My Favourite Game

1973 - Hampshire v Northants

August 18th, 20th and 21st - County Championship

Northlands Road, Southampton

Northants 108 and 148 (Mottram 4-27)

Hampshire 167 and 90-3

Result: Hampshire won by 7 wickets

Written by Dave Allen 

There have been so many games over so many years (65 to be precise) and yet when John asked me to choose and write about a game I didn’t hesitate. The context was I suppose just about perfect in that it was my 15th season of watching Hampshire so I had a pretty good idea what English cricket was all about, I was 23 so still young enough to have the enthusiasms of the fan and while I had seen the Hampshire Champions of 1961 I had then been a little too young to comprehend the magnitude of that achievement – and since then despite some fine players and good games there had been no hint of repetition.

Neither was there any great expectation as the 1973 season began. We had a pretty good (!) opening pair and some useful batsmen to come although Greenidge was only in his third full season while Jesty excelled more in limited overs matches back then. Our seam attack had been recruited in some haste to cover the recent departures of three Test players (Shackleton, White & Cottam) and there was very little in reserve. But we had a very fine, captain – perhaps my favourite of them all – and we had ‘Sains’ who knew how to win Championships. If you never saw him, I’m convinced that in every respect he has reincarnated on the cricket field at least in the form of Liam Dawson of recent years.

During the course of the 1973 season we started winning games and if not that we drew them (all three-day games of course) so by early August we were top of the table followed by Northants, with Surrey coming up on the rails. I can recall each day being a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, exhilaration and (brief) dismay; whatever was happening in the rest of my life Hampshire’s cricketers figured more prominently every day. In mid-August Hampshire had a quiet week while Northants and Surrey both won their games in hand, leaving Hampshire 14 points ahead of the midland county who were due at Northlands Road on Saturday 18 August. A win for Hampshire would make them firm favourites for the title but a reverse would throw everything wide open.

I arrived early on the Saturday, sitting in the overflowing pavilion area with my regular pals, Mike & Jenny, John, Ken, perhaps others. It was a heavy overcast day, not at all picturesque and the crowd was huge, anxious yet anticipating and hoping. Southampton was often a run-scoring ground so that morning the visiting captain Jim Watts called correctly and chose to bat. What happened next surely astonished everyone. Northants started carefully and reached 11 before Roy Virgin drove a ball back towards lanky Tom Mottram, never the most agile of fielders, who nonetheless swooped to his right to hold a caught-&-bowled inches from the ground. Northants had some very good players but of their top six only Milburn and Watts reached 13 and they were soon 26-4, then 45-7 and 56-8. After lunch, a brief flurry from Sharp (28) and Bedi (32*) took them beyond three figures but 108 all out was nowhere near good enough with Taylor 4-30 and the other three seamers sharing the wickets.

The atmosphere lightened and the day brightened somewhat after that as Richards and Greenidge (45 each) plus Turner took Hampshire to a lead for the loss of just one wicket but there was a late twist; both openers had gone in identical fashion, stumped Sharp bowled Bedi, then Bob Cottam ‘back home’ knocked over Turner and Gilliat, caught Sainsbury off Bedi and Hampshire struggled to 152-8 at the close. Saturday night and an irrelevant Sunday were suddenly less relaxed, less fun then they might have been.

So we returned on Monday with the game well advanced. Weadded just 15 on a clearer Monday morning and Northants,beginning again 59 runs behind, started well until Hampshire’s left-arm spinner David O’Sullivan worked his magic as Bedi had done. Wickets fell at 34; 40; 71 and 82 and while Geoff Cook (30*) resisted, Greenidge held four catches and O’Sullivan and Mottram had four wickets apiece so that 148 all out left Hampshire a target of just 90.

Would it be straightforward? Cottam got Greenidge almost immediately and then caught Turner off Bedi (16-2) and when the Indian master bowled Jesty it was 49-3 with Gilliat nursing an injury. But Richards (37*) was offering an international standard masterclass against Bedi (14-4-36-2) and with Sainsbury alongside him they won the game around tea-time.

There was still work to do of course but as much as Friday 1 September 1961 which I followed but did not see, this is the game lodged in my memory so vividly even 50+ years later. I am glad then I could not know I would probably never see the like again but at least I did see Hampshire the County Champions.

1972 - Hampshire v Australia

August 17th, 18th and 19th - Tourist Match 

Northlands Road, Southampton

Hampshire 311 (Turner 131, Richards 73) and 184-5 dec. 

Australia 191 (Herman 4-53) and 306 -1 (Watson 176, Stackpole 119*)

Result: Australia won by 9 wickets

Written by Bob Murrell 

When thinking about which Hampshire match is my favourite, two matches immediately came to mind. These were Hampshire v The Australians in 1972 and Hampshire v Nottinghamshire in 2005. I finally decided my favourite of these two was the match v The Australians. This was the first match I had been to and still lives in the memory. It is also the match during which I joined Hampshire County Cricket Club as a member.

The Australians were captained by Ian Chappell and the side included one DK Lillee. Hampshire, captained by Richard Gilliat, won the toss and decided to bat. The outstanding innings was one of 131 by David Turner, who with Barry Richards, put on 125 for the 2nd wicket. Hampshire’s final total was 311. The innings by Turner brought him to the notice of the national selectors, resulting in him  being tipped for a place the first test. Unfortunately he was injured before the selections were announced.

