1968

Many things are very different now from the start of the 1968 season when 12 counties for the first time availed themselves of the new redgulatios to engage overseas players without any pre-registration period. Hampshire of course signed a 22 year-old uncapped South African, while West Indians Gary Sobers and Clive Lloyd joined Notts and Lancashire. The new season was still to get underway with the first Hampshire friendly away at Northlands Road against Sussex only due to start on April 23rd. Sussex had signed a Greenidge - Geoff, though, turned out to be a far lesser player than Gordon. That was followed, again at Northlands Road, by a Hampshire Single Wicket Competition; this was open to the public with Round One on the Saturday and Round Two on the Sunday. The Hampshire supporters' first ever glance of new recruit Barry Richards was in Round One of this format against Roy Marshall. Taking his first look at the fair-haired 22 year- old overseas recruit, captain Marshall told the press. “He will be batting a little way down the order this season”. Richards knocked out Marshall in a low scoring game, before he Iost in the Second Round to Bob Cottam. For the record, Richards managed a score of just 2 off 12 balls. Gordon Greenidge, still two years short of his Hampshire first-class debut, also lost in his first game in that Single Wicket Competition. 

In the Currie Cup just finished in March 1968, the uncapped Richards, had scored four centuries in six games. Former South African captain Jackie McGlew was quoted in the English papers, ahead of the English summer, on the subject of Hampshire’s new recruit, “Richards’s near perfect technique means he is very difficult to dislodge and his timing is superb. He is constantly able to dismantle the opponents’ attack at will.” The Hampshire fixture list that season meant Richards would have the chance to play against both Australia and the Rest of the World at Southampton and Bournemouth in the space of three weeks in August. The Australians flew in that week to start their tour which literally-  back then -  lasted for every week of the English season. Excited by the influx of World stars to the County Game, for which he had long been a strong advocate, Arlott wrote in his 1968 Journal, "For once, however, an Australian team is not completely certain to overshadow the domestic season."

In his 1968 Diary, for the first week April 27- May 3, John Arlott wrote, “The start of the cricket season was, as usual, the signal for a spell of summer weather to dissolve into rain. Nevertheless, there has been enough evidence this week to show striking evidence of the effect of two of the new pieces of legislation.” He is of course referring to the arrival of Sobers at Notts, who took 3-28 and made 75 not out in total of 169 for 7, as Notts beat Lancashire in a knock-out First Round Gillette Cup 60 over game, and Rohan Kanhai scoring a century against Cambridge University. Lancashire were therefore already out of half the competitions they could have won that season on day one of the season. Hampshire had been given a bye in Round One and did not play Bedfordshire until the end of May in Round Two. 

In the newly published 1968 Wisden, meanwhile, there were obituaries to Sid Barnes and Sir Frank Worrell, with one of the most interesting articles an essay entitled “Batsmen must hit the ball again” by Denis Compton. In which he wrote, “Modern Trends, like the family car and the thirst for excitement the whole time, now challenge cricket probably more than any other spectator sport.”

Hampshire’s opening friendly saw a seven wicket win at Northlands Road. Bob Cottam took 6-45 when Sussex were dismissed for 198. In Hampshire’s reply of 228, only opener Barry Reed with 79 and Richard Gilliat with 77 made contributions of any significance. All eyes were on new boy Richards, who batting ar four was out for just one, lbw to fellow South African Tony Greig. Despite being 94-3 second time round to win the game, Richards - opening this time with skipper Marshall (55*) could only manage 10, before he departed this time caught Griffths bowled Greig. The headline overall from the ‘Cover-Point Correspondent’ in the local paper read, “Hampshire keen in field and sharp in attack”. A May 1st trip to Hove next week, for the Bank holiday weekend fixture, would finally get the 1968 campaign underway - weather very much providing. Wisden recalled the previous summer of 1967 as being the wettest May since 1773.  

Early May 1968

In his 1968 Diary, for the second week of the season from May 3-10, John Arlott had to write about the fact that for the first time on any Australia tour to England, not a single ball was bowled in a tour game against a first-class county, in the scheduled opener of the 1968 tour. Having arrived in England on the 26th April  - for the whole summer - the Australians were still to get on the field of play by 11th May. That said, they still had a full programme of 3 day games to play Leicestershire, Lancashire, MCC, Northants, Combined Universities, Somerset and Surrey before the first Test began in the middle of June at Old Trafford. Not just were most of the world’s best players decorating most county line-ups, but - in stark contrast to the modern touring schedules - the Tourists were visiting a ground, often somewhere near you, virtually every week they were not involved in the Ashes, in the summer of 1968.

