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It has been a hectic start to the new year for Chelsea. After a torrid run of form in December, the Blues’ owners decided to sack manager Enzo Maresca on New Year’s Day.

It was certainly a snap decision, and despite rumours, it seemed that there was a chance he might stay at the club.

But, it wasn’t to be the case, with the Italian removed from his post after winning two trophies in 2025, including the Club World Cup.

With under-21s manager Calum McFarlane set to take charge of the West Londoners against Manchester City this weekend, the search is now on for a new manager.

Well, rumours are already beginning to intensify about who that may be.

Chelsea’s candidates to replace Maresca

It seems that there is one name consistently coming up when it comes to Maresca’s replacement in the hotseat at Stamford Bridge. That man is Liam Rosenior, who is in charge of Chelsea’s sister club RC Strasbourg.

However, if a move for Rosenior doesn’t materialise, the club’s owners, BlueCo, could well cast the net further afield in their search for a new boss. According to BBC Sport, one of the names in contention is Porto manager Francesco Farioli.

The Italian, who is just 36 years of age, has ‘been mooted as a potential contender’ according to BBC reporters Sami Mokbel and Nizaar Kinsella.

He still has 18 months left on his contract, so it seems likely that Chelsea would have to pay compensation to bring him to West London.

Why Farioli would be an upgrade on Rosenior

Although Farioli has only been at Porto since July 2025, he has already made a fantastic start to life in Portugal. It comes after building up a good reputation in Ligue 1 with OGC Nice, whom he managed for a season in 2023/24, prior to joining Ajax for 2024/25.

Indeed, the start Farioli has made in charge of the Portuguese giants has been impressive. In 26 matches so far across all competitions, the Italian, most often deploying a 4-3-3 formation, has led his side to 22 wins.

His side have dominated games, scoring 56 times and conceding just 13.

Farioli record at Porto (all comps)

Stat

Number

Preferred formation

4-3-3

Matches

26

Wins

22

Draws

2

Losses

2

Goals for

56

Goals against

13

Points per game (league only)

2.88

Stats from Transfermarkt

You can certainly draw comparisons between Farioli during his spell at Ajax and Maresca at Chelsea. Eif Soccer’s Marc Geschwind said the situations at each club were “so similar,” with both having to work with “incompetent management” in their old roles.

Indeed, things were tough at times for Maresca during his stint at the Bridge. There was a reported “lack of protection and interference leading to critical issues with ownership,” which Farioli might have to contend with.

His time at Ajax – which ended with a narrow title miss in the Eredivisie – might stand him in good stead, in that sense.

Rosenior, meanwhile, has done well at Strasburg during the 18 months he’s managed the club.

Last term, he guided Le Racing to seventh in Ligue 1, steering them to the Conference League and playing some excellent football along the way.

His record overall for the club is certainly impressive. In 62 games at the club so far, he’s won 32 and lost just 16 times.

Subscribe for insider Chelsea manager analysis and more Get deeper context on Chelsea’s managerial search by subscribing to the newsletter — tactical breakdowns of contenders like Farioli and Rosenior, data-driven comparisons, and practical implications for the club’s playing style and ambitions.

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The London-born manager has certainly done well in Ligue 1, and it would be a simple deal for the Blues to do, with Strasbourg being a BlueCo club.

However, it is perhaps less risky to appoint Farioli. Not only has he managed in Ligue 1, thus leaving him with similar experience to Rosenior, but the Italian’s work with Porto has shown he can dominate a league at the highest level.

That is, of course, the ultimate goal for Chelsea. They want to be a possession-heavy, free-flowing side who are able to keep things tight at the back. In a short few months in Portugal, Farioli has shown he can do that.

Rosenior might be the safe option. Yet, perhaps the Porto boss, who is more used to working under a stricter regime, has football that is more scalable to a top side, which Chelsea are hoping to be.