When The Australians batted they had a 48 run opening stand, after which they had a collapse, going from 48-0 to 70-5. They progressed to 153 for 9, still short of the follow on total. There was then a last wicket stand between Ross Edwards, who scored 69 and Denis Lillee that took the score to 191 and past the follow on total. Hampshire then batted again. Overnight they were 135 – 4, a lead of 255 runs. They eventually declared at 184-5 from 52 overs, setting the Australians 305 runs to win.

When the Australians batted John Inverarity, who opened the batting in the first innings, was indisposed so Graeme Watson opened with Keith Stackpole. The two Australian openers set to with relish. My abiding memory of Graeme Watson’s innings was him peppering the pavilion roof with sixes. With the score at 301 and victory in sight Watson was caught by Roy Marshall off Peter Sainsbury for 176. The Australians finished on 306-1, winning by 9 wickets. 

To date that opening stand of 301 is the highest opening stand I have seen. There was a stand of 344 before a wicket fell between Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge and David Turner v Kent in 1973 in the final match of the season, after we had clinched the Championship, but Richards retired hurt with the score at 241.

So why was this my favourite match? It was a close call between it and the match mentioned above, but it was my first match and had some truly memorable moments. The other match mentioned above v Nottinghamshire was the final match of 2005. The previous week Notts had clinched the championship in a match v Kent. Prior to that match Nottinghamshire, Kent and Hampshire all had a chance of the title. Nottinghamshire came as champions but appeared to be still hung over from celebrating. They put us in and we scored 714-5 dec, our record total. We won by an innings and 188 runs in three days.

1975 - Hampshire v Australia

June 28th, 30th and July 1st - Tourist Match 

Northlands Road, Southampton

Hampshire 351-7 (Richards 96, Turner 87) and 247-3 dec. (Greenidge 73, Richards 69*) 

Australia 344-6 dec. (G Chappell 86) and 256 -6 (I Chappell 127)

Result: Australia won by 4 wickets

Written by Andrew Murtagh 

Barry Richards usually did not play in the tourist matches, preferring to take a few days off from the daily grind (as he saw it) of county cricket. The visit of the Australians was another matter, however. He had developed a strong bond with several of their players in his single season playing for South Australia in 1970-71, when he scored that memorable 325 in a single day against Western Australia. Furthermore, Richard Gilliat was injured, and Barry was to captain the side. There is a lovely picture of him shaking hands with Greg Chappell before the match. He and the Chappell brothers had been team-mates in the South Australian side.

Captain Richards won the toss on a gloriously sunny day, with the old Northlands Road ground filled to the rafters. Some of us worried that the rafters of the creaking, ramshackle pavilion might well crack under the strain. Barry was in the mood; we could usually tell from the first few balls. Attention was focussed how the world’s finest opening bat would cope with the world’s fastest bowler, Jeff Thomson, fresh from the mauling he had given the West Indies in Australia the previous winter. Imperiously, would be the indisputable answer. His hundred was a near-certainty. “Aaargh!” he told me recently, “Caught on the boundary off Higgs going for a six for my 100.” Turner (87) and Jesty (79) joined in the jamboree; I however only managed 12, annoyingly bowled by Mallett. “No decent batsman should ever get bowled,” was another comment vouchsafed me by Barry when I was writing his biography. Quite.

None of the Australians was bowled in their first innings, you will note. They enjoyed the near-faultless pitch as much as the Hampshire batsmen. All made double figures, but nobody ran away with it to score a hundred. I bowled nine wicket-less overs but I did run out Ian Chappell, which gave me much satisfaction, especially in view of what happened later. Having gained parity of score, Chappell declared and once more we, spectators and team-mates alike, settled down to a reprise of a Richards’s masterclass. Except that it ended in a fashion that he, nor anybody else for that matter, would have wished on their worst enemy. He was felled amidships by a Thomson missile and had to be helped from the field, bent double, by a couple of sympathetic Australians. “Hey Richo,” called out Rodney Marsh, as the stretcher party passed by, “Tell ‘em to cure the bruise but keep the swelling!” Barry was in no fit state to reply. The sight of the injured member on inspection back in the dressing room was not one for the faint-hearted. This was our second ‘retired hurt’ of the innings. Thomson had already broken David Turner’s finger. “Jeez!” opined our captain, once he was fit enough to talk, “That guy is seriously fast!” Thanks again, Barry, for that observation, particularly to those about to die.

Thommo was indeed fast, as I discovered when I joined Peter Sainsbury at the wicket. On the scoreboard it said that we were only three wickets down but in effect it was five (neither Richards nor Turner would bat again), so our backs were against the wall. I can truthfully say that the experience as we endured – I hesitate to say ‘enjoyed’ – an unbeaten stand of 63 was probably the most unpleasant I have ever met with on a cricket field. No, it was not dealing with Thommo’s thunderbolts – he was more concerned with where his front foot was landing than sending any more Hampshire players to the A&E Department of Southampton General Hospital – but the vitriol and bile directed at us by the Australian captain. “Have you ever been spoken to like that on a cricket pitch before?” Sainsbury enquired of me in a break between overs. I confessed I had not. In truth, Chappell’s hatefulness was directed more at Sainsbury than me, but still, it left a nasty taste in the mouth. Later, I asked Barry whatever Peter Sainsbury had ever done to upset Ian Chappell in an earlier life. “You must understand,” he answered, “Sains represents all that Chappell hates about the English professional game. Here is Sains, now in his forties, still playing and blocking a path for younger cricketers to take his place. County cricket, he reckons, stultifies progress in the English game.” Whether the venom coming our way stiffened my resolve or not, I cannot say, but I was pleased to be unbeaten when the declaration came.