As for crowded domestic schedules, which is is very much in the news with Joe Root's comments this week, Barry Richards made his first fifty for Hampshire on May 4th 1968 at Hove in his second innings 53*; he then followed that up on Day One of the Yorkshire game the following morning in Harrogate (nearly 300 miles away), again batting at 4, with 70.  Notice was served of greatness on show with Hampshire all out for just 122. The next top scorers against the Champions were Sainsbury with 18 and Turner 7. Rain ruined the game and no other fixtures were completed in that second round of matches in the corresponding week of the 1968 season.

Late May 1968

In his 1968 Diary, for the week's entry dated May 11 -17th 1968, John Arlott noted that so far there had been 25 championship fixtures and only five had reached a conclusion and added, "More serious to all but the most partisan is the fact that the Australians have only had 14 hours 50 minutes of play from a scheduled 54 hours in their first three matches. For their young men new to England this is extremely frustrating and the and the anxiety of some of the bowlers will be increased by having followed through so close to the line of wicket as to incur the disapproval of umpires. A few days of warm dry weather would solve many problems for them: nothing else can do so."

For the week from 18th to the 24th May, the MCC played against the Australians at Lords, in a warm up game where Underwood took 4 wickets for the hosts. After that they travelled to Northampton,  where Milburn kept himself among the runners for a Test place, with a typically aggressive innings of 90 with 15 fours. As regards the overseas imports, Arlott added, "Another of the new overseas players, Proctor of Gloucestershire is showing his value: he scored a century against Hampshire at Bristol and then bowled with immense stamina and good pace. " Hampshire, though, won the game by 5 wickets, with Butch White taking 4-60 in the first innings and Bob Cottam 6-35 in the second.

Just as with all the understandable coverage in the 2024 media about the impending retirement of Anderson, back in May 68, Brian announced that Truman would be left out of the Yorkshire team against Warwickshire on the grounds that he was not fully fit. Arlott's Diary records, "Trueman is now 37: few men have bold fast at that age: perhaps he has reached a stage at which she should take stock of his resources, ambitions and reasonable possibilities for the future. Meanwhile, his Lancashire opponent and England partner, Brian Statham, who said he would gradually drop out of first class cricket, has changed his mind and will retire from the game after the August match with Yorkshire." The sense of occasion of the Roses Match back then is no longer possible with the crowds far smaller and the teams now in separate divisions. It is not inconceivable that they will actually resume that historic fixture in 2025 in Division 2 next season. 

For the last three days of May 1968 and in Hampshire's seventh game of the season at Northampton, Roy Marshall asked Barry Richards to move up the order and open for the first time for his new club. He made 130 in the first innings and 104* in the second. It was only the 12th time a player had a scored a hundred in each innings for Hampshire in a first-class game. Opening with Southsea born Barry Reed (70), they added 182 in just under 3 hours. Richard Gilliat (50) came in at three, and they then added 56 at 7 an over for the next 9 overs, before Richards was out. Milburn responded with 74 for Northants, but it took him well over 4 hours against Shackleton, White, Cottam and Sainsbury. The drawn game left Hampshire fifth in the table of seventeen.

Early June 1968

In his 1968 Diary, for the week's entry dated June 1-7 John Arlott was able to report on the first Ashes Test at Old Trafford where Australia quickly held the initiative, winning the toss and batting first on an easy-paced wicket. They finished Day One on 319-4 with Paul Sheahan top scoring with 88. England fought back on Day Two when the last six wickets fell for 38 runs; John Snow returned figures of 4-97. Arlott wrote "In poor light and interrupted by rain, Boycott and Edrich went cautiously to 60 off 43 overs, bowled largely by McKenzie, Hawke and Connolly."

Continuing on the subject of slow scoring rates in the first week of June 1968, Hampshire's drawn game at home to Kent over the Whit weekend drew criticism from all who watched. A crowd of over 4,000 on the last day - which was a Bank Holiday - had nearly all left by tea. Kent batting first made 148 - but it took 69 overs - with Butch White the chief destroyer with 4-39. Hampshire in scoring 230 then took 107 overs. Peter Sainsbury, batting at three, held the innings together but took nearly 5 hours for his 62. Kent started the final day 25-0, just over 50 runs behind and with White injured. They batted all day. At tea, they were 222-5 with the game over as a contest and spectacle.

