Hampshire in the post-Vince era...

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5th July 2029 - Hove
Sussex vs Hampshire
Vitality Blast

With Hampshire's Sri Lankan pair returning home for the SL20, Adam Zampa comes back in, along with first appearances in the competition this year for Alex Lees and Sonny Baker, replacing John Turner and Ali Orr in a reshuffled Hampshire batting lineup.

Sussex: Corry, Thomas, Middleton, Rogers, Carter, Ward, Hossain, Francis, Price, Batson, Rabada
Hampshire: Lees, Robinson, Vince*, Rew+, Walter, Albert, Green, Currie, Zampa, Cook, Baker

Hampshire won the toss and elected to field first.

Sussex: 101 (18.4) - Green 4-28, Currie 3-12, Zampa 3-24
Brilliant performance with the ball from Hampshire as Sussex failed to bat out their overs, with Carter the only batter to reach 20.

Hampshire: 107-1 (13.1) - Robinson 54*, Vince 30*; Thomas 1-23
Robinson's second fifty of the competition saw Hampshire through to an easy victory.

Hampshire won by 9 wickets

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6th July 2029 - Southampton
Hampshire vs Somerset
Vitality Blast

Hampshire are unchanged as they host Somerset.

Hampshire: Lees, Robinson, Vince*, Rew+, Walter, Albert, Green, Currie, Zampa, Cook, Baker
Somerset: Smeed, Lammonby, Paulin, Banton, Kohler-Cadmore, Abell, Goldsworthy, Aldridge, Morris, O'Rourke, Heywood

Somerset won the toss and elected to field first.

Hampshire: 115 (19.2) - O'Rourke 4-26, Heywood 4-27
Awful from Hampshire as the openers reduced them to 62-8, only Zampa and Cook made it into the twenties as they just tried to at least bat all the overs.

Somerset: 116-6 (12.2) - Banton 26*; Currie 2-11
Hampshire bowled pretty well but had nowhere near enough runs on the board to challenge Somerset.

Somerset won by 4 wickets

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9th July 2029 - North London
Middlesex vs Hampshire
Vitality Blast

Noel Morrison makes his T20 debut, replacing Toby Albert, whilst Jack Carson comes in for Sonny Baker.

Middlesex: ul-Hassan, Holden, Winters, Sawant, Armstrong, Penman, Hollman, Layne, Gohar, Cornwell, Buckingham
Hampshire: Lees, Robinson, Vince*, Rew+, Walter, Morrison, Green, Currie, Carson, Zampa, Cook

Middlesex won the toss and elected to field first.

Hampshire: 153-8 (20) - Walter 63, Green 43; Layne 5-22
Hampshire's top order let them down once again and it was left to Walter and Green to achieve some sort of respectability.

Middlesex: 154-8 (18.1) - ul-Hassan 66, Sawant 61*; Carson 5-37
Carson took two wickets in the first over, but Middlesex hammered everyone else. Carson returned to bowl a triple wicket maiden, which only served to make the result look less convincing than it actually was.

Middlesex won by 2 wickets

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This story will now move to monthly roundups other than for important games, here is the summary for the remaining July matches:

Glamorgan (132-3) beat Hampshire (129) by 7 wickets
Hampshire (119) beat Sussex (108) by 11 runs
Essex (169-3) beat Hampshire (166-5) by 7 wickets

A poor end to the competition sees Hampshire fail to qualify for the latter stages for the first time in three years, finishing sixth in the group with 7 wins and 7 defeats.

Leading run-scorers: Paul Walter (316), James Rew (253), James Vince (232)
Leading wicket-takers: Ben Green (27), Scott Currie (25), Sam Cook (17)

Championship
Hampshire (437 & 280-3d) beat Warwickshire (262 & 226) by 229 runs
Hampshire (292 & 232) beat Nottinghamshire (316 & 187) by 21 runs

Those two wins took Hampshire to the top of Division One, with a narrow five-point lead over Surrey with three matches remaining.

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One Day Cup
Hampshire (234-3) beat Glamorgan (231-9) by 7 wickets
Derbyshire (307-5) beat Hampshire (305-7) by 5 wickets
Yorkshire (274-9) beat Hampshire (273-7) by 1 wicket
Warwickshire (296) beat Hampshire (271) by 25 runs
Hampshire (298-6) beat Essex (254) by 44 runs
Hampshire (299-4) beat Sussex (231) by 68 runs
Hampshire (322-6) beat Gloucestershire (192) by 130 runs
Leicestershire (235) beat Hampshire (231) by 4 runs

Despite not qualifying in the top three, this was comfortably our best performance yet, and we would have qualified if not for absolutely bottling the chase against Leicestershire. We finish fourth in the group, a big improvement on previous years where we've always been in the bottom two. Having a quality overseas batter available throughout in Tilak massively helped, and we were a bigger threat with the ball with the additions of Cook and Richards.