Whatever I thought about Chappell’s behaviour could not in any way diminish my respect and admiration for him as a batsman; his 127 was largely instrumental in the four-wicket win for the Australians, an object lesson in how to chase down a target. More than 1,200 runs scored over the three sunlit days and was wonderful fare for large and appreciative crowds.

It is a great shame that matches against the tourists, both here and overseas, have largely lost their appeal and relevance. Nowadays, they scarcely feature. Visiting teams prefer net practice or middle games of 12-a-side or some other confected rehearsal for a Test series. This match in 1975 was the real deal. Most of the Australian Test team were in action and our three overseas players, Richards, Greenidge and Roberts, were in their pomp. I look back with some pride on having taken part – not without a modicum of success - in a match that has lived long in my memory. But it did make me think when I consider the enduring feud between Ian Botham and Ian Chappell, still simmering 50 years later, that Beefy may well have had a point.

1971 - Hampshire v Nottinghamshire

John Rice's First Team Debut for Hampshire

April 25th 1971 - John Player League 

Dean Park, Bournemouth

Notts 122-8 (40 overs) Cottam 8-4-13-2, Rice 8-2-22-2

Hampshire 123-4 (32.4 overs) Richards 69

Result: Hampshire won by 6 wickets

Written by John Rice 

BOURNEMOUTH to BOURNEMOUTH 

A ‘bitter sweet symphony’

‘Cricket heroes in fact die with one’s youth. They are pinned like butterflies to the setting board of early 

memories - the time when skies were always blue, the sun shone, and the air was filled with the sounds and scents of grass being cut’. (Alan Ross, Cricket Heroes.)

Bournemouth - Hampshire verses Nottinghamshire. The first John Player League match of the 1971 season, and my Hampshire debut. The sky was blue, the spring sun shone, and the air was filled with expectancy; although the handbook states it was windswept and chilly!

The scene was set - Notts batting, and the match in it’s infancy. Richard Gilliat’s shoulders rolled and I was on, first change. With ball in hand, the hero - my schoolboy hero - was but a few yards away; almost worshipping distance! Was my only ammunition an intricately stitched piece of leather; or was there, lurking, a touch of self belief?

‘Cricket is a game of the most terrifying stresses, with more luck about it than any other game I know.

They call it a team game, but it is the loneliest game of all.’ (John Arlott)

The unknown just seconds away; one last adjustment to the field. 

How would I react - how would I cope?

Why was I exposing myself to potential failure; or maybe success…? The agony of the thought of embarrassing myself in front of so many spectators, the paying public, becoming increasingly overwhelming!

‘The King and I’. 

How would the drama unfold? Could it be music to my ears…

Standing in the wings waiting to make my entrance, would I be able to project, successfully, my first word, the ball?

It was I think the realisation that I, a mere mortal, having just registered from a two month trial, with only a couple of weeks of nets under my belt and only having played a handful of 2nd XI games for Surrey, was to confront a ’god’, that caused a certain amount of apprehension. Would I be able to make the step up? Why was he not nervous, or was he? There was no turning back. The crowd

seemed huge, and frighteningly quiet, all eyes focused on every minute movement. Having languidly checked his guard he looked very relaxed, very loose, very wristy and very left handed!

He also looked like the mighty Gary Sobers!

The next few moments were a blur, or were they in slow motion, or were my eyes closed - or did ‘time, simply, stand still in a distillation of delight’?

(J.M. Kilburn)

It was out of my hands now, literally. The pieces all in place, my first game of chess had just begun, and all on a giant chess board, care of the groundsman’s artistry! Where was the assault to be directed? From where would we fetch leather? Sir Garfield St Aubrun erred on the side of caution I feel, as it would not have been prudent of him to be bowled out by ‘a new kid on the block’! His bat sounded awful too. Maybe he just couldn’t get it off the square…

Eight overs two for twenty two. Certainly a defining moment!

This is the summary of John's debut in the 1972 Hampshire Handbook: "A wintry wind swept Dean Park arena and chilled the double-sweatered players and overcoated crowd of some 3,000. Notts won the toss and batted, but Hampshire grabbed three early wickets and maintained the pressure. Sobers and Smedley added 64 in 17.4 overs , but this was the only bright spot of the innings. Rice, playing his first game for Hampshire when Sainsbury reported unfit, took the vital wicket of Smedley. Hampshire's reply was unspectacular as Stead and Taylor restricted Richards and Greenidge to 22 in the first ten overs. At 79-3 and 24 overs gone, drizzle swept in from the sea. Richards responded, completing his own 50 with his ninth four. He went at 102 and then Jesty hit two delightful boundaries in quick succession and a smartly run three ensured victory."

• For the record John's two wickets were: M.J. Smedley ct Greenidge b Rice 32 and (a certain) M.N.S. Taylor c & b Rice 10

1982 - Hampshire v Warwickshire

John Rice's Last Game for Hampshire

September 12th  - John Player League 

Dean Park, Bournemouth

Warwicks 166-6 (40 overs) Tremlett 8-0-20-2, Jesty 8-1-23-2

Hampshire 170-6 (39 overs) 

Result: Hampshire won by 4 wickets

Written by John Rice 

BOURNEMOUTH to BOURNEMOUTH 

A ‘bitter sweet symphony’

Twelve seasons elapsed before Bournemouth once again beckoned.