Related Dream Rosenior alternative: Chelsea considering the "best coach in the PL"

This manager could be Chelsea’s perfect Maresca replacement

Posts ByJoe Nuttall

Ambati Rayudu has called it a “reality check” © Getty Images

After risking their careers by joining the Indian Cricket League, a few Hyderabad cricketers defended their decision – citing selection flaws and the increased opportunities – to turn their backs on their home state. Hyderabad had a mass exodus of players including Ambati Rayudu, Alfred Absolem, Inder Shekar Reddy, Ibrahim Khaleel, Shashank Nag, D Vinay Kumar, Kaushik Reddy and Anirudh Singh.”I’m a professional cricketer and it doesn’t really matter where I play, but with ICL now my standard will only improve,” Absolem told reporters in Hyderabad. A right-arm seamer, he has played just one full season for Hyderabad and made an instant impact, picking up 30 wickets from six matches at under 20.Seamer Kaushik Reddy said that they had no choice but to take such a drastic step, citing anomalies in team selection where deserving players weren’t allowed to progress. “There are many private grounds and we need not depend on Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) facilities to train and practice,”said Reddy. “We have not lost hope but we had no choice.”Perhaps the biggest loss for the side was Ambati Rayudu, the promising top-order batsman who has been on the fringes of national selection since his days as a junior cricketer. He said it was a “reality check” and, when asked about his future, said that his employers had assured him of help.The BCCI has taken a firm stance by banning all players from associating themselves with the ICL, denying them use of its facilities and privileges. The HCA said none of the players had consulted them before joining and new talent would be recruited, hinting that all the ICL players were not eligible for selection.

Imad Wasim’s brave effort on the final day went in vain as India Under-19s achieved a massive 271-run win against the Pakistan juniors in the first four-day match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.Pakistan were down and out when play started on the final morning, but a determined fightback led by Imad almost gave them an outside chance of saving the match. India, however, managed to bowl out Pakistan for 174 in the second innings an hour before the scheduled close to earn victory.Imad stood like a rock in an attempt to save the day for Pakistan and in the process played 249 balls and stayed at the wicket for almost 300 minutes for his 35 runs. India were almost certain to wrap up the match by lunch, but Pakistan had other ideas. The overnight not-out batsmen Imad and Behram Khan (18) stood at the crease till 15 minutes before lunch. It was only through a dubious decision that India finally succeeded in taking their first wicket of the day.Behram was given out caught at silly point by Tanmay Srivastava off Ravi Jadeja, but it seemed the ball had touched the ground before the catch was taken. Instead of giving the benefit of the doubt to the batsman, umpire Shakeel Khan gave the decision in favour of the bowler.This was the second time in two successive days that the umpire had gone wrong. On Saturday, captain Mohammad Ibrahim (5) was given out when the ball deflected off the helmet before being plucked by wicketkeeper Omkar Gaurav.Despite the loss of Behram, Imad stayed cool and with the help of wicketkeeper Abdul Rauf (36) continued his efforts to deny India victory. Rauf, who was the next man out, struck five fours and put on 69 runs for the seventh wicket, but it was the time and overs they consumed that mattered the most.After fighting bravely for almost a day, Imad was the last man to get out. He struck three fours in his epic innings and impressed the sizeable crowd with the spirit and dedication he showed to stay at the crease.Piyush Chawala, the Indian captain, broke the defenses of a couple of Pakistanis with well disguised googlies and finished with 4 for 50. However, the most impressive Indian bowler was Vijakumar Yomahesh who took 4 for 44.Both teams will now leave for Peshawar on Monday to play the second four-day match, starting on September 13. The four limited-overs matches will be played from September 19.

