Final Placings:
County Championship Division One – 3rd;
FP Trophy - 4th, South-Eastern Conference;
Twenty20 Cup – 4th, South Division;
Pro40 Division One – 2nd.
Hampshire enjoyed a respectable season in 2008 and the final results look quite promising for the future. Indeed it was a season of two halves and it could have been a whole lot worse! In the initial few weeks of the season things looked grim. Dimitri Mascarenhas was away in India or with England more often than not and Chris Tremlett was enduring a frustrating time with injuries yet again, a trend which continued throughout the year. Greg Lamb looked woefully short of being a threatening four day spin bowler, much less a replacement for Shane Warne (8 wickets at 71.37), and he has in fact now been released by the county. The batting was experiencing it’s usual woes, with even the normally reliable John Crawley and Nic Pothas both out of form. Then, Shane Bond (19 at 19.21) got injured and Hampshire were without an overseas player and were missing their entire bowling attack from the previous season, James Bruce and Warne having of course retired, whilst Shaun Udal had switched allegiances.
The Friends Provident Trophy campaign never really got going and Hampshire soon found themselves bottom of the County Championship. Paul Terry parted company with the county and the search for a replacement is ongoing, with Chris Adams high on the list of wanted candidates. The Twenty20 Cup campaign, the finals day of which was held at the Rose Bowl, was less disappointing than usual, with the county only one victory from making the knockout stage. Shane Watson’s failure to show up was a blow, although Ian Harvey did a good job in his absence, with both Michael Lumb and Michael Carberry continuing to show that they are excellent limited overs performers. Nante Hayward was briefly impressive before succumbing to injury and it will be interesting to see if Hawks fans see any more of the South African Kolpak signing next season. In a competition as strong as the South Division though, it was always going to be hard to emerge from the group which contained three of the four semi-finalists and furthermore, the two finalists.
Into the backend of the season and Hampshire were occupying one of the two relegation places in the Championship and it was questionable as to how they could turn it around. Imran Tahir’s arrival as overseas player marked the beginning of the recovery, as did the emergence of spinning allrounder Liam Dawson, who scored his maiden century in the final day victory over Nottinghamshire. The two spinners dominated opposition batting line-ups in the Pro40 competition, sweeping Hampshire to second, Dawson finishing with 11 at 13.72 and Tahir with 12 at 20.33, whilst Billy Taylor also chipped in with an impressive 13 at 15.38. In fact, were it not for the rain, Hampshire would in all likelihood have won the competition, with Sean Ervine finding some late form. Meanwhile, in the four day game, Tahir especially was proving to be a real trump card, as opposition batsmen the land over were bamboozled by his vast array of mysterious deliveries. The Pakistani A leg spinner was definitely key to the revival in Hampshire’s fortunes. Meanwhile, sides continued to struggle with the impressive James Tomlinson, the young left arm seamer, who was consistent throughout the entire season and ended as the divisions top wicket taker, most impressive.
As per usual the main problem with Hampshire was the batting, although at the start of the season the bowling had looked to be the more pressing concern. In the Championship only Nic Pothas (53.5) and Michael Brown (40.86) managed to finish with respectable averages, whilst Michaels’ Lumb (32.72) and Carberry (28.60) continue to fail to transfer their fine limited overs returns into the Championship. John Crawley meanwhile appears to have seen his best days (27.73 from only 9 matches). Only Pothas (3) scored more than one hundred and he also registered the best score (137). Hampshire’s deep batting was once again their saving grace and it is clear where the Hawks need to improve in the future, especially as they mustered only 33 batting points (7th in the division), yet managed 47 bowling points (1st in the division).
The bowling figures do look a lot better for Hampshire, with Tahir (44 at 16.68), Tomlinson (67 at 24.76) and Mascarenhas (41 at 23.82) the stand out performers, though it is worth noting that Tremlett had a disappointing year (27 at 37.0), due to both injury and knock backs from Team England. Between them, Tahir (44) and Bond (19), compensated well for the absence of former captain Shane Warne, whilst Mascarenhas tried to continue the Warne tradition of attacking and playing to win. He was however overly cautious until the end of the season, the game against Lancashire at Old Trafford a prime example of how a crisis of confidence and a mentality of safety first had set in at the club after the poor first half of the season.