But before the final curtain,

‘Could a cricket career be equated to a grand symphony? A composition of experiences, emotion, and interconnected moments that create a harmonious melody. From the first notes of birth to the final crescendo of departure, each individual plays a unique instrument in this extraordinary orchestra’.

It was not to reach it’s ‘crescendo of departure’, but ended with a bit of a whimper…Twelfth man duties were part and parcel of playing, and expected, however having been left out of the side on the Saturday was a surprise and was to say the least a little disappointing...       Being dropped minutes before the start, some might say was a little insensitive, especially it having been agreed that I would play in the last two Schweppes Championship Matches!

So to my final match!

Hampshire v Warwickshire. The last Sunday League Match of the 1982 season was to be, therefore, the termination of my journey; a somewhat circuitous route. A long distance trek, full of pleasant rambles, stiff hill climbs, especially when bowling uphill into the wind, and some major hiking with what seemed at times a very heavy pack.

J.C. Snaith remarked, ‘Cricket is quite a harmless gentle game, but he is a lucky man who has not to sweat some blood before he’s done with it’.

Many a true word…

When leaving the Dean Park arena for what was to be the last time in a Hampshire sweater, these words from Eric N. Simon certainly resonated.

‘Village cricketers are too kindly to drop you with abruptness at the end of your career’!

‘There ought to be some other means of reckoning quality in this the best and loveliest game, the scoreboard is an ass’, (Sir Neville Cardus)

With helmet and bat held aloft and with a tear in my eye the waste paper basket loomed; stationed at the entrance to the pavilion it seemed to be the obvious receptacle for what was now to be a redundant piece of finely tuned willow! 

It was the end, an end without an end!

John Winter writes in 2024

It was the end of a brilliant eleven year career with Hampshire at the strongest time in the Club's history. John Rice's career was also arguably at a time when all the domestic competitions were being played at the highest ever level in the past one hundred and thirty years: so many of the world's best players were over here every (and all) summer, enriching each of the seventeen county teams. England players were also always available for their county sides, when not on international duty, throughout that period. Between 1971 and 1982, Hampshire won the Championship in 73, the John Player League twice in 75 and 78, the Fenner Trophy three times and the Tilcon Trophy - not to mention a number of other second and third place finishes in the Championship and Sunday League. Just reflecting on John's contribution to Hampshire's Sunday successes, he finished his career sixth in the all time Hampshire run-scorers list at the end of the 1982 season, with 1565 runs and a top score of 91. Only Richards, Turner, Greenidge, Jesty and Gilliat had made more Sunday runs than John when that bat went in the bin! 

As for John's contribution with the ball, he was even higher in the Hampshire total wickets list. His 125 wickets in 127 appearances (at 24.61 each) made him third on the list after the 1982 season. Only Jesty and Sainsbury had taken more. In terms of four-wicket hauls and a share of the annual JPL prize-money, only Jesty and Mottram had more than John's five. Finally, John was the only fielder - apart from a wicket keeper - in the history of the John Player League (1969-1986) to take five catches in an innings. He took those 5 against Warwickshire in 1975 at Southampton. Only Gilliat and Greenidge took more catches in the JPL than John's final tally of 48 by the end of the 1982 season. I know John will not mind me saying this is probably the only time John was the equal of Barry Richards (who also held 48 catches on Sundays) ! The serious point is that none of these statistics includes John's contributions in the one-day cups or his fine first-class career. He was part of a quintet of all-rounders, with Peter Sainsbury, Trevor Jesty, Mike Taylor and Nigel Cowley, who gave any Hampshire team in the 1970's incredible balance, experience, know-how, skill and amazing ability to compete and win against all opponents on all pitches. 

John Rice's place is definitely assured in the club's history as a rich entertainer, whole-hearted competitor and serious winner. Having met John in person for the first time only last May, it has been a privilege to write this very small tribute to a former playing hero and very proud ex-Hampshire cricketer, with such a warm and endearing personality. On behalf of so many Hampshire supporters, who were fortunate to see him play, he was as tall in stature as he was physically, when he matched up against any of his opponents on the field. Every run scored, every wicket taken and every catch held was one more than all of us could have dreamed of achieving and we hold all of his achievements in that unbelievably talented and entertaining squad very close to our hearts. For us as supporters, it was never an end without an end, and so I will just "end" with the sentence in the 1983 Handbook chronicling John's last appearance. 'John Rice received generous applause on his last appearance for Hampshire, but suffered a cruelly brilliant return catch by Lethbridge to end his innings, returning to a standing ovation....."

2012 - Hampshire v Warwickshire

September 15th  - Clydesdale Bank Final 

Lord's Cricket Ground, London

Hampshire  244-5 (40 Overs) Adams 66, Ervine 57

Warwickshire 244-7 (40 overs) Wood 3-39

Result: Hampshire won by losing fewer wickets with scores level

Written by Glen Williams 

Unforgettable Last Ball Win

Encouraged by Dave Allen’s 75 Not Out, I’ve decided reluctantly to put pen to paper to record my favourite match. Why reluctantly? Well scribing is not my favourite pastime, but more importantly my memory of details of individual matches is poor at the best of times. That said I have chosen the match below not just for the tightest of tight results on a very tight day, but also because it was a fabulous day out at Lords, my favourite ground. As I’m sure you all know, to be guaranteed you don’t miss the start of day one of a Test match at  Lords it means setting off from the South by 8.30 latest. 

