100 Years Ago

Left-arm spinner Stuart Boyes took his second hat-trick in successive seasons for Hampshire at Edgbaston on 8th May 1926. His victims were three of Warwickshire’s top four in their first innings where he finished with 5-53. This was Hampshire’s first ever first-class hat-trick in an away game. Alec Kennedy was the only Hampshire bowler before Boyes to take a Championship hat-trick, which he did twice against Gloucestershire (1920 and 1924) and once against Somerset again in 1920. 

The highest number of first-class runs (22,450) by a Hampshire-born player was made by Jimmy Gray who was born a hundred years ago on May 19th 1926. Only the three Test batsmen Phil Mead, Roy Marshall and George Brown have made more runs for Hampshire. He stands tenth in the list for the most Hampshire runs in all formats - one behind James Vince and one above Barry Richards. Jimmy died ten years ago on October 31st 2016.

Phil Mead became the first player to reach 30,000 runs for Hampshire on 31st May 1926 in a first innings score of 27 at Canterbury against Kent. He made 175* in the second innings of a game that Kent won by 9 wickets.

On the third day of the drawn Championship game at Worcester on August 27th 1926, Phil Mead made 177 not out. It was his tenth century that season. Seven times he made 8 or more centuries in a season for Hampshire; his best tally of 12 came two years later in 1928.