Leading run scorers: Tilak Varma (463), Blake Woodward (402), Alex Lees (345)
Leading wicket takers: Alan Cochrane (19), Jamal Richards (17), Ryan Higgins (13)

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Player Watch: The Hundred
Here's how Hampshire's players fared in the 2029 edition of The Hundred:

• Ali Orr played in just three matches for Birmingham Phoenix, scoring ten runs.
• Ben Green played all nine of London Spirit's matches, only scoring 16 runs but he took 13 wickets.
• Toby Albert played eight matches for Birmingham Phoenix, scoring 137 runs at a strike rate of 138.
• James Rew was excellent for Manchester Originals, scoring 270 runs at an average of 45, playing all eight matches.
• Paul Walter made four appearances for Welsh Fire, scoring 42 runs and taking five wickets.
• Scott Currie continued to excel in the Hundred, taking an incredible 24 wickets in eight matches for the Welsh Fire, at an average of just 7.29, including two five-wicket hauls.
• John Turner was excellent for Trent Rockets, taking 15 wickets in eight matches, at an average of under 16.

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8th September 2029 - Southampton
Hampshire vs Surrey
County Championship Division One

Hampshire lead Surrey by five points at the top of Division One, and with two winnable games to follow, this is possibly the biggest match of the save yet, as we look to extend our lead to make things as difficult as possible for Surrey to catch up. Aside from John Turner - who will miss the rest of the season with an injury - and Alan Cochrane, who has received his first England call-up to the T20 squad, Hampshire have a full squad available to them. The team pretty much picks itself based on form so far this year - Scott Currie's inclusion is notable as it's only his second Championship match this year, but his Hundred form was to good to overlook, even in a different format.

Hampshire: Orr*, Nissanka, Patel, Tilak, Rew+, Prest, Walter, Carson, Currie, Cook, Baker
Surrey: Gay, Osborne, Pope, Carver, Delaney, Hain, Foakes, Lawes, Carlton, Atkinson, Pithiya

Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Hampshire 1st: 210 (72.5) - Tilak 49, Nissanka 48; Pithiya 6-67, Lawes 4-47
Not the start to the match Hampshire were hoping for - lots of starts but no one able to go on, with Pithiya and Lawes doing all the damage.

Surrey 1st: 225 (66) - Hain 87; Cook 5-47, Currie 3-56
Surrey collapsed to 102-7 as Cook and Currie ran riot, but recovered to gain a narrow first-innings lead, the match firmly in the balance halfway through Day 2.

Hampshire 2nd: 203 (72.1) - Tilak 81; Pithiya 5-65, Lawes 4-43
The same bowlers did the damage again for Surrey, but Tilak's innings, plus a late cameo from Cook, at least gave Hampshire a chance, with Surrey needing 189, but they wouldn't have it all their own way with the pitch offering plenty of assistance for seam and spin alike.

Surrey 2nd: 189-5 (46.1) - Carver 64, Osborne 55; Currie 3-53
In the end, the visitors made it look fairly easy, and now Hampshire's title chances look in jeopardy as Surrey take an 11-point lead over Hampshire, who actually drop to fourth, overtaken by Lancashire and Durham. Would this be a huge missed opportunity for Hampshire's first silverware in the save?

Surrey won by 5 wickets

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Hampshire (460) beat Nottinghamshire (290 & 155) by an innings and 15 runs
Hampshire (503-9d) beat Middlesex (153 & 333) by an innings and 17 runs.

Unfortunately, despite big wins for Hampshire in the final two matches, the Surrey result proved costly as they won their second consecutive title, but Hampshire can be pleased with their efforts again this season, finishing second and just 14 points behind the Champions.

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2029 END OF SEASON REVIEW AND PLAYER AWARDS
Hampshire narrowly missed out on a first Championship title since 1973, edged out by Surrey by 14 points. In the white-ball competitions, they failed to get out of their groups, however, there were some promising signs with Hampshire finally showing some form in the One Day Cup.

Championship
Surrey went back-to-back in the Championship, but the real surprise was the relegation of Somerset, who not long ago had won three titles in a row. They were joined by Nottinghamshire, replaced in Division One by Leicestershire after a one-year absence, and surprisingly Derbyshire who have made a real resurgence this year.

One Day Cup
Leicestershire showed good form in the One Day Cup too, beating Surrey in the final after scraping through their group.