Fortunately this final started at 11.30 and gave us a bit more time. It still meant an early train for us though, or we would miss the ritual beginning of any match at Lord's and one of the best bits of the day for me. That is breakfast at Fego Caffe in St John's Wood. A little haven of breakfast delights very close to the ground. It was my son George’s first visit to Lords and we met up with Pete and Rodger, two old friends from my working life in the wine and spirits trade. Pete. is a Hampshire fan living in Twickenham. and Rodger, for his sins, is a Leicestershire fan. Breakfast completed it was time for one of my next favourite things about Lords. To my knowledge, it is the only ground in the country where you are still able to take a bottle of wine into the ground. For those that work in the wine trade this is especially good news and we carried in three bottles of delicious Charles Heidsieck champagne.

So onto the cricket. Let’s not forget that Warwickshire had already won the 2012 Division 1 Championship this year and Hampshire ended up just above mid table in Division 2. However Hampshire were more than holding their own in the white ball formats and had already secured the T20  cup just three weeks earlier. So the final was an intriguing prospect with no clear favourite. Two teams already holding trophies and Hampshire batted first in what turned out to be an entrancing match right to its final ball conclusion. Michael Carberry and James Vince both got off to a good start until Vince fell in the 6th over and Carberry fell in the 10th. Neil Mckenzie was next to go but fine half centuries from our captain Jimmy Adams and Zimbabwe born Sean Ervine, along with a quick 35 from Simon Katich, helped Hampshire reach a defendable score of 244 for 5. Remember the 5 as it is really important!

Warwickshire must have gone into their innings believing they were slight favourites but a regular fall of wickets supported by a majestic 88 from Ian Bell meant the game was hanging in the balance for their entire innings. The good news from a Hampshire perspective was the run rate was creeping up. Depending on whether you are glass half full or glass half empty Warwickshire needed 27 runs from the last three overs  and then only 7 from the last over. I have to say I’m normally glass half full but with 7 needed my glass was feeling decidedly empty. The atmosphere in the ground was electric and the last over felt like it took forever and this is because it did! Kabir Ali was given the challenging task of bowling this over. Ali bowled exceptionally well and took a wicket for only 2 runs in his first 4 balls. It was now down to 5 runs required off 2 balls for Warwickshire to lift the trophy. 

My glass was now feeling half full again. The Hampshire team took an age to set the field for the incoming batsmen Carter and I was confident the cup was ours. Carter had other ideas and timed the penultimate ball for 4 completely emptying my imaginary glass! The scores were now level and Warwickshire now needed one solitary run from the very last ball to lift the cup. The tension and also the noise was unbelievable. Here we were, three Hampshire fans and one adopted Hampshire fan for the day, having watched almost 80 overs of cricket still not knowing who was going to win. The Hampshire  players took an age to decide where they were going to field and decided upon the bees round a honey pot approach as they surrounded Carter. Ali comes in to bowl the very last ball of the match and Carter swipes and misses. Michael Bates takes arguably his most important take of the match and the scores remain level………………………or not quite. Remember, Hampshire had scored 244 for 5 and Warwickshire had now scored 244 for 7. So in a match that nobody deserved to lose Hampshire won the cup by virtue of losing fewer wickets. The Hampshire fans including us were delirious with joy and I decided to swap my imaginary glass for a real one and continue the celebration. This time my glass was completely full!

1978 - Hampshire v Middlesex

September 3rd  - John Player League (Final Game of the Season) 

Dean Park Ground, Bournemouth

Hampshire  221-4 (40 Overs) Greenidge 122

Middlesex 195 (38 overs) Jesty 7-0 -32-5

Result: Hampshire won by 26 runs

Written by Neil Vacher 

Gilliat signs off in style with a second Sunday League success

How long is 20 minutes - if you were a Hampshire player or supporter?

As the 1978 season neared its conclusion, Hampshire’s chances of winning a trophy rested in the John Player League (JPL), the 40 overs a side competition that had first been introduced to the county circuit in 1969. A week before the final fixtures were due to take place, Hampshire beat Kent at Southampton to keep the pressure on leaders Somerset who also won on the same day. After maintaining a strong challenge throughout the summer, Richard Gilliat’s side remained four points, or one victory, behind their west country rivals. Somerset would take the title if they won or tied their last match at Taunton, but if Hampshire could win their last game against Middlesex at Dean Park, Bournemouth, their away record and run rate could not be bettered should Somerset slip up.

During the season, Hampshire had parted company with international stars Barry Richards and Andy Roberts and in the run-in, much had depended on the character of the side in covering their absences, particularly that of Roberts, whose performances with bat and ball had been an important factor in at least four victories in the 40-over competition. Five JPL matches had remained when Richards and Roberts left but valuable contributions from other members of the side at vital times ensured that Hampshire remained in contention. Gilliat had stepped up to open the innings in Richards’ absence, whilst Gordon Greenidge, totally loyal to the county who discovered him almost a decade previously, accepted the extra responsibility placed on his shoulders. I had been present when Greenidge made his first-class debut for Hampshire in 1970 and had seen his initial raw talent develop into that of a world class batsman. He was without doubt my favourite cricketer at the time and so exciting to watch.

My first experience of watching county cricket had been at Dean Park earlier that year and I fell in love with the game and the ground from that moment on. I saw Hampshire claim a second County Championship there in 1973 and the following year, whilst attending Portchester School in Bournemouth, had been fortunate enough to play there for the school first eleven on several occasions. The summer of 1978 had been notable by my absence however, as I had undergone knee surgery in April. After spending six weeks in hospital and a further six in plaster, Sunday 3 September was quite a day for me as it was the first time since then I had managed to get to the ground under my own steam. The surgery had not been without its complications, and I had previously needed the assistance of a wheelchair and then crutches before being finally dropping down to a walking stick as my recovery neared competition.