Sourav Ganguly shys away from media © Getty Images

Sourav Ganguly was lying low ahead of his side’s attempt to win their first match at their fifth attempt in Harare when they face Zimbabwe in the second Test starting Tuesday.Ganguly declined to speak after practice at Harare Sports Club on Monday, with Greg Chappell, the coach, suggesting that the captain did not “want to be grilled by them (Indian press)”. His absence represented a break from tradition when captains talk pre-match about their team, state of the wicket, recent form plus expectations of play.Despite leading India to an innings and 90 run win over hapless Zimbabwe with a day to spare in the first Test at Bulawayo, Ganguly is facing the prospect of his working relationship with Chappell plummeting to crisis point. Ganguly, who hit a much-needed century in that game, caused a sensation by revealing that he had been asked to stand down as skipper before the match.It was reported that Chappell hinted that Ganguly’s form as a batsman might be better served if the captaincy was surrendered but Chappell vigorously denied that the suggestion was made by him.Meanwhile, the Indian team was working off steam on the field and in the nets, even under a hot sun, following their break at Victoria Falls. They are clearly determined to beat Zimbabwe in the final match of their tour and by as big a margin as possible.

The annual general meeting of the Matabeleland Cricket Association at the Queens Sports Club on Saturday ended in chaos when an official of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union tried to hijack proceedings.The problems arose when Vumindaba Moyo, who was challengingAhmet Esat for the post of Matabeleland chairman, declared that a newblack club – Emakhandeni – whose application for affiliation had only just been received, should be allowed to vote.At that point Mukuhlani, the Mashonaland chairman, who was at the meeting as an observer, stood up to support Esat. “I am here as the acting ZCU chairman,” Mukuhlani is reported to have shouted, banging his fist on the table. “Whatever I say is binding … when I am talking I demand respect.”Esat is seen locally as weak, as he was a member of the ZCU board which made the decision to fire the 15 senior players led by Matabeleland’s Heath Streak. The clubs also felt that Esat failed to speak for the province at ZCU board meetings and was overshadowed by Tavengwa Mukuhlani, Max Ebrahim and Ozais Bvute (Bvute attended the meeting but kept unusually silent). So the clubs supported Moyo as they felt he would speak for, and stand up for, the province.Mukuhlani had no right to speak at a meeting which he was attending as an observer. It is also unclear under what authority he was claiming to be acting chairman of the ZCU. He was accompanied by Givemore Makoni, the Matabeleland provincial general manager, who also had no right to be involved in procedings.But his intervention triggered ugly scenes as Moyo and his supporters began hurling insults at Esat and Mukuhlani before storming out of the meeting. “This is not a ZCU meeting, you cannot come here and tell us what to do,” yelled a clearly angry Moyo.Eventually, Dennis Streak, who was chairman of the AGM, restored some sort of order and the elections went ahead, but all the blacks who were nominated for the posts refused to stand. Esat was re-elected unopposed while Stanley Staddon was elected as vice-chairman. The results mean that none of the members of the board are black, and Matabeleland, the second most powerful province after Mashonaland, has still not had a black chairman.The result might not stand for too long as Moyo is understood to be gathering support from the Matabeleland clubs with a view to forcing a motion of no confidence in the Esat-led board at an Emergency General Meeting.

Collins Obuya, Warwickshire’s new overseas signing, will take a somewhat roundabout route from Nairobi to Birmingham, after being invited to play for the University of West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI against the touring Australians in Barbados next week.Obuya, 21, who took 13 wickets in Kenya’s astonishing march to the World Cup semi-finals, has been named in a 12-man squad for the three-day match which begins on Saturday. He will be captained by the former West Indian opening batsman, Philo Wallace, in a side that includes four other Test cricketers.The most prominent of these is Chris Gayle, who missed the first two Tests against Australia after taking part in an unofficial double-wicket competition in St Lucia, and now has an opportunity to reclaim his place for the third Test in Barbados. David Bernard jr, who is currently making his debut in Trinidad, Corey Collymore and Ricardo Powell complete the set of international players.Squad
Philo Wallace (Barbados, captain), Dary Balgobin (UWI), David Bernard jr (Jamaica), Maurice Clarke (UWI), Corey Collymore (Barbados), Chris Gayle (Jamaica), Jason Haynes (UWI), Dwayne Jordan (UWI), Collins Obuya (Kenya, guest player), Ricardo Powell (Jamaica), Andrew Richardson (Jamaica), Matthew Sinclair (Jamaica)