Blast
Somerset were the T20 champions for the second year running, a real formidable outfit in this format despite losing form in the Championship.

The Hundred
The Oval Invincibles were back to winning ways in the Hundred, beating local rivals London Spirit in the final.

Player Awards:
Red Ball Batter of the Year: Pathum Nissanka
The Sri Lankan contributed 1095 runs from just 11 matches, averaging 60 as he proved an excellent addition to the opening partnership. His partner, and club captain, Ali Orr, also passed 1000 runs again, reaching 1037 with three centuries. James Rew wasn't far behind, averaging 45 as he added 991 runs in his first Hampshire season, and a special mention should go to Tilak Varma, who was only able to play five matches because of his other commitments, but scored 541 runs at an average of 67.

White Ball Batter of the Year: Tilak Varma
Despite only playing one T20, Tilak's tally of 463 runs in the One Day Cup, with two hundreds at an average of 77, sees him take the award. Blake Woodward was also excellent, with 402 runs at an average of over 100 and five fifties, but with Tilak in the side, Hampshire looked a much better team than in previous years.

Red Ball Bowler of the Year: Sam Cook
Sam Cook struggled last season but was superb this year, taking 64 wickets at an average of just 19. He was well supported by Sonny Baker (44), Theesan Vithushan (36) and Jack Carson (34), but the former Essex man was by far Hampshire's best bowler, and rightly takes the award.

White Ball Bowler of the Year: Scott Currie
Scott Currie's excellent T20 campaign saw him take 25 wickets at an average of just 13, though he had good support from Ben Green (27) and Sam Cook (17) in particular.

Player of the Year: Sam Cook
Nissanka came close, but Sam Cook's performances across all three formats and his constant availability means he just pips the Sri Lankan to the Player of the Year award.

Young Player of the Year: Blake Woodward
The 22-year-old's form in the One Day Cup saw him secure the Young Player of the Year award for a second time - he's yet to really show any consistency in other formats, but this could be seen as a breakthrough year in which he doubled his total List A runs tally.

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CONTRACTS
With lots of players out of contract this winter, Hampshire had some decisions to make. In the end they confirmed that Nick Gubbins, Alex Lees, Noel Morrison, Tim Robinson and Theesan Vithushan would depart the club upon the expiry of their contracts. Adam Zampa has also announced his retirement.

• Nick Gubbins has been a long-time servant, representing Hampshire in 160 matches across all formats, scoring over 8000 runs with 18 centuries, but he departs after a dip in form this year and Hampshire's preference to shift towards a younger squad.
• Alex Lees was a key white-ball player in his three seasons at the club, scoring just under 2000 runs, with two centuries and nine fifties. Again, he departs due to his age and Hampshire looking to free up funds for some younger signings.
• Youngster Noel Morrison departs having struggled for form in the One Day Cup, and not setting the world alight in the seconds, although I'm sure he has a bright future ahead of him at another county.
• Tim Robinson struggled for form at Hampshire, only managing 264 runs in the 13 matches he played.
• Theesan Vithushan was a good signing, impressing in all three formats, but Jack Carson continues to perform and the Sri Lankan's availability will be reduced further next year.

Hampshire then confirmed extended deals for a number of current players: James Vince, Ben Green, Blake Woodward, Ryan Patel, Ryan Higgins, Paul Walter, Sonny Baker, Scott Currie, Jack Carson all extended their deals. They also confirmed that Pathum Nissanka and Tilak Varma would return as overseas players for the 2030 season.


Signings
Hampshire first announced the signing of exciting 21-year-old batter Wayne Delaney from Surrey. He has played 11 professional matches so far, starring in last season's One Day Cup, and joins Hampshire with an exceptional 2nd XI average in 3-day cricket, someone to keep an eye on.

Two more signings were soon announced - New Zealand seamer Mitchell Townsend joins as an overseas player - the 24-year-old already has 32 international capts, and has taken over 250 wickets in all formats in his career. Hampshire were also able to tempt Gavin Bannister away from Yorkshire, on a three-year deal. The 25-year old opening batter has scored over 6,000 runs in over 150 matches in all formats, averaging more than 40 in First Class and One Day cricket.