Brian Hayward wrote in the 1969 Handbook, "Let me state quite plainly that I derive no pleasure from criticising players who I know, like, and in some cases, admire. Hampshire have played some thrilling cricket, but there has been some bad cricket this season, too, and matches such as Hampshire v Kent at Southampton at Whitsun leave a sour taste which is slow in disappearing . Even those who appreciate the finer points of the game and do not seek just to be entertained, must have been disgusted by the Whitsun game. Things went wrong first of all on the Sunday and the Bank Holiday crowd on the Monday were forced to watch Kent bat all day and see the game end in an utterly aimless draw, True, at one stage in their second innings, Kent were in danger, but they recovered and there could have been a declaration."

"The spectators deserved something: instead Kent went on and on and who could blame people for offering a derisory cheer when late in the day and with thunder rumbling in the background drinks were brought out to the players This was quite unnecessary. It was nothing other than an insult to the few hundred who were still watching. The reason the game went wrong is, of course, important. I have heard explanations in confidence from both captains, yet this is, nevertheless, secondary. What is of primary importance is the end product and what happened that day did nothing but harm to the first class game."

Scoring rates in the Test and on the county circuit were clearly a hot debate back then. Moves were afoot to make cricket a tv game where action and entertainment, rather than strategy and patience, were key. The integrity of the competition and the tough nature of the contest were both seen as being out of kilter with the paying spectator's right and need to see attacking cricket designed to always push for a win. It was the age of the declaration on the county circuit, with very little one-day cricket available anywhere. Over fifty years later, declarations are a rarity unless you are Ben Stokes, Test cricket has scoring rates of four an over as a norm and, yet, it is still under threat for not being "entertaining enough". 65 over One Day games have shrunk to 20 and for some that means the game is still too long. Imagine Crawley and Duckett taking 43 overs to make 60, as Boycott and Edrich were doing in that first Old Trafford Test back in 1968.  

Late June 1968

In his 1968 Diary, for the week's entry dated June 15-21, John Arlott recorded the arrival of Colin Milburn on the Test scene, as England tried to fight back from defeat at Old Trafford in the First Test of the Ashes. In the Second Test at Lord's - the two-hundredth match between England and Australia - Milburn, batting at 3, smashed 83 on Day Two (after a severely rain affected first day), allowing England to declare on 351-7. Australia in reply were bundled out for just 78. Warwickshire's David Brown took 5-42 in 14 overs. Writing about that Milburn innings, Arlott stated, "Today Milburn went on to play a heart-warming innings of simple power which argued convincingly that he should never again be left out of an England team." With considerable time taken out of the game, Milburn complemented the obduracy and patience of Boycott in a second-wicket stand of 132, leaving Arlott's assessment of his knock, "his innings did not need the statistical distinction of three figures to be recognised as great." Australia followed on and faced the final day needing 273 to avoid an innings defeat; more rain interrupted proceedings and they finished on 127-4, to escape with a fortunate draw and still 1-0 up with three to play.

Where Australia did lose, though, was at Headingley against Yorkshire in the Tourists Game. Faced replying to a similar total of 355, they we dismissed twice for under 150. They could not cope against the pace and fire of Trueman or the skill and guile of Illingworth who took 14 of the Australian 20 wickets to fall between them. Arlott documented their victory in his Diary by concluding "At half past three on Tuesday they completed the victory and the crowd, compensating for its meagre numbers by its enthusiasm, swept to the pavilion and then, typically Yorkshire, made a ritual pilgrimage to stare at the wicket before going home deep in happiness and reminiscence." Yorkshire were also top of the Championship table at the end of June on 123 points, having played 13 matches, with Derbyshire in second place on 106. Hampshire with 101 points were in fourth, just behind Kent.

Just as in late June 2024, Hampshire played Warwickshire on June 19th, 20th and 21st at John's beloved May's Bounty ground in Basingstoke and the game also features in his Diary, primarily for the arrival of a future test bowler for England. "At Basingstoke, Hemmings (Eddie) a nineteen-year-old medium-pace bowler playing his first match for Warwickshire, took the first six Hampshire wickets. Barry Richards, the South African who has taken Marshall's place as opening batsman for Hampshire survived and scored the century which was was the foundation of a win confirmed by Bob Cottam (seven for 61 in the second innings)." Hemmings clearly had reduced his pace when he did finally make his England debut as an off-spinner against Pakistan thirteen years later.