The Australian “Downunders” won the second match of their three-week tour of England on Monday when they defeated a Kent XI by 143 runs.The team, consisting of a selection of the best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cricketers in Australia under the age of 21, is following partly in the footsteps of the 1868 tour of England by Aboriginal players – the first tour of England by any Australian cricket team.According to a press release issued by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) yesterday, the Australians batted first and scored 7/227 in their fifty overs. The Kent side was bundled out for just 84 in 37 overs.Captain of the Aboriginal youth side, Barry Firebrace from Victoria, shared a 77-run opening partnership from eleven overs with WA batsman Jayden Bennell. Firebrace was top scorer for the innings with 56.The bulk of the Kent wickets was shared by leg-spinner Ryan Bulger and medium-pacer Kevin Thomas. Bulger, who played for the Canberra Comets when they participated in the Mercantile Mutual Cup, took 4/27 from nine overs, and was named man-of-the-match. Jackson took 4/15 from his nine overs, which included four maidens.Among Bulger’s four victims was nineteen year-old all-rounder James Tredwell, who is a member of the England Under-19 team currently engaged in a test series with their West Indian counterparts. Tredwell made 5.Monday’s victory was their first win of the tour, having lost their opening game to an MCC side at the Lord’s Nursery Ground on Friday.The three-week nine-game tour, organised by ATSIC, aims to put indigenous cricket back on Australia’s cricketing map, and to make it possible for more young aborigines to not only play cricket, but also make careers out of the game. In the 124-year history of Test cricket, Jason Gillespie is the only male Australian international player known to have an aboriginal heritage.

Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe batsman, has said that the side’s two-wicket win in the first ODI against Ireland has given belief to the players, and will assist them in overcoming tough situations in the future. Zimbabwe had been reduced to 171 for 7 chasing 220, but Raza made an unbeaten 60 to guide them home with an over remaining, a result he said showed the “mental toughness” of the young side.”Sometimes when you are out of form as a batter, sometimes what you need is a scratchy, ugly-looking innings to get yourself some runs and get your confidence going. What we needed was this win, maybe an ugly-looking win but what it does is it brings the team a lot closer and helps with the belief and the faith that we have in one another and ourselves,” Raza said.”This win will play a lot (bigger) role than what you see. You see that we have gone one-up against Ireland. But what I see is that it has given enough belief to the squad and we have got ourselves together. This will work in mysterious ways, especially in the change room. We will perform better when we find ourselves in difficult situations.”The win was only Zimbabwe’s fourth in 18 completed ODIs this year, to go with a solitary victory in seven T20Is. The selectors have dropped a few underperforming senior players, and Raza saw the Ireland win as a reflection of the potential the relatively inexperienced side has.”Because we were losing, there were a lot of fingers raised and questions asked and rightly so to be fair. As I said sometimes you need an ugly, scratchy win and that showed our mental toughness, especially the youngsters. We have got quite a young side. Apart from Elton (Chigumbura) I do not think there is anyone close to a 100 (ODIs). If you take away the other two guys – Chamu (Chibhabha) and Sean Williams – the rest of us are just maybe 5-10-20-30 (games). That is a good sign that we are mentally strong enough but we have to play our roles a bit better and if we can do that we will win more games in the future.”Raza was pleased to have been successful in steering his team to victory, something he said he had failed to do before. “Yes, it was nervous. I found myself for the first time finishing a game. That is taking confidence for the next game. I have found myself previously as well (in such situations) but I have never been able to win the game for the team. So today before I walked on to the park I said a few things to myself and I made sure that I stayed true to what I said to myself, and luckily it ended up working.”One of the reasons for my downfall could have been that I have gone aerial a lot earlier in my innings. Today I was just hitting the ball on the ground for as long as possible, and take the aerial shot once you really have to.”Raza’s 38-run eighth-wicket partnership with Wellington Masakadza was crucial in the chase and the batsman was full of praise for the debutant left-arm spinner, who was eventually run out for 10. “I told him, ‘sorry mate,’ because he called and I did not know where the ball was. He was batting beautifully. I mean the guy is on debut and has bowled well, has fielded his heart out. The last thing you need is for him to get out, and god forbid if we lose the game then a debutant is not in a good place.”He has got a bright future ahead. His ten overs went for between 30 to 40 (45) which is still good on that track and he came on to bowl at a crucal time as well. Most importantly to me his attitude stands out. He is a very humble guy, plenty of energy in the field. He adds quite a lot to the team and with the bat you have all seen he can hold his own especially under pressure, so that speaks volumes about his character.”