A triple signing announcement then followed - firstly, county stalwart Gareth Roderick joins from Worcestershire on a one-year deal to provide wicketkeeping cover for when Rew and Albert are away - the 38-year-old has played over 350 matches across all formats, scoring more than 12000 runs. Another New Zealander, 28-year-old batter Jesse Tashkoff joins as reserve overseas player. He averages 56 in First Class and 48 in One Day cricket, so will be a valuable addition to the squad when Nissanka and Varma are unavailable. Finally, exciting 24-year-old Indian batter Alok Kamtekar signs for the Vitality Blast. He has scored nearly 2500 runs in T20s, averaging 37 with five centuries and a strike rate of 150, with four of those centuries coming in the IPL. He's also represented India in all three formats, averaging 70 in Test cricket with seven centuries from 19 matches.

23-year-old fast bowler Christian Rattee joins from Leicestershire, having shown promise in white-ball cricket so far. Finally, Jamie Overton joins the club on a white-ball contract to bolster the T20 side.

SUMMARY:
Out: Nick Gubbins (Northamptonshire), Alex Lees (Glamorgan), Noel Morrison (Northamptonshire), Tim Robinson, Theesan Vithushan, Adam Zampa (retired)
In: Wayne Delaney (Surrey), Mitchell Townsend, Gavin Bannister (Yorkshire), Gareth Roderick (Worcestershire), Jesse Tashkoff, Alok Kamtekar (Yorkshire), Christian Rattee (Leicestershire), Jamie Overton (Surrey)

2029 SQUAD
Batters: Ali Orr, Tom Prest, James Vince, Josh Bohannon, Blake Woodward, Ryan Patel, Pathum Nissanka, Tilak Varma, Wayne Delaney, Gavin Bannister, Jesse Tashkoff, Alok Kamtekar
Wicketkeeepers: Toby Albert, James Rew, Gareth Roderick
All-Rounders: Ben Green, Ryan Higgins, Paul Walter, Jamie Overton
Bowlers: Sonny Baker, Scott Currie, John Turner, Sam Cook, Jack Carson, Alan Cochrane, Jamal Richards, Stuart Hockney, Craig Pointer, Mitchell Townsend, Christian Rattee

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Player Watch: Winter

• Ali Orr scored 183 runs in the UAE20, at an average of 26 with a top score of 85.
• Pathum Nissanka starred in Sri Lanka's test series against England, and was consistent domestically.
• Tilak Varma was superb in India's summer, striking a Test-best 159 against Bangladesh.
• Jesse Tashkoff averaged 48 in New Zealand's FC competition, and above 30 in both white-ball competitions.
• Alok Kamtekar continued to impress on the international stage, marking his return to India with consecutive centuries.
• James Rew made his fifth Test appearance against Zimbabwe, but failed to add to his solitary half-century.
• Alan Cochrane made his England debut, taking three wickets in two T20s against Australia, and also took nine wickets in the Big Bash for Melbourne Renegades.
• Jamal Richards played five white-ball matches for England, against Zimbabwe and Australia. He also played four matches in the UAE20, taking four wickets.
• Mitchell Townsend starred in New Zealand's Test series against Australia, taking 21 wickets in three matches.

The following Hampshire players will be away at the Hundred this year:

Birmingham Phoenix: Ali Orr, Alan Cochrane
London Spirit: Ben Green, Jamie Overton
Oval Invincibles: Toby Albert
Manchester Originals: James Rew, Jack Carson
Welsh Fire: Paul Walter, Scott Currie
Trent Rockets: John Turner

Toby Albert has moved from the Phoenix to the reigning Invincibles, and there are first Hundred deals for Alan Cochrane and Jack Carson.

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Hampshire began the 2030 season with seven Championship matches, looking to build upon their second-place finish in Division One from last year:

• Warwickshire beat Hampshire by 19 runs
• Hampshire beat Lancashire by 8 wickets
• Hampshire drew with Leicestershire
• Gloucestershire beat Hampshire by 22 runs
• Hampshire beat Derbyshire by 430 runs
• Hampshire beat Leicestershire by 5 wickets
• Hampshire beat Warwickshire by 1 wicket

An inconsistent start to the year for Hampshire, with injuries and international callups causing lots of shuffling of the batting order. However, new signing Wayne Delaney has made the number four spot his own, with 502 runs so far. Ali Orr soon follows him with 461, and that's even after missing the first two games with injury. James Rew has also been excellent with 445 runs in five matches either side of an England call-up.

With the ball, Hampshire's seamers Mitchell Townsend, Sam Cook and Scott Currie have done most of the damage, with an outstanding 107 wickets between them in the first seven matches. Townsend in particular has proved to be brilliant signing, with an incredible 47 wickets so far, including five five-wicket hauls.

Hampshire now look ahead to the T20 Blast, where they'll be looking to put in a strong performance and progress from the South Group.

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Hampshire have had mixed fortunes in their start to the Blast, but form looks to be picking up as they have won their last three completed matches after some heavy defeats to begin the campaign.