Early July 1968

In his 1968 Diary for the first two weeks in July of that cricket season, John Arlott uses the headline, "The Woeful Weather wins again.' The 201st Ashes Test and Third in the 1968 series lost the first day to rain and ended in a draw, with England making all the running. On the final day, Australia (9 for 0 overnight) needed 321 to win in 6 hours, but again only ninety minutes  play was possible before the game was abandoned. The game will always be remembered for Cowdrey's hundred on the Saturday in his hundredth Test. Around the counties, Jim Parks (father of Hampshire's Bobby) has given up the captaincy of Sussex, after he admitted it had affected not just his cricket but his health. Sussex's Ted Dexter is also in the news, because England may have to turn to him again for the Headingley Test, following a two-year absence from the Test Side. There are fitness doubts over both Graveney and Cowdrey, while Milburn and Boycott are both unavailable. Dexter has only played one first-class game since 1966 and hastily comes out of retirement for one warm up three-day game at Hastings to prepare for a possible Ashes comeback. 

Leicester, Bournemouth, Gillingham, Southampton and Westcliff-on-Sea were all venues hosting Hampshire matches in early July 1968. David Turner won the final of the Hampshire Single Wicket Competition at Northlands Road, needing just 2* to beat Derek Shackleton in the Semi-Final and then 10* in the Final against Alan Castell. This followed defeat in the 3rd Round of the only one-day competition, the Gillette Cup, at Bournemouth, where Rohan Kanhai made a very attractive 92 for Warwickshire.  Set 223 by the visitors in 60 overs, Hampshire were all out for 195. This was their third clash in the competition since its introduction in 1963 and on each occasion, having batted first, Warwickshire made it through to the next round. 

Meanwhile, there were also five County Championship matches in the first three weeks of the month, including consecutive home and away games against Essex. Victory by 114 runs at Bournemouth - set up by Roy Marshall's 90 and Bob Cottam's first innings return of 5-44 - was followed up by another win at Westcliff; this time it was by an innings and 14 runs. Essex were bundled out in three hours for just 95, with Derek Shackleton recording figures of 20-13-17-5, before Hampshire declared their first innings on 301-4 in 84 overs. Barry Richards made 176 of them in just over 4 hours, with 21 fours and a six, against an attack of Lever, Boyce, Edmeades, East and Hobbs. Second time round, Shackleton, White and Cottam shared the Essex ten wickets when they were dismissed for 192. It meant in six consecutive days of cricket between July 17th and July 22nd, at two venues more than a hundred miles apart, Hampshire had taken 41 points off Essex. They were now up to second in the table and very much in the hunt for a second championship title in the space of seven years.  

Late July 1968

Hampshire continued to enjoy a good run in the County Championship in the second half of July 1968. The win by 87 runs in a low-scoring game at Worksop was largely due to Bob Cottam, who returned first-innings figures of 18-11-14-6. Portsmouth Cricket Week then saw defeat againstWorcestershire before a win against Sussex. In the first of those games, D'Oliveira's 5-39 and 6-29 meant Hampshire lost by 115 runs in a match where their opponents, batting first, were dismissed for just 104 - with Cottam again taking 6 more wickets for just 38. In the Sussex game, which was slightly rain-affected and definitely low-scoring, Richards was a class apart. He backed up his 82* in Hampshire's first innings score of 129-3 declared, with 83 second time round in just 89 minutes, as Hampshire chased 177 for victory in 40 overs. His opening partner, the late Barry Reed (65), saw Hampshire home by 7 wickets with six overs to spare. The County Championship table at the end of July now showed Yorkshire in first place with 197 points from 20 game, Kent second on 175 points, Hampshire third on 172 points - but having played one game more  - and Glamorgan fourth on 150 points from 19 games.

According to John Arlott's Journal of the 1968 Season and his entry for the last week of July, there are two items of news competing for first mention: the first is that there is sustained fine weather for the first time that season, the second Dexter does make it into the Test Team for Headingley. In his only warm-up game - and his first for two years after retiring somewhat prematurely - he makes the highest score of his career with 203 not out against Kent. Moreover, he did so by coming to the wicket at six for two and by surviving at the other end when the score moved on from 27 for four. There are also two new names in the England Test team for the Fourth Test which England have to win to have any chance of winning back the Ashes. They are Northants Captain Roger Prideaux and Essex's Keith Fletcher. 

