Hampshire County Cricket Club 1946-2006

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Following on after being bundled out for 149 before lunch, the hosts limped to 63 all out in their second innings at Wantage Road. No apologies for a recycled title – after seven years my initial publication is seriously out-of-date) In 1972 and 1975, Sussex played two John Player Sunday League matches at Arundel Castle, then from 1994-2013 they played a further 20 List A matches, including three against Hampshire in 1996, 1998 and 2009. Hampshire won the first two and Sussex the third by just four runs. When Hampshire begin their Bob Willis Trophy match against Surrey at Arundel, the Duke of Norfolk’s ground will be the 15th on which Hampshire have played a home first-class match and the 10th home ground in a first-class county competition, although strictly speaking the new competition is distinct from the traditional County Championship.

Well played Australia – again not a thriller but a very fine all-round performance. The final figures:Apart from five matches with no results we have played Middlesex 34 times, winning 20 and losing 14. A list of away matches covers no fewer than six grounds, with Radlett, for the second time on Tuesday; the others were Lord's, Uxbridge, Richmond, Southgate and Merchant Taylor’s School. Shaun ‘Shaggy’ Udal was an off spinner and an interesting character who, very late in his career, won four Test caps against India and Pakistan. Udal’s autobiography, My Turn To Spin, appeared in 2007, coinciding with his retirement. Then in 1976 the tourists – West Indies – were the first to field Hampshire players against the home team, with Andy Roberts having a brief bowl but Gordon Greenidge top-scoring with 84. RUNS: average winning margin was 129 runs. In one match the margin was in single figures (5) otherwise nothing under 33, with 13 matches ending with a winning margin of 100+ (largest 309) The committee consisted of three former players, Mike Barnard, Tim Tremlett & Will Kendall, plus scorer & statistician Vic Isaacs, plus Neil Jenkinson my predecessor and fine Hampshire historian, and me. Having compiled an initial pre-war list, we would often discover a photograph or other evidence showing another recipient but it’s likely that we now have a definitive list that is as accurate as possible.

Leaving, perhaps, the best until last brings me to the Barbadian fast bowler Malcolm Marshall. During his fourteen years with Hampshire, in 1987, Marshall’s autobiography, Marshall Arts, appeared. In 2000, following Marshall’s untimely death, his collaborator in that book, Pat Symes, updated and republished the book as Maco: The Malcolm Marshall Story. Smith has written two books that are essentially autobiographical in nature. The first, Quest For Number One, published in 1993, is not exactly an autobiography, but the more recent, The Judge, appeared in 2019 certainly is. It is a thought provoking and engrossing read on the subject of a man at whom life has certainly aimed a few short ones over the years. In 2017 we met Lancashire 2 nd XI there in a Championship Final match which the visitors won on first innings to take the Trophy. Of our team that day we might expect to see Felix Organ in Hampshire’s RL Cup side this year, while Chris Wood, Harry Came, Matt Salisbury and Brad Wheal might be playing elsewhere in the Hundred or for their counties. The Lancashire side included Josh Bohannon, Daniel Lamb and Saqib Mahmood. Adam Rossington was challenged outside his off stump by John Turner to edge behind - the newly England-qualified fast bowler claiming Championship best of 3-23. It was an ‘old fashioned’, so not ‘limited-overs’ one-day match and after Pakistan won the toss and took the field, Jimmy Gray went for 16, then Roy Marshall (61) and Henry Horton (55) took the score to 97 and Horton and Livingstone to 165-3. Hampshire declared after 63 overs on 204-6 (Farooq 4-42) and in reply the tourists took the opportunity to acclimatise themselves, reaching 173-6 in nine fewer overs – the result, a draw.In the days of Northlands Road, it also meant receiving a capped-players tie, and using the top players dressing room, to which young uncapped players had access only if they were playing in a first team match. World Cup final on Sunday ( India v Australia, 8.30 start GMT ) is being broadcast on Channel 5 as well as on Sky. His worship was answered in the form of James Fuller, who joined him in an unbroken 32-run stand which nudged Hampshire towards setting Essex a target of note. However, the visitors remain heavy favourites. Gubbins had top scored for Hampshire in the first innings with 25 and demonstrated great patience and trust in his exemplary technique, by taking 13 balls to get off the mark. In 1975 they came very close again but finished third. This brief period was, nonetheless the finest in Hampshire’s Championship history and there was compensation in 1975 and again in 1978 when Gilliat’s team won their first limited-overs titles, the Sunday League. The one mystery with this fine side was how they had failed to reach a Lord’s Final, losing semi-finals in 1975, 1976 & 1978.