Northlands Road, the Home of Hampshire Cricket: 1885-2000All quotations from the writing of John Arlott”Back once more on the ground where the backways and the little odd rooms – conjured out of accidental bulges in the old pavilions – are familiar as home. To be sure, the old pros’ room has been renovated; its spike-pocked floor renewed and showers, baths and basins installed. Still though the Southampton ground has an air of improvisation, of gradual growth, additions and after-thoughts merging into a unity like the photos, nick-nacks and pieces of china which, over the years, accumulated on our grandparents mantelpieces” (Cricket Journal 1958)Hampshire’s Southampton Grounds:Antelope 1839 First match(East side of Love Lane) 1842 Daniel Day curator, Hants v England1845 MCC beat Hants – Day moved to Itchen*(Cricket continued there under Mr Brooks)Itchen Ground 1845 Daniel Day moved to ground*(South side of Woolston Road) 1846 First match1851 Day to East Hants Ground, Southsea1850s Ground built on1864 Major cricket returned to Antelope untilNorthlands Road 1884 Eight acres leased for £160 pa1885 Ground opened & first matches1893 Freehold purchased (£5,400)1895 First season of Championship Cricket”1895, that year of transformation, saw also the beginning of the replacement of the old….by the basis of the present building complex. It would normally be categorised as Edwardian; as so many of the county pavilions are or were. With its bright red tiles and brickwork, white woodwork and open to the air in perpetual optimistic expectation of sunshine, it is – or is it that nostalgia makes it seem so? – a generous, essentially summer place.” (“A Summer Place” Hampshire Handbook 1985)1896 Pavilion Facade erected
1896 Southampton FC play there for 2 seasons
1897 Ladies Pavilion built
1911 (White) Scoreboard erected
1956 New office block opened
1959 Indoor School built
1960s Two pavilions joined
1980s County Club developed
1990s Sold for housing development
Adapted: Cricket Grounds of Hampshire – Association of Cricket Statisticians 1988Notable Events at Northlands Road:2000 Hampshire’s last-ever match at Southampton v Notts in the National League. Prittipaul’s 152 v Derbyshire was the highest score for Hampshire in a first innings on a home ground (not debut)
1999 Robin Smith captained Hampshire in their first ever National League match
1998 Hampshire lost to Lancashire in the Nat West Semi-Final. Chasing 253 they collapsed to 28-5 and lost by 43 runs. Since cup cricket began in 1963 Hampshire won only one semi-final at Northlands Road (B&H Cup v Somerset 1992)
1997 Hick & Moody (Worcestershire) scored 438* for 3rd wicket at Southampton – Hick’s innings of 303* was the highest ever v Hampshire.
1996 Dimitri Mascarenhas took 6 wickets on debut for Hampshire. Kevan James took 4 wickets in 4 balls and scored a century v India – a world record. In the match v Essex the match aggregate of 1523 for 36 wickets is the highest in Hampshire’s history. Cardigan Connor took 9-38 v Gloucs – a ground record.
1995 Keech (98) & Whitaker (97) both narrowly missed their centuries in a tied Sunday League match v Worcestershire. West Indies scored 696-6 dec.
1994 Hampshire’s 603-7dec v Surrey was their highest ever at Southampton
1993 Future Hampshire batsman Matthew Hayden hit a century at Northlands Road for Australia
1992 Udal with 8-50 v Sussex achieved his best bowling for Hampshire
1991 Chris Smith scored a century in the Nat West quarter-final v Nottinghamshire but did not play in the final because he left Hampshire in August to take up a post abroad.
1990 Gloucestershire were particularly disappointed when Hampshire beat them by scoring 446-8. Hampshire also scored 600-8 dec v Sussex – their first score of 600 on the ground.
1989 Raj Maru took 8-41 v Kent
1988 Hampshire won their first Cup Final at Lord’s but on the next day their celebrating captain Mark Nicholas retired hurt without scoring in the Sunday League v Gloucestershire
1987 Hampshire 2nd XI lost to Derbyshire in the Bain Dawes Final.