Arlott reports from Leeds on the 202nd Ashes Test, "Jarman won the toss and Australia batted on an easy wicket which had been completely under water just a week before and could, the experts asserted, never be fast, though it might have a little turn for the spinners.". Australia made 315, largely thanks to 92 from Redpath and 65 from the watchful Ian Chappell. Underwood mopped up the innings finishing with 4-41 from 27.4 overs. England replied positively with Edrich (62) and Prideaux (64) putting on the highest opening partnership (121) for either side in the series. The hosts finished up, though, just 13 runs short on first innings, with the other debutant Fletcher not troubling the scorers. It could have been a far greater deficit at 241-9, but Underwood achieved his Test best of 45 not out.

Second time round, England continued to drop catches and poor Fletcher had a torrid time in the slips. Chappell again made hard-fought runs and featured in important partnerships with Doug Walters and Paul Sheahan.  Arlott wrote, "Australia drew the fourth Test Match and retained the Ashes; that comprises the outstanding historic event of another rain-bedevilled season, but the rain had nothing to do with this particular result. Australia deserved to achieve this negative triumph – by avoiding defeat – because their batsmen fought out that decisive third innings of the match resolutely and capably. On the other side, England missed chances – their number put varyingly between eight and twelve; if even three simple ones had been held, they would have been left with 80 fewer runs to make and two hours more to make them than the eventual 326 in  295 minutes." They finished on 230-4, leaving the Oval Test as a dead rubber.

Early August 1968

The highlight of any Ashes summer for Hampshire was entertaining the tourists for the annual three-day game.  In the match played at Southampton between August 10 and August 13, there was the lovely moment when the Australians applauded Derek Shackleton all the way to the wicket just before the close on the last day, with the game about to be drawn. Earlier in their first innings total of 267, Shackleton had finished with figures of 27 overs, 10 maidens  5 wickets for 58 runs. Despite the fact that he was still very much at the top of his powers, the match was historically important for "Shack": it was to be his very last on the county ground where he first reported for duty 20 years earlier as a young batsmen who occasionally bowled leg breaks. For the past 20 years, in terms of overs bowled, he had been more than half the Hampshire bowling and he had taken more wickets for the county than anyone in the club's history. Arlott wrote that it seemed almost impossible to believe that in a few weeks time (and six first-class fixtures later), Hampshire supporters should never again come to Southampton and see the eight--strong ring of close fielders, poised ready and expectant to be called into action, while the great man and grand master wheels down the subtle products of his highly profound and professional skill.

Hampshire's other two championship games at the beginning of August -either side of the Australians visit  - were also both drawn. The rain was horrid at Lord’s where Richards made 82 out of Hampshire's total of 163. His only support came from Richard Gilliat, who had now been promoted from the second team, having consistently scored heavily in recent weeks at that level after returning from a leg injury. In the other drawn game at Bournemouth, the outfield was so heavy that Hampshire scored 21 threes in their 315 for eight declared.  Richards and Gilliat added 99 for the second wicket, but there were numerous stoppages on days two and three that prevented the game from going into the second innings for either side. It was to prove to be a very wet Bournemouth Cricket Week in a very poor summer weather-wise.

Before that Hampshire match mentioned above, and ahead of the final Ashes Oval Test of the summer, Glamorgan also took on the Australians in Swansea and won by 79 runs. John Arlott wrote " it was impressive too, that of the five outstanding individual performances, four – excluding Allan Jones's well-made 99 – were made by uncapped players."  The Yorkshire v Lancashire match was Ken Hicks Benefit Game and Brian Statham's last Roses Match. With Yorkshire leading the table, Lancashire's young players showing plenty of  fight and fire, all three days drawing nostalgically large crowds and Statham taking six for 34 in the first Yorkshire innings, it was a fine curtain call. Arlott wrote of Statham, "There have been few better fast bowlers and no nicer person in the game." Yorkshire in the end were content to draw. 