Player of the season:
It would be easy to point to Imran Tahir, as his arrival had such a massive impact, but without the ever dependable Nic Pothas, the county’s highest run scorer, and the consistent wicket taking ability of James Tomlinson, Hampshire would probably have been sunk before his arrival. Those two rightly share the award from this commentator.
Most disappointing player:
Greg Lamb. 8 wickets at 71.37 is awful for a spinner, a batting average of 20.92 is a poor average for an allrounder and it is no surprise that the club finally released him early, after he managed just 1 wicket at 102, from 17 overs, in the Pro40 and a 0 from his one innings. He was never going to be a replacement for Warne or Udal as a specialist bowler, but he can not even be called an allrounder unfortunately after this season.
Highlight: The dramatic low scoring victory over Durham which proved to be a key moment in the season following the victory over Yorkshire, with Sean Ervine crucially hitting 94 not out, as Hampshire recovered from being bowled out for 96 in the first innings and from having slumped to 77 for 5 in their second, to score a winning total of 240-8, beating eventual Championship winners Durham in the process by two wickets. Nail biting stuff.
Lowlight: Having to wait until mid-June for the first County Championship win, interestingly enough, it was also against Durham. It was probably the result of a loss of leadership, with Warne throwing in the towel just weeks before the start of the season and Mascarenhas gallivanting off to India to join him for a few weeks.
IX of the Season:
Carberry
Brown
Lumb
Benham
Ervine
Pothas (wk)
Dawson
Mascarenhas (c)
Tremlett
Tahir
Tomlinson
Showing posts with label Nic Pothas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nic Pothas. Show all posts
Monday, 29 September 2008
Monday, 4 August 2008
Championship Review - Week 13
In stark contrast to previous weeks, very little changes in Division 1 as all matches are drawn, while in Division 2, Worcestershire are beginning to pull clear at the top. And Ramprakash’s wait is finally over.
Division 1
Having made his debut against Yorkshire as well as his maiden first class century, it seems appropriate that Mark Ramprakash should have made his 100th ton against the White Rose county. It was an important innings as well as Surrey had initially struggled to just 204 against injury hit Yorkshire, with Deon Kruis taking 5 wickets. Yorks then declared on 414 for 9, dodging the showers, with Kruis adding an unbeaten 50 to his wickets. Needing 210 to make Yorks bat again, Surrey lost Stewart Walters without scoring a run before Ramprakash (112) and Scott Newman (129) put on 259 to lead to Surrey to safety, finishing on 264 for 3. Surrey remain bottom, with Yorks in some trouble 7th in the table (although if they had forced the win, they’d have been within a point of 2nd).
At the top of the table, Durham batted first against Nottinghamshire, managing just 266. Bilal Shafyat held the Notts reply together with 100 as they managed a 2 run lead on the first innings. Stuart Broad then took the first four Durham wickets to fall, to leave them in trouble at 88 for 4. However, more resilient Durham batting and the poor weather meant there wasn’t time to force a result and the game finished with Durham on 257 for 8. Notts and Durham remain first and second respectively.
Sussex started well against Somerset with a Murray Goodwin ton leading them to a total of 419. Somerset couldn’t match them with the reply, Marcus Trescothick top scoring with 92 as Somerset made 348. Sussex them declared on 264 for 5 in an effort to force a result. However, the weather meant that the run chase wasn’t possible and the match finished with Somerset on 128 for 2. Somerset move 3rd, with Sussex in 6th.
Finally Hampshire recovered from the loss of two early wickets as the Michaels Carberry (92) and Lumb (73) put on a stand of 181 to take them to 367 despite six wickets for Yasir Arafat. Kent had a better start with Rob Key and Joe Denly putting on a century opening partnership. However, Imran Tahir took 5 wickets as Kent managed just a two run lead with 369. Hants started poorly again, but an unbeaten 105 from Nic Pothas (to go with his unbeaten 73 in the first innings) took Hants to 311 for 7 as the time ran out of the game. Hants are still in the relegation zone and now have an important match with Yorkshire coming up. Kent are 4th.