On a beautiful warm and sunny September afternoon,the ground was packed, with around 6,000 people in attendance, and the atmosphere was electric. Could the occasion provide the perfect send off to captain Gilliat in his last game before handing over the reins to fellow championship winner, wicketkeeper Bob Stephenson? First to step forward was indeed Greenidge, who played one of his finest one-day innings for Hampshire. He took part in two decisive partnerships which allowed the side to build what was a sizeable total at the time. He and Gilliat began with an opening stand of 100 in 24 overs and then later, assisted by Trevor Jesty, Greenidge helped to add 120 for the third wicket before both were out in the final over. 

Greenidge’s innings of 122 was one of brutal power and included five 6’s as Hampshire reached 221-4 at the end of their 40 overs. It was Greendige’s second JPL century of the season and brought the personal number of runs he had scored in the county’s last five JPL games to 339.

But Middlesex, led by England captain Mike Brearley and with seven players with Test match experience in their side, responded well and looked threatening as Clive Radley and Norman Featherstone began with an opening partnership of 77. The score had risen to 126-1, when Gilliat made a tactical decision to concede singles but defend the boundaries and the pressure this caused eventually told. Jesty came on to bowl and changed the picture entirely by taking a wicket in each of his first four overs. He went on to produce a match winning spell which saw him take 5-32, including the vital dismissal of Featherstone to a brilliant tumbling outfield catch by substitute fielder David Rock. Fine fielding also brought three run outs and a slick stumping from wicketkeeper Bob Stephenson as Hampshire eventually ran out comfortable winners by 26 runs.

I was amongst the crowd of people who made their way onto the pitch to congratulate the players before assembling in front of the pavilion to await news of the result from Taunton. The players soon went into the dressing room to watch the final overs on TV before, after a nail biting wait of some 25 minutes, the news came through that Somerset had lost and by virtue of a higher run rate throughout the season, Hampshire were champions. The cheering crowd eventually saw Gilliat receive a replica of the trophy and success was sweet. After the departure of Richards and Roberts, it had been a test of character, and the players came through with great credit to win the JPL title for the second time in four seasons. It was also a fitting end to Richard Gilliat’s period in charge and he could now retire with one championship and two JPL successes under his captaincy. It should have been two championships of course, were it not for that woeful week of wet weather that had cruelly denied Hampshire the title in 1974. But at least this final opportunity had been taken to add a further trophy to a very successful period in the club’s history.  

Since then, there have been many Hampshire games and moments that I have been fortunate enough to enjoy at first hand, although unfortunately I was not present for any of their one-day cup final successes, just the defeat against Durham at Lords in 2007. Nonetheless, I have been lucky enough to see many world class players wear the Hampshire crest at first hand and, now semi-retired, I can at last spend even more time watching them. I find the current brand of Hampshire cricket just as exciting as it has always been and I’m sure the club can look forward to enjoying even more success in the future.

1985 - Somerset v Hampshire 

August 7th, 8th  - National Westminster Bank Trophy: Quarter-Final 

Taunton

Hampshire  299-5 (60 Overs) RA Smith 110 VP Terry 105

Somerset 150 all out (39.2 overs) NG Cowley 3-41

Result: Hampshire won by 149 runs

Written by Anthony Gibson 

Sun stops play, Botham walks off, Smith and Terry take Hampshire through to the semi-finals!

Recent encounters between Hampshire and Somerset have tended to be either rather dull or one-sided, usually in Hampshire’s favour, and most fatefully the game in September 2019 at the Ageas Bowl, when Kyle Abbott took 17 wickets and all but destroyed Somerset’s Championship chances. So I’m going back to 1985 for my most memorable contest, and the NatWest quarter-final at Taunton in August of that year.  I was there in two capacities.  On the first of what turned out to be two days of cricket – of which more anon – I was the scorer for the BBC’s commentator, a certain Henry Blofeld, who I had first worked with some 12 years previously, and with whom I got on well. He had plenty to talk about! The summer of 1985 was miserably wet, and I wasn’t unduly sorry to have to break into my golfing holiday at Saunton in North Devon, to drive back to Taunton.  Sure enough, the County Ground was distinctly damp after overnight rain and by the scheduled start time of 10.30, a greenish pitch had been cut but not rolled. By that time, Ian Botham had already won the toss and put Hampshire in on what looked a very green pitch.  But Mark Nicholas, as sharp then as he is now, knew the regulations and insisted that, as the start was delayed, he was entitled to have the heavy roller applied for seven minutes.  Botham begged to differ.  The umpires were involved and they decided to refer the matter to Lord’s, who ruled in Nicholas’ favour.

And so to the cricket, with precious little love already lost between the two teams.  Hampshire made a poor start and at 51/3 were in trouble, Mark Davis’ fast left arm swing having accounted for Chris Smith for 3, a fact I mention not just because of its significance at the time, but because Mark has since become my regular BBC summariser for one day cricket and has worked many times alongside myself and Kevan James on games between our two counties.  It should really have been even better for Somerset, as Joel Garner at slip dropped Paul Terry off Botham when he was on 9, a lapse that would cost his side a further 96 runs, as Terry and Robin Smith put together a partnership of 144 to carry Hampshire most of the way to a formidable 299 in their 60 overs.    I remember they offered a lovely contrast:  Terry neatly working the ball into the gaps and strong through the leg side, Robin Smith wielding his big bat as if it was a broadsword, thumping the ball massively through the covers.