Meanwhile, Kent were also in the news. Firstly, they were beaten by Notts, or rather Sobers:  he took seven for 69 and four for 87,  made 17 and 105 not out – so Yorkshire's lead at the top of the table was not affected. Secondly, Colin Cowdrey was offered and honoured to accept the captaincy of MCC in South Africa, a few hours after he had stroked a smooth hundred against Surrey in his first innings since he also damaged his leg in the Third Test. In the first of the Gillette Cup semi-finals, Sussex beat Gloucestershire to go through to their third final in six years. In the second deferred semi-final, between Warwickshire and Middlesex and played due to the weather a week later, Warwickshire also made it through to their third showpiece final since the competition began. They were clearly the best two one-day teams in the country when limited overs cricket was first played in England in the Sixties.

Late August 1968

The last day of August in 1968 is one of those red letter days in the history of the game: each of the six balls of one of Malcolm Nash's overs that day in Swansea was hit for six by Garfield Sobers, as was, before he was later knighted . Hitherto in the history of the first-class game - played anytime or anywhere in the world - nobody had achieved the maximum 36 runs in a regulation over.  It was also captured by the television cameras that day, making it even more iconic and famous all these years later.  The Notts score was 358/5, with Sobers unbeaten at 40, when Nash was handed the ball. He later recalled,  “Gary was on about 40 not out. I had got his wicket a couple of times before, and as they were now seeking quick runs before a declaration, I thought I could do so again,” 

Sobers meanwhile eyed-up a short boundary on the leg side and wanted to target that area. Nash’s first ball was left-arm spin around the wicket and Sobers hammered it over long-on for a big six. The second ball was a bit shorter, but again within Sobers’ arc, as he used all his power to put it over the deep square-leg fence. The third ball was a classic six straight down the ground. The fielders were gradually moving back towards the boundaries as Sobers sent the fourth ball over square-leg for another six. But Nash still believed Sobers would make one mistake and that happened on the fifth ball. “I gave the fifth one a little bit more air. He got underneath it a bit more. Roger Davis was at long-off on the line. He got his hands ready and took the catch, but then he overbalanced and sat down on the line,” reminisced Nash. It was absolute pandemonium. Some shouted “six” while some claimed “out”. The umpires started to consult with Sobers walking back to the pavilion, before eventually signalling six more. According to Sobers, it wasn’t until the last ball that he had thought of creating the record of six sixes in an over. Nash had a similar thought as he didn’t want an unwanted record to his name. So, he decided to bowl fast with the same short run-up from around the wicket.“Something I’d never done before. And it was the worst ball of the day, never mind the over. And that disappeared over midwicket onto the road between those two buildings,” Nash later lamented. As if Nash wouldn’t have made headlines already, Sobers’ last hit went out of the ground to the bus stop where a young boy would pick it up and take it home, thus eventually making it a national news item. Some say he returned it next day, whole others state he returned it to Sobers a few years later. 

Ten days earlier in August 1968, it was announced from Lord's that the new Sunday League for next season had found a sponsor. However, the International Cavaliers' matches were to be excluded from television. Arlott wrote in his Diary, "The decisions, first not to include the Cavaliers in the Sunday League and then to rule that their matches cannot be televised will be seen by many of the public as an unnecessary deprivation and by others as an extremely harsh rebuff to Rothmans who subsidised the team and have been the most generous sponsors English cricket has ever had." Another controversy hitting the cricket world was a letter from Ray Illingworth, made public in the press, asking Yorkshire for his release, so that he could obtain the security of a longer-term contract from another county.

In the Fifth and final Ashes Test, Cowdrey won the toss and England batted on a slow, true wicket.  John Edrich battled all the way to 164, which took him to within 25 of Compton's record of 562 for an English batsmen in an Australian series at home. Basil D'Oliveira even more tellingly made 158.  In reply to England’s  494, Lawry batted all day on the Saturday for 135 not out, with little assistance from anyone except Redpath, the only Australian batsman to make more than 14. The tail rallied with Lawry , on the Monday to take the score to 324. When England batted again, wickets fell regularly in the pursuit of quick runs. Connolly and Mallett, bowling to restrictive fields, hustled England out for 181. The target was 350 in a maximum of six hours 35 minutes. At 86 for five, there was a huge thunderstorm which broke over the Oval. An hour later there were pools all over the ground; although the run-ups were covered, the wicket was soaked. Assisted by an amazing group of volunteers, the groundstaff were able to ensure play could re-start a 4:45, with just an hour and a quarter left to take 5 wickets. John Arlott wrote, 'Cowdrey set such fields as surely have never been seen in first class cricket before: for Underwood he had 10 men within 4 or 5 yards of the bat; for Illingworth, nine." In the end, just ten minutes before the allotted close, England won the Fifth Test by 226 runs. Underwood finished with 7-50 and so the rubber was tied and some of the disappointment of Lord's and Edgbaston was made good. 