• Essex beat Hampshire by 2 wickets
• Surrey beat Hampshire by 8 wickets
• Hampshire beat Gloucestershire by 6 runs
• Kent beat Hampshire by 8 wickets
• Hampshire beat Middlesex by 1 wicket
• Hampshire beat Surrey by 2 wickets
• Somerset vs Hampshire was abandoned
• Hampshire beat Gloucestershire by 85 runs

Hampshire's leading run-scorer is Jesse Tashkoff, who has so far added 310 runs at an average of over 50, and strike rate of 146, including three fifties. He's been well-supported by Toby Albert at the top of the order, who has 291 runs, averaging 36 and SR 155. The rest have been a little disappointing though, with only Ben Green passing 100, but Ali Orr finally looks to be finding some T20 form for Hampshire with 93 runs in his three innings so far.

With the ball, the wickets have been shared around - Ben Green has been the pick of the bowlers, but there have been encouraging signs from John Turner, Jamie Overton and Mitchell Townsend in particular.


Hampshire then completed two innings victories in the Championship to keep pace with leaders Surrey, just eight points behind with five games left of the season.

• Hampshire beat Durham by an innings and 16 runs
• Hampshire beat Derbyshire by an innings and 1 run

Hampshire then won four of the remaining six Blast matches to sneak through the group in 4th place, thanks to Glamorgan's victory over Middlesex on the final day.

• Hampshire beat Sussex by 4 wickets
• Hampshire beat Somerset by 7 wickets
• Hampshire beat Middlesex by 3 wickets
• Glamorgan beat Hampshire by 5 wickets
• Hampshire beat Sussex by 72 runs
• Essex beat Hampshire by 6 runs

Jesse Tashkoff finished an outstanding campaign with 524 runs at an average of 44, with new T20 captain Toby Albert adding close to 400. Unlike recent years, there was no standout contributor with the ball but the wickets were shared around as all the bowlers contributed. Hampshire will travel to North Group winners Leicestershire for their quarter final in September.

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• Middlesex beat Hampshire by 9 wickets
• Hampshire beat Worcestershire by an innings and 45 runs

Despite the heavy defeat at Middlesex, Hampshire bounced back strongly and are still just nine points behind Surrey with three matches remaining.

Like last year, Hampshire showed glimpses in the One Day Cup, but couldn't string together enough good performances to make a real qualification challenge.

• Hampshire beat Durham by 57 runs
• Surrey beat Hampshire by 2 wickets
• Lancashire beat Hampshire by 2 wickets
• Kent beat Hampshire by 86 runs
• Worcestershire beat Hampshire by 4 wickets
• Hampshire beat Leicestershire by 17 runs
• Hampshire beat Nottinghamshire by 7 wickets
• Gloucestershire beat Hampshire by 4 wickets

Tilak Varma was superb again, scoring 563 runs at an average of 80 and strike rate over 100, and there were also good contributions from Wayne Delaney (320 @ 53) and Gavin Bannister (302 @ 38). Jamal Richards starred with the ball, taking 20 wickets in eight matches, and there were 14 wickets for Christian Rattee in his first matches for Hampshire.

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3rd September 2030 - Leicester
Leicestershire vs Hampshire
Vitality Blast Quarter Final

Toby Albert leads out Hampshire in a knockout match for the first time, and there is finally a chance for Hampshire fans to see Indian superstar Alok Kamtekar in action. Jamal Richards misses out on international duty, and leading run-scorer Jesse Tashkoff is forced to watch from the sidelines, with all Hampshire's main overseas players available for selection.

Leicestershire: Lynch, Morris, Swindells, Wickramasinghe, Minhas, Clarke, Jagger, Killeen, Swanton, Hull, Norton
Hampshire: Albert*+, Orr, Tilak, Kamtekar, Prest, Walter, Overton, Green, Currie, Turner, Cochrane

Leicestershire won the toss and elected to bat first.

Leicestershire: 143 (19.5) - Wickramasinghe 40; Overton 3-27, Green 3-28
Hampshire kept the run rate in check throughout the innings, and regular wickets ensured the hosts were never really able to accelerate. Hampshire will feel like they may have one foot in Finals Day.

Hampshire: 134 (19.4) - Prest 36; Norton 2-18
But disaster struck as the top four were removed cheaply and Hampshire could never recover. Such a good opportunity to reach Finals Day for the first time after Leicestershire's innings, but Hampshire have blown it. They'll now be setting their sights on the Championship, looking to catch up and overtake Surrey in the remaining three matches.

Leicestershire won by 9 runs