Division 2
Worcestershire went to the top of the league last week and soon had Gloucestershire in trouble at 110 for 5. Marcus North (98) and David Brown (83) led something of a recovery until the last 5 wickets went down for just 43 runs as Gloucester made 283, Kabir Ali taking 6 wickets. Worcester lost just one wicket going past the Gloucester total, with Stephen Moore (129) and Vikram Solanki (270) putting on 316 for the second wicket. An ubeaten 99 from Stephen Davies took Worcester to 672 for 7 declared. North and Brown both made their second half centuries of the match in Gloucester’s second innings. However, with Simon Jones taking four wickets, the total of 247 was not enough to make Worcester bat again they move clear at the top of the table while Gloucester remain bottom and winless.
Essex would have been looking to make up ground at the top of the table against struggling Glamorgan and the game was going to plan as the Welshmen were skittled for just 139. Essex managed 206 in reply. Second time round, batting seemed easier for Glamorgan and despite 6 wickets for Graham Napier they made 347 to leave Essex needing 281 for victory. Ravi Bopara then top scored with just 15 as Essex were bowled out for just 78, with Robert Croft taking 5 wickets for 6 runs in 8.1 overs. The win takes Glamorgan above Gloucestershire while Essex remain 4th.
HD Ackerman dominated the Leicestershire innings, scoring 199 out of the 432 against Warwickshire, Ian Salisbury taking 5 wickets. The Bears, looking to return to the top of the table didn’t find batting as easy and made just 267, Nadeem Malik taking 5 wickets. Following on Warwicks were more resilient and with poor weather affecting the game, their 169 for 3 left the game drawn. They remain 2nd, but are falling behind Worcester. Leicester are 5th, and probably too far behind to challenge for promotion now.
Northamptonshire are still in the promotion chase and they started well against Derbyshire, falling one run short of maximum batting points on 399, with Lance Klusener scoring a ton, while fellow South African, Charl Langeveldt took 5 wickets. Another South African, Andrew Hall, took 5 wickets as Derbyshire made 342, made around a 6th wicket stand of 138 between Greg Smith (yet another South African) and Jonathan Clare. Stephen Peters made a century second time round for Northants as they made 216 for 3 and the game petered out into a draw. Northants remain 3rd, Derby are 7th.
England Player Watch
Ravi Bopara had a game to forget with the bat for Essex (as did all of his colleagues), while Matt Prior seems to have found his early season form with a brisk 73 against Somerset. Also finding form again is Michael Carberry and the Kent opening pair of Joe Denley and Rob Key made 89 and 67 respectively. Chris Tremlett also hit 56, and his batting seems to be outshining his bowling at the moment. Adil Rashid showed a welcome return to form with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 67 to marshal the Yorks tail.
Stuart Broad arrived late for his match against Durham, but still made a big impact with the ball, taking 7 wickets, although he did fail with the bat. Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett bath took three wickets when Notts batted. Matthew Hoggard was one of the Yorkshire crocks this week, while Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid each took three wickets.
Player of the Week
Mentions for the South African trio of HD Ackerman with 199, Deon Kruis with a 5-fer and an unbeaten 50 and Nic Pothas for 178 unbeaten runs. However, this week’s winner is someone who no longer makes it into the England Player Watch, despite being maybe an outside contender for the England One Day captaincy. For 270 runs at quicker than a run a ball, this week’s Player of the Week is Vikram Solanki.
Division 1
Having made his debut against Yorkshire as well as his maiden first class century, it seems appropriate that Mark Ramprakash should have made his 100th ton against the White Rose county. It was an important innings as well as Surrey had initially struggled to just 204 against injury hit Yorkshire, with Deon Kruis taking 5 wickets. Yorks then declared on 414 for 9, dodging the showers, with Kruis adding an unbeaten 50 to his wickets. Needing 210 to make Yorks bat again, Surrey lost Stewart Walters without scoring a run before Ramprakash (112) and Scott Newman (129) put on 259 to lead to Surrey to safety, finishing on 264 for 3. Surrey remain bottom, with Yorks in some trouble 7th in the table (although if they had forced the win, they’d have been within a point of 2nd).
