegrant]

A full round of games where, so far, not a single batting team has put up less than 367. Obviously the weather has likely made it much harder for ground staff to prepare a "result" wicket, but the ball does seem to be having far too much of an impact. And as @Dark Munster mentions, having to use it in a game we would have been targeting to win handily has put us at a huge disadvantage against other teams in the division.

[Lighthouse]

Surrey 605-3, they could easily post a grand if they don’t declare.

[Dark Munster]

887 by Yorkshire at the end of the 19th century is the county record.

Surrey currently on 796-6

[stevegrant]

Surrey declared on 820/9. Some scary looking bowling figures on that scorecard

Meanwhile Worcestershire declared on 679/7 and Fletcha Middleton mustered 1 off 23 balls before being pinned LBW

[Gloucester Saint]

5 hours ago, stevegrant said:

A full round of games where, so far, not a single batting team has put up less than 367. Obviously the weather has likely made it much harder for ground staff to prepare a "result" wicket, but the ball does seem to be having far too much of an impact. And as @Dark Munster mentions, having to use it in a game we would have been targeting to win handily has put us at a huge disadvantage against other teams in the division.

I get why Key wanted to use it, to force county bowlers to develop some points of difference rather than 25 Darren Stevens and Ronnie Irani impressions. . 

Trouble is, in preparing for Australia why not use it in the last couple of India tests with bowlers that might actually go to the Ashes instead of county plodders? Using it early season made more sense to stop 100 all out every game.

Hants 54/3 - that level of effort from the top order is pathetic though whatever the ball is. Tilak, Brown and Dawson to carry the top order again. Middleton 1 from 23 balls, Gubbins 13 from 50. Competing with Toby Albert for the Southern League can’t get it off the square award.

Who is the batting coach? Have they heard of running singles and rotating strike if out of form?

Should still get a draw unless our batters are really brainless but might be following on.

Edited Monday at 17:18 by Gloucester Saint

[Lighthouse]

54/3 on a wicket prepared by your own ground staff, against the worst team in the division, on a weekend when every other team in the country is hitting tennis balls for 600 is really quite something.

[Window Cleaner]

Oh, well played Sirs, a mere 458 behind on the first innings. Zero batting points. 

Perhaps the problem isn't the ball but the bowlers using it.

 

[Andrew Watson]

The whole team scored less than two of their players individual scores, what a totally shambolic performance,relegation is a distinct possibility [ Only 15 points  clear of Worcester,if and when we lose this game ]. How has it come to this ? 

The batting has been a total disgrace, a few individual performances apart,the bowling okay up to this game.

[Window Cleaner]

How has this come about?  Well in my humble opinion, nepotism and cost cutting would be likely candidates.

We have players,, perhaps other staff as well who contribute sfa and no doubt get paid at the end of the month.

[Andrew Watson]

Orr unlucky,but both openers go within a few minutes of each other,totally spineless yet again. It used to be a joy supporting Hants and Saints,very,very tough at the moment.

[Gloucester Saint]

36 minutes ago, Andrew Watson said:

Orr unlucky,but both openers go within a few minutes of each other,totally spineless yet again. It used to be a joy supporting Hants and Saints,very,very tough at the moment.

The players are phoning it in, new owners need to move Birrell and White on, set up is stale.

The players are shit but someone else might be able to survive in D1 this season.

[Andrew Watson]

Well done to Dawson [ yet again ] ,Brown and Tilak. Lets make no mistake if we do not get our batting together there is every chance we will go down,with Yorkshire winning it is very tight for 9th place. Since Mcgrath the Yorkshire coach publically called out his players for being mentally weak,they have improved dtramatically,cannot see that happening at Hants unfortunately,it is the least most of the players deserve.

[Picard]

On 29/06/2025 at 14:02, Picard said:

This is going to be a draw.

Right result in the end after making it hard for themselves. After being in a very difficult place the last three batsmen fought well to save the game.

[Gloucester Saint]

58 minutes ago, Picard said:

Right result in the end after making it hard for themselves. After being in a very difficult place the last three batsmen fought well to save the game.

They did, Tilak again, Brown and Dawson (again).

Middleton, Stoneman, Albert, Weatherley, Prest and Gubbins need to play some local cricket and get into some form before our red ball or One Day Cup next games after the Blast resumes. Orr did at least make a couple of starts and should have been picked a while ago. 

[Hodgey]

If you can’t get any batting points, at home, on a batters paradise (along with getting the second least amount of batting points this season so far), and you can’t bowl out the only team with less batting points, then you have to ask some deep questions.

We lost our best batter and bowler this year, and are now totally reliant on two players in their winter (Abbott and Dawson). 

On the plus side looks like we may start getting some decent Indian players. But the lack of progress this year on what seemed to be highly talented youngsters is a massive concern (id even suggest some are going backwards)

[Dusic]

Not sure if we are any different to other teama but is it a coincidence that most of the playwrs who are really struggling in the red ball team don't play white ball and just seem short of any rhythm?

Also very clear that the recruitment approach for this season has been all wrong, we ditched Abbas to beef up batting without Vince yet didnt actually do that until Varma joined midway through the season.

In T20 we have been a bit unlucky that the SA lads got called up but it was surely to be expected and planned for rather than a seemingly reactive approach?

Also in our best years we have had 2 quality spinners bowling in tandem, which pretty much all good T20 sides do - why have we moved away from that?