1986 The captain and vice-captain Nicholas & Terry were batting at the end of the Sunday victory v Lancashire, celebrating Hampshire’s title success. Bob Parks dismissed six victims in an innings v Notts – equalling the ground record.
1985 Robin Smith achieved his career best bowling of 2-11 v Surrey
1984 Trevor Jesty Scored 32 in an over off Robin Boyd-Moss (Northants) – the most ever at Southampton
1983 Three West Indians, Greenidge, Marshall and Lynch all scored centuries in the match with Surrey
1982 Nick Pocock invited Worcestershire to bat in the Sunday League but Ormrod & Patel set a League record with 224 for 1st wicket
1981 The former Hampshire opener Richard Lewis played for Dorset when they beat Hampshire in the B&H Cup
1980 Roger Tolchard a former Hampshire 2nd XI player caught six Hampshire players in the match v Leicestershire. Tim Tremlett opened the batting and carried his bat for 70* in the same match.
1979 Bob Stephenson had one season as Hampshire’s second wicket-keeper/captain (the first was C Robson)
1978 Barry Richards and Andy Roberts left mid-season before Hampshire won the Sunday League title for the second time.
1977 The only double champion, Peter Sainsbury, retired before the season began, having played since 1955
1976 Trevor Jesty enjoyed his only 7 wicket haul (7-75 v Somerset) and scored his first century (134 v Gloucs)
1975 Hampshire achieved their highest limited overs score of 371-4 v Glamorgan in the Gillette Cup. Gordon Greenidge scored 259 v Sussex and went to 50, 100, 150, 200 & 250 with a six – his total of 13 sixes was a ground record.
“It is hard to select a particular innings of Barry Richards as outstanding because, if he stays in long, he will either have given a rich display of stroke-making or batted with consummate skill on a bowler’s wicket. It is hard though not to believe that, against the Australians at Southampton in 1975, he spoke his heart in the idion he commands most fully. Thomson, Hurst, Walker, Higgs and Mallett bowled; Richards played two innings of 96 and (retired hurt) 69, which declared his fitness to stand high on the level of Test cricket from which he is debarred….He played himself in with cold determination. Then, as soon as he was sure of his touch, he unleashed a fury of strokes….tossing his wicket away to a bad ball when a century was his for the taking.” (John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1974 Bob Herman took 6-15 v Glamorgan but rain prevented victory and Hampshire finished runners-up in the Championship.
1973 Northants came to Northlands Road in second place, lost in two days and finished the season in third – Hampshire were champions.
1972 John Holder took a hat-trick before retiring to become an umpire.1971 New Zealander David O’Sullivan impressed v Gloucestershire as Hampshire clinched the 2nd XI title
1970 Barry Richards left the Rest of the World side in the `Test’ v England to score a Sunday century v Glamorgan
1969 Hampshire’s first Sunday League match in June was `Butch’ White’s benefit. Hampshire finished 2nd.
1968 In his first season, Barry Richards started batting at number 4 but scored more after he moved to opener – finishing with 2314 runs.
1967 Gordon Greenidge batted at number 7 for Hampshire 2nd XI when they won the title for the first time
1966 Hampshire’s former `leggie’ Alan Castell surprised the West Indies with 7-58 in the match
1965 Peter Sainsbury took 7-30 and scored 70 in a Gillette Cup match v Norfolk
1964 Former Pompey soccer player Mike Barnard scored 123 v Australia – his sixth and final hundred, of which three were v tourists.
“Go to the County Ground on any day in the cricket season – or, for that matter, on a good many days outside it – and somewhere between the indoor school and the pavilion you are likely to meet a comfortable, well-fed-looking man going in one direction when he obviously wants to go in several. He has a rosy face, a quizzical look in his blue eyes and one eyebrow goes up as he asks you wistfully, out of the side of his mouth, “ave you seen so-and-so?”This is `The Coach’. Arthur Holt finds that title convenient: it saves him the embarrasment of telling ground staff boys that they must call him Mister Holt and not Arthur.” (An Appreciation 1963)1963 Derek Shackleton took 7-30 v Surrey – his best at Southampton