At the top of the table, Durham batted first against Nottinghamshire, managing just 266. Bilal Shafyat held the Notts reply together with 100 as they managed a 2 run lead on the first innings. Stuart Broad then took the first four Durham wickets to fall, to leave them in trouble at 88 for 4. However, more resilient Durham batting and the poor weather meant there wasn’t time to force a result and the game finished with Durham on 257 for 8. Notts and Durham remain first and second respectively.
Sussex started well against Somerset with a Murray Goodwin ton leading them to a total of 419. Somerset couldn’t match them with the reply, Marcus Trescothick top scoring with 92 as Somerset made 348. Sussex them declared on 264 for 5 in an effort to force a result. However, the weather meant that the run chase wasn’t possible and the match finished with Somerset on 128 for 2. Somerset move 3rd, with Sussex in 6th.
Finally Hampshire recovered from the loss of two early wickets as the Michaels Carberry (92) and Lumb (73) put on a stand of 181 to take them to 367 despite six wickets for Yasir Arafat. Kent had a better start with Rob Key and Joe Denly putting on a century opening partnership. However, Imran Tahir took 5 wickets as Kent managed just a two run lead with 369. Hants started poorly again, but an unbeaten 105 from Nic Pothas (to go with his unbeaten 73 in the first innings) took Hants to 311 for 7 as the time ran out of the game. Hants are still in the relegation zone and now have an important match with Yorkshire coming up. Kent are 4th.
Division 2
Worcestershire went to the top of the league last week and soon had Gloucestershire in trouble at 110 for 5. Marcus North (98) and David Brown (83) led something of a recovery until the last 5 wickets went down for just 43 runs as Gloucester made 283, Kabir Ali taking 6 wickets. Worcester lost just one wicket going past the Gloucester total, with Stephen Moore (129) and Vikram Solanki (270) putting on 316 for the second wicket. An ubeaten 99 from Stephen Davies took Worcester to 672 for 7 declared. North and Brown both made their second half centuries of the match in Gloucester’s second innings. However, with Simon Jones taking four wickets, the total of 247 was not enough to make Worcester bat again they move clear at the top of the table while Gloucester remain bottom and winless.
Essex would have been looking to make up ground at the top of the table against struggling Glamorgan and the game was going to plan as the Welshmen were skittled for just 139. Essex managed 206 in reply. Second time round, batting seemed easier for Glamorgan and despite 6 wickets for Graham Napier they made 347 to leave Essex needing 281 for victory. Ravi Bopara then top scored with just 15 as Essex were bowled out for just 78, with Robert Croft taking 5 wickets for 6 runs in 8.1 overs. The win takes Glamorgan above Gloucestershire while Essex remain 4th.
HD Ackerman dominated the Leicestershire innings, scoring 199 out of the 432 against Warwickshire, Ian Salisbury taking 5 wickets. The Bears, looking to return to the top of the table didn’t find batting as easy and made just 267, Nadeem Malik taking 5 wickets. Following on Warwicks were more resilient and with poor weather affecting the game, their 169 for 3 left the game drawn. They remain 2nd, but are falling behind Worcester. Leicester are 5th, and probably too far behind to challenge for promotion now.
Northamptonshire are still in the promotion chase and they started well against Derbyshire, falling one run short of maximum batting points on 399, with Lance Klusener scoring a ton, while fellow South African, Charl Langeveldt took 5 wickets. Another South African, Andrew Hall, took 5 wickets as Derbyshire made 342, made around a 6th wicket stand of 138 between Greg Smith (yet another South African) and Jonathan Clare. Stephen Peters made a century second time round for Northants as they made 216 for 3 and the game petered out into a draw. Northants remain 3rd, Derby are 7th.
