Hampshire: It's been nearly 50 years... so is this finally the season?

Captain: James Vince

Vince is the established captain at Hampshire and among the most pleasing players to watch on the circuit. He led his team to six victories out of 14 across the Championship's two rounds in 2021, with only three defeats.

Coach: Adi Birrell

Birrell and director of cricket Giles White convinced Graeme Welch - the bowling coach who arrives from Warwickshire with a massive reputation for both innovation and inspiration - to come onboard over the winter. Welch replaced Alfonso Thomas.

Overseas players: Kyle Abbott (South Africa), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan, April and May)

Players in: Nick Gubbins (Middlesex), Ross Whiteley (Worcestershire, white-ball contract), Ben Brown (Sussex)

Players out: Ajeet Dale (Hampshire), Sam Northeast (Glamorgan), Tom Scriven (Leicestershire), Ryan Stevenson, Brad Taylor (both retired), Tom Alsop (Sussex, loan), Lewis McManus (Northamptonshire, loan)

^{James Vince leads Hampshire}

BATTING

Top order

There is an argument to be had that a heavyweight overseas batsman, particularly an opener, would have made this team more complete, but to have done that would have meant sacrificing the Abbott-Abbas bowling axis. More on this later.

Nick Gubbins has a track record of delivering big runs in the Championship, and will be keep to rediscover his best form in 2022. He showed signs of it in 2021 with two hundreds and five further scores of 50 or more. 

Runscorers

For Hampshire to be successful will require consistency with the bat as much as the ball.

Having won three of their first five Championship matches in 2021, they were summarily bowled out for 92 and then 79 in the first innings of their next two fixtures, while over the season as a whole they were skittled for less than 200 on eight occasions.

Only Vince averaged above 40, and even he only by a smidgen, and the undoubtedly talented middle order never really clicked.

Vince's failure to gain an Indian Premier League contract may well have been quietly celebrated in Southampton. Vince has been a red-hot short-form property, tasting success in the Big Bash and PSL in the past 18 months, but did not receive any attention in the IPL auction in February. That means, barring injury, he will be available to lead Hampshire for the whole of the April-May block of fixtures. 

Depth

Ben Brown is a particularly astute acquisition. The former Sussex wicketkeeper-batsman was courted by several sides after confirming his decision to leave Hove at the end of last summer, but opted for Hampshire for several reasons - among them its geography (Brown’s young son Leo does not have to be uprooted), the likelihood he would be competing for trophies, and his admiration of the coaching team in place at the Ageas.

At 33 years old, Brown brings with him a vast amount of Championship experience, a genuine love of red-ball cricket, the rare luxury of a first-class career average above 40, and an excellent option with the gloves.

More will be expected of Joe Weatherley - a fine prospect whose first-class average of little more than 18 last season does not do his ability justice. There are also a host of academy graduates ready to take their chance.

Look out in particular for Tom Prest, the batting allrounder who made a 2nd XI triple hundred last summer and then led England to the Under 19 World Cup final over the winter.

Problem area

A regular, prolific opening pair is high on the wishlist of most Championship teams and Hampshire are no different. They need to find a combination that resists the moving ball and lays a platform for the flamboyant middle order to do its worst.

^{Mohammad Abbas is a major part of the Hampshire attack}

BOWLING

Pace

Much of the early-season focus will be on the potent new-ball pair of Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott.

The two overseas recruits are coupled for the second successive season, and Hampshire fans will be hoping for results similar to last year, when Abbott returned 46 wickets at a slither under 22 apiece and Abbas collected 41 at less than 16s.

In April and May, with the Dukes ball liable to do plenty, the duo will give any opposition batsman a serious test of mettle and technique at the end of a long winter.

But even in the unlikely event of both these men failing to find their stride, Hampshire's squad is well stacked. Brad Wheal - the exciting Scot who made an impression domestically in both county cricket and The Hundred - is a terrific example of the backup that Hampshire can call upon.

Seam and swing

Abbas has the ability to get the ball moving in the air like a Salsa dancer on heat, and will test batsmen to the absolute limits of their ability in the early weeks of the season.

But there is more seam skill beyond the Pakistani and Abbott, his partner in arms.

Keith Barker's 'left-arm awkward' claimed 41 victims at less than 19 apiece in 2021 and he brings yet more experience and know-how to a squad which is already brimming with it. James Fuller might not make that many appearances but Hampshire know they can rely on him when they do (this is a man with 162 first-class wickets, let's not forget).

Chris Wood is a useful allrounder who can bowl wicket to wicket, and Scott Currie began to show his ability last year (the 20-year-old's height should, theoretically, allow for a little extra bounce).

Hampshire only conceded four first-innings scores of 300 or more in their Championship campaign of 2021, while opponents were bowled out for less than 200 on seven occasions.

And, under the tutelage of new bowling coach Welch there is every reason to think the county will be just as prolific in 2022.

Spin and variation

It's possible Hampshire will have three spin options at times in their Championship matches. Mason Crane has shown over the past two years that he has both offensive and defensive attributes with his leg-spin, and even on early-season wickets Hampshire may well include both him and Liam Dawson to maximise variation.

Dawson's functional left-arm spin might not be the most dangerous on the circuit, but it can absolutely act as a noose around which to dangle the necks of opposition middle orders, while the seamers work their magic at the other end. 

Ian Holland, who has been used as a makeshift opening batsman over the past three years, is also an off-spinner. Felix Organ, too. It will be interesting to see whether Tom Prest, who has worked plenty of his off-breaks and been successful with them at England Under 19 level, is given a go with the ball on the occasions he is included as a batsman.

Problem area

There will be a need to replace Abbas for the middle and late-season sections of the Championship, although there is a chance he will return. If anything happens to Crane - and he has had to battle against a series of frustrating injuries since making his England Test debut in 2018 - the spin options could run a little dry.

^{Lewis McManus has moved on loan to Northamptonshire}

FIELDING

Who takes the gloves?

All change here. Ben Brown's arrival from Sussex immediately generated hot competition between him and Lewis McManus. While Brown said upon signing for Hampshire that he expected McManus to initially retain the gloves as the incumbent, it has not panned out that way. In fact, McManus will spend at least the first month of the season on loan at Northamptonshire instead. Another option behind the stumps, Tom Alsop, has gone out on loan to Sussex.

SELECTION CONCERNS

James Vince could miss matches depending on international involement - it's very hard to predict England's selection patterns at the moment, though the current expectation at Hampshire is that they will have their captain for the majority of their red-ball season. Otherwise there is not too much of concern, which is a big reason why Hampshire should be considered a nailed-on challenger for the title.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Hampshire haven't won the County Championship since 1973; it's a long old wait but it feels like they are in a very good place to put that run to bed. Getting Abbas back later in the season, or providing a suitable replacement, may be a big moment in the outcome of the red-ball season.

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