1962 Danny Livingstone, dropped first ball v Surrey (on a hat-trick) scored 200
1961 `Butch’ White took 7-61 v Nottinghamshire – his best at Southampton in the year that Hampshire won their first Championship.
1960 Mervyn Burden took 8-96 v Lancashire but Hampshire lost”Hampshire v South Africans 1960: In almost tropical sunshine the South Africans took Test batting practice at a tempo mounting from an early halting uncertainty to a glorious crescendo of strokes. The Southampton wicket was a friendly invitation to a run-making party – perfect hospitality for the batsmen…. McLean …. threatened avalanches with a six into Northlands Road. But upon that challenge the heavily shouldered and deep-chested David White peeled off his sweater and heaved a fast ball through McLean’s drive. It was White’s hundredth wicket in first-class cricket: he will batter down many a hundred more before he is done – but not without labour on such pitches as this.” (Cricket Journal 3 1960)1959 Three Test-playing county captains Cowdrey, Watson and Washbrook were all injured during matches at Southampton.
1958 Hampshire’s new captain Ingleby-Mackenzie started with a victory, a duck and a century v Kent. He led Hampshire to 2nd place for the first time in their history.
1957 Tom Dewdney took a hat-trick for West Indies
1956 `Gunner’ Denis Compton (Arsenal FC) played his last innings at Southampton (Keith Miller of the RAAF may have been a gunner but never a `Gunner’!)
1955 Neville Rogers deputised as captain for Desmond Eagar in the last five Championship matches and was undefeated although Hampshire were beaten by South Africa. Hampshire finished third for the first time with Roy Marshall in his first full season for them.
“Few cricketers have had the quality to draw people to cricket grounds. Fewer still could do so, yet send them away by their failure….Roy Marshall did it more than once. No cricketer who had ever appeared for the county had been able to attract crowds to Hampshire grounds as he did….As a member of the West Indian touring side of 1950 Marshall made 135 against Hampshire at Southampton and although Everton Weekes scored a double century at the other end, Marshall’s was remembered as one of the most brilliant innings ever played at the ground.” (John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1954 HRH the Duke of Edinburgh brought his XI to the county ground
1953 West Indies batsman Roy Marshall made his Hampshire debut v Australia
1952 Derek Shackleton & Vic Cannings bowled unchanged in the match v Kent who were dismissed for 32, the lowest by Hampshire’s opponents on ground. Arthur Fagg held seven catches in the match for Kent, a ground record.
1951 Two openers, Neville Rogers and Jackie McGlew (South Africa) made centuries in the tourist match
1950 The match v Kent ended in a tie. Alan Shirreff played for Kent having played for Hampshire in the previous Hampshire tied match.
1949 Charlie Knott took 12 wickets in the match v Notts
1948 Jim Bailey did the match double v Leicestershire and the season’s double”Mervyn Burden’s account of his first appearance at the County Ground is one of the masterpieces of spoken autobiography: “I’d never been to the County Ground in my life before….I’ve never felt so nervous in my life. I went up and bowled my first ball and it flew clean over the top of the nets and smashed one of the windows in the dining-room. Someone gave me another one and as I walked back to bowl I was wondering what the dickens I should do this time. I didn’t have to worry. Johnny Arnold was batting in the next net and as I turned to run in he hit an on-drive. I had my back to him and never saw it coming: it caught me a terrific crack on the ankle and I couldn’t bowl for a fortnight. Still I thought I had better show willing so I turned up the