"It's proper cricket" - why its time to get excited for the slept-on County Championship season
Something is terribly wrong, the County Championship starts this week and the....sun is shining.
12 months ago as Hampshire’s players gathered for the media ahead of the season, everyone was forced inside as the rain hammered down. The cricket season felt as far away as it did in the depths of winter.
However, on Tuesday, April 1, at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, bright sunshine greeted players and media ahead Hampshire’s opening fixture against Yorkshire on Friday. It provided an air of optimism and hope that this could be a glorious summer for cricket.
While Ben Stokes and Brendan McCollum continue to keep test cricket in the headlines with their swashbuckling tactics on the international stage, domestic first class cricket can feel a bit slept on. Perhaps not helped by the ECB’s schedule which has the Vitality Blast and The Hundred in the peak of summer with the Rothesay County Championship bookending it either side.
It is set to be an exciting season though, a number of teams will be looking to end Surrey’s dominance with last year’s victory making it a historic run of three Division One Championships in a row. One of those teams is of course Hampshire, who are perennial challengers to Surrey, finishing in the top three for the last three seasons, including a second place place finish last year.
Ben Brown was named as Hampshire’s new red ball captain following James Vince’s decision to only play in white ball cricket this year. Brown knows that Surrey are once again the team to beat.
He said: “I think we can be really proud of what we've achieved over the last few years as a team to finish high in the league, but with a team like Surrey, you have to keep pushing to get better. Even if you turn up the same side, they keep moving on, they keep getting stronger.
“We've spoken about that often, we have to keep driving our standards. We have to keep pushing forward and hope that if Surrey do slip, then you want to be the team that cashes in. That's a challenge for all the counties in Division One.”
Somerset and Essex will also be aiming to disrupt Surrey’s ambitions of a fourth title, while newly promoted Yorkshire and Sussex are there for more than just making up the numbers. Sure, Surrey are the favourites but there are a number of teams that can push them.
Since Brown made his debut for Sussex in 2007, he has witnessed the shift in emphasis away from first class cricket towards T20. He said: “I think the game's evolved so much from when I started. In 2007, Championship cricket and Test cricket was the main thing but now T20 is huge.
“I think here in Hampshire, we're pretty split in how we go about it. We always talk about trying to win all three formats and I don't think there's a huge bias one way or another. The Championship feels of high importance here and the club invests really well in it.”
Part of that investment is bringing in players from overseas. A rollercoaster few days for kiwi all-rounder Brett Hampton has seen him replace Jack Edwards in the squad, after the Australian sustained a knee injury before travelling to England. The pull of the County Championship was a big factor in the 33-year-old taking the leap to make his debut in the competition.
Hampton said: “The opportunity to play in the County Championship was always a goal of mine. So when the opportunity came up, I grabbed it with both palms. It’s a great competition to be involved with, obviously it has some great English players, but also great overseas players as well. The exposure and the cricket that they play over here, it’s quite impressive.”
While enjoying the shorter forms of the game, Hampton favours first class cricket. He said: “It probably is my most loved format, even though I enjoy the shorter formats also. First-class cricket is proper cricket and it's something I've sort of gone right at back home over the last couple of years.”
Another reason to be excited for the start of the championship is to witness the mergence of Sonny Baker. The 22-year-old fast bowler was handed a England Men’s development contract earlier this year. His rapid pace impressed while on England’s Lions duty in Australia.
A young man coming into the game could be swayed by the money and glamour of T20 but first class cricket remains his priority.
Baker said: “The County Championship is massively important. It’s been tough for red ball cricket recently but the way Baz (McCullum) and Stokes are trying to push for players to come in and be exciting it really does attract guys who want to have an impact on the game.
“I don't think you can get any more pinnacle of the game than Ashes cricket. The Indian Premier League is fantastic and probably sits in second but Ashes cricket is where it’s at. If anyone can get to that point, they’re in a very good spot.”
There is much to look forward to in Hampshire’s fight for a first County Championship since 1973, with new leadership in the dressing room and a good mix of experience and talented youth, it will be worth a watch. Lets just hope the weather holds.
Hampshire kick off their campaign against Yorkshire at the Utilita Bowl on Friday, April 4. Tickets can be bought from https://www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/tickets/county-championship/