Hampshire remain one of the main challengers to Surrey’s dominance of the County Championship, but there will be a change of leadership this season, with James Vince stepping away from red ball cricket. Ben Browne has taken over as Championship skipper, but it is unlikely he will be able to match Vince’s contribution with the bat with him topping their Championship run scoring last season with 986 at 49.30.
Liam Dawson with 956 runs at 59.75 and Nick Gubbins with 895 runs at 55.93 were not far behind and will need to keep up that productivity in his absence. They have been reinforced by the move of Mark Stoneman from Middlesex and he will join Fletcha Middleton at the top of the order. Finding a reliable partner for Middleton has been an issue and the ex-England player is a timely acquisition.
One of the concerns for Hampshire is that two of their main strike bowlers, Kyle Abbott and Keith Barker are now 37 and 38-years-old respectively. They have also lost Mohammad Abbas to Nottinghamshire, having spent the last four seasons in Southampton. Abbott was the second highest wicket taker in Division One last summer with 55 at 20.36, closely followed by Liam Dawson with 54 at 25.14.
The seam bowling has been reinforced by Australian Jack Edwards and Somerset’s Sonny Baker. Edwards is having an excellent Sheffield Shield season, taking 28 wickets at 22.14 as well as scoring 431 runs at 43.10 and will be available for the first set of Championship fixtures. 22-year-old Baker made a promising start to his Somerset career, but only featured in a single Blast fixture for the West Country side last season. Nevertheless his genuine pace has attracted England interest and he was part of the Lions tour to Australia this winter. They also have James Fuller, who had a disappointing 2024, taking just 12 wickets at 71.50. Brad Wheal will be hoping for more opportunities having gone out on loan last summer, while John Turner is more a T20 specialist.
When it comes to the Blast, Hampshire will be very disappointed with their performance last season, finishing seventh in the South Group, having been at finals day the previous three years. They have a number of specialist T20 bowlers in Chris Wood, Benny Howell and Turner, who were unable to keep a lid on the oppositions’ run scoring. Vince will be back and Hampshire have signed the exciting South African teenage keeper/batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius. He topped the run scoring in the recent SA20 competition with 397 runs at a strike rate of 166.80 and is also currently the leading run scorer in the CSA Provincial One-Day competition. It can only be a short time before he dons a South Africa shirt.
Key player
Liam Dawson occupied this spot last season and it is impossible to look past him this year as he more than lived up to the billing. He is now 35-years-old but it still remains an enigma as to why he was not in England’s thinking for the last two white ball World Cups. England seem to have a fixation on wrist spin while Dawson would have undoubtedly played more international cricket if he held a different nationality. His last appearances were back in 2022 and perhaps his success in county cricket is held as a failing by the England selectors at a time when having experience of the 50-over game is not deemed necessary when you are playing for your country?
One to watch
21-year-old Tom Prest made big advances in 2024, scoring 582 Championship runs at 48.50. This was a significant improvement on his first 8 matches in which he scored 226 runs at 22.60. In the absence of Vince, Prest will have more responsibility and he seems more than capable. He previously captained England under 19s at the 2021 World Cup and will be hoping that he can move up to the next level.
Ins and Outs
Overseas signings: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (South Africa, for T20), Jack Edwards (Australia, April-May)
Ins: Sonny Baker (Somerset), Mark Stoneman (Middlesex, for Championship)
Outs: none
How will they fare
Despite losing Vince from their red ball side, Hampshire remain a strong squad and there should be enough left in Abbott’s tank to get them into winning positions. We should also expect a much better showing in the Blast.
Opening fixture: CC vs Durham on April 5 at Seat Unique Riverside, Chester-le-Street
Likely Championship XI
- Middleton
- Stoneman
- Gubbins
- Albert
- Prest
- Dawson
- Brown (WK)
- Edwards
- Fuller
- Barker
- Abbott