Needing what would then have been a record score to win, Somerset started disastrously, against a Hampshire attack of Malcolm Marshall, Cardigan Connor, Tim Tremlett, Mark Nicholas and Nigel Cowley’s off-spin.  After a break for rain, but with blue sky overhead, Somerset had slumped to 43/5 by 7.45, when Botham, who had just come in and had yet to score, said something to the umpires and promptly marched off, taking a bemused Vic Marks with him.  It turned out that Botham was protesting about the difficulty of seeing the ball when he was allegedly being blinded by sunshine reflecting off a nearby corrugated iron roof!  Mark Nicholas objected and, for the second time that day, the umpires decided to consult Lord’s, the only problem being that by that time of the evening, no-one was answering the phone at HQ.

So a halt was indeed called; one of those very rare occasions – and I’m sure Dave Allen could name others - when sun had stopped play.  A capacity crowd was not amused, but there was, for me at least, a silver lining, in that I was contacted up by Peter Baxter to be asked if I could commentate on day two, as Henry had to be elsewhere.  No problem at all, I replied!  And I did have some good cricket to describe as Botham and Marks put together a defiant partnership of 81, before Marshall and Cowley polished things off, to leave Hampshire the winners by 148 runs. It wasn’t the finest hour of that magnificent Somerset team, by any means, but it certainly provided some memories, as well as an extra day’s work for a very junior commentator, who was able to return to his golf later that same day, happy in a job well done.

2015 - Nottinghamshire v Hampshire

September 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th - County Championship Division One Final Game 

Trent Bridge

Notts 340 (92.3 overs) Patel 104, Edwards 6-88

Hampshire  326 (89.5 overs) Dawson 69

Notts 185 (62 overs) Edwards 4-57

Hampshire 200-2 (53.3 overs)

Result: Hampshire won by 8 Wickets

Written by Terry Crump

Survival in Division One for both Hampshire and Sussex on a Knife Edge!

It was the last game of the 2015 season, with survival in Division One on a knife edge. Hampshire, relegated in 2011, promoted in 2014, started 2015 optimistically. Then the realisation that the ease with which we dominated Division Two was not to be repeated. Hampshire or Sussex would be relegated. Hampshire’s survival depended on the last game at Trent Bridge. 

The Notts Committee Room exuded confidence; they were still in the race to the top!

Nottinghamshire’s first innings (340) saw Rikki Wessell’s masterful innings of 104 finished when Sean Ervine had him caught by Gareth Berg. Fidel Edwards was on fire. Watching his extraordinary action bring him six wickets was more than enough entertainment to make the journey up the M1 to West Bridgeford worthwhile. Hampshire then replied with 326 to trail Notts by 14, Gareth Berg making a very carefully crafted 72.

Sussex were still going toe to toe with the ‘Yorkies’. All to play for on Day Three. I wasn’t that positive. Bill Taylor, the Notts fast bowler in the 1970’s, reassured me saying, “I’ve seen us (Notts) bat in the second innings this season, Hampshire will be fine.”

Notts got to 150 with only three down. Then Ryan Stevenson started the rot, taking the wicket of Rikki Wessells. Fidel Edwards was running in like a train, that menacing arm action threatening to dismiss even the most steadfast batter. Notts went from 151/4 to 178/8 in the blink of an eye! Then it was all over, with ‘Fiery Fidel’ getting a match ‘tenfer’, taking Read, Root and Broad in seven balls. The crucial wicket of Brendan Taylor (passing 1000 runs for the season as he braved it out) went to Liam Dawson, caught by James Vince.

With 200 to win, Carberry and Adams had reduced the lead to the infamous ‘Nelson’ (111) at stumps on Day Three. At start of play on the fourth day, I wasn’t optimistic; it had been a season of disappointments. However, ‘Carbs’ went on to make 84 no. ‘Bison’ was bowled by Ball and nerves jangled, with ‘Vincey’ bowled, again by Ball, for a Golden Duck. Will Smith joined Carberry to see out the innings at 200/2. A magical win.

Meanwhile ninety miles to the North, Sussex were still fighting. What really makes this my favourite game? Travelling home down the M1, a passenger in my good friend Alan Head’s car, listening to the radio commentary of the Sussex game. Suddenly we were directly behind ‘Bergy’ as he made his victorious return to Hampshire. At Headingley, Michael Yardy, in his last appearance, was making a resolute stand with Ben Brown. As the final wickets tumbled, Alan Head flashed his headlights at every wicket, while ‘Bergy’ waved various items of clothing from his window. When the final wicket tumbled both cars had horns blasting. Were Sussex relegated because they lost? No, they ‘went down’ because we won. It helped that we beat them at Hove that year in another match that was a close runner to my favourite game.

1983 - Hampshire v Surrey

July 10th  - John Player League (Gordon Greenidge Benefit Game)

Portsmouth 

Hampshire  292-1 (40 overs) Jesty 166*, Greenidge 108*

Surrey 188-5 (40 overs) Cowley 4-42

Result: Hampshire won by 104 runs

Written by Richard Drennan

Jesty's Jamboree!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved watching Chris Smith bat. While lacking most of the natural flair of his legendary brother, Chris was an exceptionally consistent and reliable opening batsman, who was determined to make the most of every ounce of his cricketing talent. Averaging mid-forties in first class cricket, with over 15,000 runs and 40 centuries, peaking in 1985 with an astonishing 2,000 runs and 7 hundreds, Chris got Hampshire off to consistent start after consistent start, first alongside Gordon Greenidge and later Paul Terry. From 1980-1991, I spent countless hours admiring his technique, determination, application and productivity.   