On the day after the Test ended, MCC announced the team to South Africa and the omission of D'Oliveira sparked violent controversy. Mr SC Griffith, Secretary of MCC announced that there had been no question of political pressure or even of consultation with the South African Cricket Association. He claimed that the selection had been made solely on cricketing grounds. Arlott concluded, though "What was the rest of the world to think when a man who on Tuesday, as one of England’s best 11, scored 158 and took the crucial wicket in the only Test of the series which England won, was not included in the best 16, just a day later?' Famously he added, "It’s difficult to think of any step ever taken by the cricket establishment more calculated to mar its image."

 In the Hampshire v The Rest of the World XI game in late August at Bournemouth another bowler took 7 wickets in an innings. In a game that Hampshire famously won by 68 runs, Barry Richards returned career best figures in the visitors' second innings of 18-7-51-7. His victims were Eddy Barlow, Seymour Nurse, Graeme Pollock, Clive Lloyd, Basil Butcher, Wes Hall and Saeed Ahmed. Two days later, Richards struck 30 boundaries in his 206 against Notts in the drawn Championship game at Portsmouth. The D'Oliveira affair, of course, was to have an impact on Richards that nobody could have ever foreseen back in 1968, when he rattled past 2,000 runs in his debut season in England. 

September 1968

John Arlott's Journal for the 1968 season closes with an assessment on the visiting Australians after they beat a Rest of the World XI "who were sadly out of match training." He went on to add,"These 1968 Australians have been succesful in retaining The Ashes, but are not an impressive team: as personally charming and cheerful as any England has ever received, technically they have fallen below their promise and their hopes. Thus, only two of them have been engaged by English counties, many of whom had waited in expectation of great gains: McKenzie will join Leicestershire and Connolly, after negotiations with Surrey, goes to Middlesex. " Arlott recognised the advancement made by Glamorgan, Notts, Lancashire and Hampshire in 1968, due to the impact of Majid, Sobers, Engineer and Richards. 

In the showpiece Final of the Gillette Cup at Lord's, Warwickshire won the game against Sussex batting second and making 214-7 in 57 overs. It was the highest score made in the second innings of any of the six finals to date. Warwickshire's win was all the more remarkable from being in real trouble late in the day at 155-6. The other champions were of course Yorkshire in the three day game. It was their third title in a row in 1968, when they finished the 28 game season on 270 points, with 11 wins, 13 draws and 4 losses. Kent were second with 256 points, Glamorgan third with 237, Notts fourth with 222 and Hampshire fifth on 215. Hampshire drew 15 of the 28 matches and lost only 5. In 1968, 10 points were awarded for a win, 3 for a winning draw (lead on first innings) and 1 point for a losing draw (loss on first innings).

In the 1969 Hampshire Handbook, Bryan Hayward,  The Sports Editor of the "Southern Evening Echo", wrote "Hampshire's high placing can be attributed to the form of four men - one batsman, Richards, and three seam bowlers, Bob Cottam, Derek Shackleton and David White. While Richards and Cottam would have been the obvious main contenders for any Player of the Season vote, he reserves special praise for Shackleton, "but if I were able , I would strike a special medal for Shackleton, who in his last season before retirement, captured 100 wickets in a season for the 20th time - a remarkable record."

The postscript and fall-out to D'Oliveira's eventual selection as a replacement for the injured Tom Cartwright - and then the ensuing cancellation of the MCC Tour to South Africa - was to have the most far-reaching and adverse consequences for not just cricket. Nobody back then could have predicted just how severe the implications from those events would prove to be for Hampshire's Barry Richards, in terms of his international career. Restricted as he was to just those 4 Tests in South Africa against Australia in early 1970, where he made 508 runs at 72.57, the world will never know how great a player he surely would have become in the annals, history and records of Test Cricket. He finished his first-class career with 28,358 runs at 54.74, but anyone who watched him play for Hampshire knew that when the challenge was at its greatest, he was far more likely to score big runs. 1968 saw his breakthrough in England, with 2314 of the most elegant runs on view anywhere in the country. Although no consolation to the great man himself, the Test arena's loss from 1970 onwards was, though, very definitely Hampshire's gain for the next ten years.