England Player Watch
Ravi Bopara had a game to forget with the bat for Essex (as did all of his colleagues), while Matt Prior seems to have found his early season form with a brisk 73 against Somerset. Also finding form again is Michael Carberry and the Kent opening pair of Joe Denley and Rob Key made 89 and 67 respectively. Chris Tremlett also hit 56, and his batting seems to be outshining his bowling at the moment. Adil Rashid showed a welcome return to form with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 67 to marshal the Yorks tail.
Stuart Broad arrived late for his match against Durham, but still made a big impact with the ball, taking 7 wickets, although he did fail with the bat. Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett bath took three wickets when Notts batted. Matthew Hoggard was one of the Yorkshire crocks this week, while Tim Bresnan and Adil Rashid each took three wickets.
Player of the Week
Mentions for the South African trio of HD Ackerman with 199, Deon Kruis with a 5-fer and an unbeaten 50 and Nic Pothas for 178 unbeaten runs. However, this week’s winner is someone who no longer makes it into the England Player Watch, despite being maybe an outside contender for the England One Day captaincy. For 270 runs at quicker than a run a ball, this week’s Player of the Week is Vikram Solanki.
Wednesday, 28 February 2007
Foundation Building
Season Review: Hampshire
Hopes were high at the beginning of the season that Hampshire were about to mount their most serious title challenge in years. While the 2006 season can not be described as a failure, the dream which all at the club share, winning the County Championship, was not realised.
However, a top three finish and an immediate return to the top division of domestic one day cricket are achievements which the club can rightfully be proud of. One only has to look to Nottinghamshire to appreciate the achievement of finishing second and third in successive seasons. There was though disappointment in the Twenty20 Cup for the second year running, with Hampshire seemingly failing to take the competition seriously, omitting John Crawley and Sean Ervine entirely from the competition and resting Chris Tremlett at times, absences which were compounded by the imposed loss of Shane Warne. Meanwhile, partly due to the questionable restructuring of the C&G Trophy and murky skies, Hampshire failed to defend their 2005 C&G title.
The main failings at Hampshire this season were again to be found in the batting department in both forms of the game, with dramatic collapses at home to Sussex and Durham costing vital Championship points and diabolical batting performances against the likes of Somerset threatening to curtail the clubs promotion ambitions. Overseas import Dominic Thornely failed to perform to the required standard in the County Championship, averaging a mere 34.5 and only picking up form during the Pro40 campaign. Meanwhile, injuries to the talented Tremlett and emerging James Bruce contributed to the bowling attacks inability to finish teams off often enough during the second innings, most notably away to Nottinghamshire. Hampshire did though garnish the most bowling bonus points of all the teams in both divisions.
Warne bowled over after over, but was seemingly not always at his brilliant best, a busy International career perhaps beginning to catch up on Australia’s finest. Still, his sheer presence and commitment are invaluable to the Hawks’ cause and it is great news that the talismanic magician will be returning to the Rose Bowl next season. Meanwhile Shaun Udal appears now to be a one day specialist, playing a wholesome part in the team’s promotion back to Pro40 Division One, but contributing little else.
If looking for a star of the Hampshire season, one can look no further than the evergreen Crawley, who contributed a wonderful 1,737 runs to the County Championship cause at an average of 66.8. The statistics will tell you that Tremlett was the most effective Hampshire bowler, the fact that he was injured for half of the season will tell you why Hampshire failed to secure the crown they yearn for. Dimitri Mascarenhas deserves special praise for his performance with the ball, but his batting in the longer version of the game still continues to frustrate. It was Warne who topped the wicket taking charts and he was surely Hampshire’s bowler of the season, but the fact that he took only half of the wickets that Mushtaq Ahmed did is an indication of the decline of the Warne Googly.