But on a sunny afternoon in July 1983, I just wanted him to get out.

My Favourite Hampshire Game is not one of vital importance, not one that delivered silverware to the club, not even a first-class game. But for sheer entertainment for a 19-year-old fan, it lives in my memory as if it was yesterday. It was one of those rare sporting occasions that went as perfectly as even the most optimistic fan could hope. I had drafted a mental script of how the afternoon should proceed and, just for once, heroes, antagonists and supporting cast alike followed it to the letter. Since it was John Winter who devised this “My Favourite Hampshire Game” series and asked me to write about mine, it is fitting that it was John who accompanied me to the United Service Ground in Portsmouth on Sunday, July 10, 1983, for a John Player League game between Hampshire and Surrey. 

In 1983, Trevor Jesty was the darling of the Hampshire batting line up – no mean feat for a line-up that included Greenidge. Coming off a summer in 1982 that included 8 first class centuries, Jesty was at the height of his powers. Those centuries included 164 not out against the touring Indians at Southampton plundering an attack that included Kapil Dev and Madan Lal, but even that was surpassed by his 133 against Pakistan at Bournemouth where he made the mercurial Abdul Qadir look less than ordinary, arriving at the crease with Hampshire wobbling at 3/2. It was this impressive showing that inspired a naïve teenager to write to Peter May as Chairman of the England selectors bemoaning his selection of the underperforming Gatting, Pringle and Greig ahead of providing Jesty with the test cap that his performances so richly deserved. Although I was convinced that my carefully crafted epistle would be impossible to ignore, the predictable response was only the dismissive template “Thank you for your comments” and Jesty’s test cap sadly never materialized.  Those international disappointments were however put aside for the JPL game against Surrey the following July. The game was earmarked as Greenidge’s well-deserved testimonial game, and attended by over 4,000 people,but it was Trevor Jesty that stole the show. 

That afternoon, Jesty was listed at number 3 in the batting line up, and that brings me back to Chris Smith. Surrey won the toss and Roger Knight inexplicably asked Hampshire to bat. Hampshire opened the batting with Smith and Greenidge, a tried, tested and successful combination, but it was Jesty we had come to watch. So for 5 overs, I reluctantly willed Smith to experience a rare failure and make way for the main act, but I was nevertheless surprised when a Dave Thomas delivery beat his textbook defense and removed the off stump. Jesty strode to the wicket at 23/1 and the stage was set. What followed was remarkable. 

35 overs later, Greenidge had reached a fine 108 not out from 101 balls, this being his 4th hundred in an incredible run of 6 centuries over 17 days in all formats. However, the Portsmouth Evening News headline of “England reject upstages Gordon” tells you everything you need to know. In a spectacular unbeaten Hampshire record partnership of 269, Jesty smashed 166 not out from just 128 balls, including 18 fours and 3 sixes, and the records tumbled.  My watching companion, typically, had all the relevant stats at his fingertips. Having reached only 4, Jesty became the first man in the John Player League competition history to achieve the double of 4,000 runs and 200 wickets; on reaching 59 with a straight six off Pat Pocock, Greenidge became Hampshire’s highest total runscorer in the competition surpassing Barry Richards’ total of 4,770; at 143, the partnership set a new Hampshire best for the 2nd wicket; the 269 partnership was the 2nd highest ever in the competition, only behind that achieved by Graham Gooch and Ken McEwan for Essex the previous week.  Jesty’s superlative 166 was three more than Greenidge’s own Hampshire record in 40 over competition, although the great West Indian was to wrestle that record back in 1987 against the same opponents. Having reached a run a ball 50, Jesty took only 38 more balls to reach his century and then only 40 more to get to 166. Other than giving a difficult half chance on 123, he was in complete control, executing a series of exquisite lofted drives to, or over, the boundary. Surrey had run out of ideas and even the fearsome Sylvester Clarke was put to the sword. For 116 unforgettable minutes, the entertainment was as good as it gets for a Hampshire fan.

Chasing a huge target of 293, Surrey, despite a bright start, never came close and Hampshire’s victory was by a conclusive 104 runs, with Nigel Cowley chipping in with a career best 4/42 and Malcolm Marshall’s 7 overs only conceding a miserly 14 runs.  

To my great sadness, a year later Jesty had departed for Surrey having been overlooked for the club captaincy. The rarity of Hampshire born players at the club over my years of watching is lamentable and as a local Gosport lad, Jesty was an understandable crowd favourite. I would have loved to see him complete the last 7 years of his career as a one-county player. Fortunately for me and other Hampshire fans, the void left by Trevor in Hampshire’s middle order was about to be filled by a certain Robin Smith!

Despite some worthy contenders over the years, the vivid memories of Jesty’s heroics have kept that John Player League contest as My Favourite Game for 41 years. One such contender would be Kyle Abbott’s astonishing 17/86 game against title-chasing Somerset in 2019, where majestic centuries from current club legends Vince and Dawson in a low-scoring match barely get a mention due to Abbott’s heroics. All matches would have undoubtedly been surpassed in 2021 had Matt Parkinson failed to survive 2 balls from a rampant Mason Crane at Aigburth in a finish to a game so dramatic that I was reduced to a gibbering wreck as I realized the enormity of what I was watching. Alas, it was not to be, so for the time being, Jesty Rules!