During the course of the season Hawks fans were fortunate enough to witness the emergence of three extremely talented and promising youngsters in James Adams, Chris Benham and Bruce. Adams’ career best 168no in the brilliant run chase against Yorkshire at Headingley was the making of the opening batsman and his subsequent 262no against Nottinghamshire was a joy to behold. Meanwhile Benham came to prominence with some exciting stroke play in the Twenty20 Cup in the middle of the season, those performances earning him places in both the four day and one day sides. He gradually grew into the first class side with some confident innings and brilliant slip fielding. His 158 against Glamorgan in the Pro40 playoff earned high praise from the captain, who excitingly believes that the best is yet to come from his young sage. Bruce was a revelation with the ball early on in the season in the absence of Tremlett and although himself hampered by injury, he returned in the latter stages of the season with some promising one day performances.
Michael Carberry proved to be a solid signing for the Hawks securing the second opening batting slot alongside Adams and bringing energy to the sides fielding. There is unlikely to ever be a faster fielder than he. Carberry also brought much to the one day side with some aggressively powerful shot making. Nic Pothas was his dependable self with the bat in the longer format, often rescuing the side from a perilous position, but he was strangely out of sorts with the gloves on occasions. Meanwhile he lost his position high up the order in the one day side and was forced to settle for lower order cameos in the limited overs format. Mascarenhas was his lively self in the one day game but was solid rather than spectacular which helps to explain why the England selectors continue to overlook him. Unfortunately, Ervine failed to rediscover his late 2005 form with both the bat and the ball, failing to score a single century all season. One can only assume that a serious knee reconstruction in the close season impeded on a still very promising career.
The starting eleven at the Rose Bowl is now more than good enough to match any other in the country. The problem is keeping all the players fit and in form and this is a challenge which the management must overcome if the club is to finally capture the trophy it craves most. Seen as a season of building, the foundations are now in place for a serious challenge next year in all formats of the game. With the Rose Bowl beginning to settle down into a more trusted wicket, Hampshire have a great chance of winning the County Championship next season. With the addition of a quality overseas player in Stuart Clark and the developing Michael Lumb, the Hawks will put right the title hurt of 2005 and deliver more silverware to the Rod Bransgrove Trophy cabinet in 2007.
Player of the season: John Crawley - “Creep” was the foundation of the sides title push, providing ever-dependable cover at number three, gritting out crucial innings game after game and putting his body on the line at short leg. He is the lynchpin around which the side bats and he rarely lets his team mates down. He liked batting against Nottinghamshire, as his consecutive run of centuries showed. Overall, a class act.
High: Successfully chasing over 400 in 113 overs to win on the final day at Headingley against Yorkshire in the County Championship. James Adams’ brilliant 168no was the backbone of the innings and the making of him as a solid county opener. The re-promotion to Pro40 Division One was also an important triumph.
Low: Succumbing to Sussex and Durham at home in the County Championship, both inside three days, to lose touch with the Division’s front runners.
Chris Pallett
Hopes were high at the beginning of the season that Hampshire were about to mount their most serious title challenge in years. While the 2006 season can not be described as a failure, the dream which all at the club share, winning the County Championship, was not realised.
However, a top three finish and an immediate return to the top division of domestic one day cricket are achievements which the club can rightfully be proud of. One only has to look to Nottinghamshire to appreciate the achievement of finishing second and third in successive seasons. There was though disappointment in the Twenty20 Cup for the second year running, with Hampshire seemingly failing to take the competition seriously, omitting John Crawley and Sean Ervine entirely from the competition and resting Chris Tremlett at times, absences which were compounded by the imposed loss of Shane Warne. Meanwhile, partly due to the questionable restructuring of the C&G Trophy and murky skies, Hampshire failed to defend their 2005 C&G title.
The main failings at Hampshire this season were again to be found in the batting department in both forms of the game, with dramatic collapses at home to Sussex and Durham costing vital Championship points and diabolical batting performances against the likes of Somerset threatening to curtail the clubs promotion ambitions. Overseas import Dominic Thornely failed to perform to the required standard in the County Championship, averaging a mere 34.5 and only picking up form during the Pro40 campaign. Meanwhile, injuries to the talented Tremlett and emerging James Bruce contributed to the bowling attacks inability to finish teams off often enough during the second innings, most notably away to Nottinghamshire. Hampshire did though garnish the most bowling bonus points of all the teams in both divisions.
Warne bowled over after over, but was seemingly not always at his brilliant best, a busy International career perhaps beginning to catch up on Australia’s finest. Still, his sheer presence and commitment are invaluable to the Hawks’ cause and it is great news that the talismanic magician will be returning to the Rose Bowl next season. Meanwhile Shaun Udal appears now to be a one day specialist, playing a wholesome part in the team’s promotion back to Pro40 Division One, but contributing little else.
If looking for a star of the Hampshire season, one can look no further than the evergreen Crawley, who contributed a wonderful 1,737 runs to the County Championship cause at an average of 66.8. The statistics will tell you that Tremlett was the most effective Hampshire bowler, the fact that he was injured for half of the season will tell you why Hampshire failed to secure the crown they yearn for. Dimitri Mascarenhas deserves special praise for his performance with the ball, but his batting in the longer version of the game still continues to frustrate. It was Warne who topped the wicket taking charts and he was surely Hampshire’s bowler of the season, but the fact that he took only half of the wickets that Mushtaq Ahmed did is an indication of the decline of the Warne Googly.
During the course of the season Hawks fans were fortunate enough to witness the emergence of three extremely talented and promising youngsters in James Adams, Chris Benham and Bruce. Adams’ career best 168no in the brilliant run chase against Yorkshire at Headingley was the making of the opening batsman and his subsequent 262no against Nottinghamshire was a joy to behold. Meanwhile Benham came to prominence with some exciting stroke play in the Twenty20 Cup in the middle of the season, those performances earning him places in both the four day and one day sides. He gradually grew into the first class side with some confident innings and brilliant slip fielding. His 158 against Glamorgan in the Pro40 playoff earned high praise from the captain, who excitingly believes that the best is yet to come from his young sage. Bruce was a revelation with the ball early on in the season in the absence of Tremlett and although himself hampered by injury, he returned in the latter stages of the season with some promising one day performances.
Michael Carberry proved to be a solid signing for the Hawks securing the second opening batting slot alongside Adams and bringing energy to the sides fielding. There is unlikely to ever be a faster fielder than he. Carberry also brought much to the one day side with some aggressively powerful shot making. Nic Pothas was his dependable self with the bat in the longer format, often rescuing the side from a perilous position, but he was strangely out of sorts with the gloves on occasions. Meanwhile he lost his position high up the order in the one day side and was forced to settle for lower order cameos in the limited overs format. Mascarenhas was his lively self in the one day game but was solid rather than spectacular which helps to explain why the England selectors continue to overlook him. Unfortunately, Ervine failed to rediscover his late 2005 form with both the bat and the ball, failing to score a single century all season. One can only assume that a serious knee reconstruction in the close season impeded on a still very promising career.
The starting eleven at the Rose Bowl is now more than good enough to match any other in the country. The problem is keeping all the players fit and in form and this is a challenge which the management must overcome if the club is to finally capture the trophy it craves most. Seen as a season of building, the foundations are now in place for a serious challenge next year in all formats of the game. With the Rose Bowl beginning to settle down into a more trusted wicket, Hampshire have a great chance of winning the County Championship next season. With the addition of a quality overseas player in Stuart Clark and the developing Michael Lumb, the Hawks will put right the title hurt of 2005 and deliver more silverware to the Rod Bransgrove Trophy cabinet in 2007.
Player of the season: John Crawley - “Creep” was the foundation of the sides title push, providing ever-dependable cover at number three, gritting out crucial innings game after game and putting his body on the line at short leg. He is the lynchpin around which the side bats and he rarely lets his team mates down. He liked batting against Nottinghamshire, as his consecutive run of centuries showed. Overall, a class act.
High: Successfully chasing over 400 in 113 overs to win on the final day at Headingley against Yorkshire in the County Championship. James Adams’ brilliant 168no was the backbone of the innings and the making of him as a solid county opener. The re-promotion to Pro40 Division One was also an important triumph.
Low: Succumbing to Sussex and Durham at home in the County Championship, both inside three days, to lose touch with the Division’s front runners.
Chris Pallett
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