next morning to see if there was anything I could do and they sent me out to help Ernie on the pitch. I hadn’t been there a couple of minutes before I kicked a bucket of whiting across the square so they sent me home until my ankle was better.” (Book of Cricketers 1979)”Hampshire searched their resources for a ready-made pace bowler with no success at all. So, at the April nets of 1948, WK Pearce, the county chairman ordered the entire playing strength to bowl `seamers’. The staff rolled up their sleeves: Desmond Eagar recalls with some amusement his attempts to emulate Bill Voce, and several sets of hardening muscles were tugged violently in unfamiliar directions. The only profit the county could show for this experiment was the discovery that Derek Shackleton had bowled `with the seam’ for his club (but) no one dreamt that the morning’s search had unearthed the greatest single asset in Hampshire’s post-war cricket.” (“Derek Shackleton” in John Arlott’s Book of Cricketers 1979)1947 Quadruple Nelson – Kent won by 9 wickets after scoring 444 (4 x 111)
1946 County Championship cricket (v Worcestershire) returned on 11 May(Donald `Hooky’ Walker died on active service during World War Two)Southampton, most familiar of all cricket grounds for me, looked battered still from its war experiences and the weather, dully, did little brighten it. Rain was never far away and the wicket was damp and responsive to spin. Donald Walker would have put his head down and used his dancing feet to reach the pitch of the ball: but Donald will never play cricket again and for me the Southampton ground will always carry a sad memory of him.(Indian Summer 1946)1939 Leicestershire were Hampshire’s last opponents at Southampton before the war
1938 Johnny Arnold and Neil McCorkell enjoyed century partnerships in both innings v Kent
1937 McCorkell made the only century for Hampshire at Southampton in the season
1936 South African Len Creese took 8 wickets v Lancashire
1935 Future coach and Southampton footballer Arthur Holt made his debut
1934 GS Boyes bowled 80 overs in one innings v Notts
1933 Mead scored 150 but Leicestershire avoided defeat thanks to Armstrong who scored 84* and 164
1932 With Mead’s century v Derbyshire he had then completed 100 v every county. Hampshire’s 30 all out v Notts was their lowest ever at Southampton – Jim Bailey took 7-7 in the same match.
1931 Double international Johnny Arnold scored a Southampton century v Northamptonshire
1930 On the last morning v Nottinghamshire, Notts fielded without changing as Hampshire only required one run to win.
“In 1930 the ground was full to see if Don Bradman could complete his 1000 runs before the end of May. The match began on the last day of the month and Hampshire winning the toss, batted first, which threatened Bradman’s opportunity. George Brown resisted characteristically until he was run out for 56 of 151. Bradman went in first, late on that Saturday afternoon needing 46 for his 1000 but under threat of rain. He had made 43 when the storm broke; Jack Newman bowled him a full toss; Bradman hit it for four and everyone ran for shelter.” (Hampshire Handbook 1985)1929 Tennyson played a captain’s innings in June with 125* v Glamorgan
1928 Double Harrys: Harold Harry Gibbons opened for Worcs and William Henry (Harry) Ashdown and Harold Hardinge opened for Kent.
1927 Tennyson made the fastest first-class century for Hampshire on the ground v Gloucestershire in 55 minutes
1926 Future MCC secretary Ronnie Aird made his only hundred at Northlands Road
1925 Irish amateur TO Jameson made a century v Warwickshire batting at number 8
1924 Alec Kennedy took his second Southampton hat-trick v Gloucs. Hampshire beat Surrey by one wicket.
1923 Hearne & Hendren added a 3rd wicket record of 375 for Middlesex
1922 Alec Kennedy took 7-71 and scored 70 v Sussex who still won by 10 runs. He took 190 wickets in the season, a record for Hampshire
1921 Australia with 708-7 dec made the highest first-class innings on the ground. Phil Mead’s 280* v Notts was the highest Hampshire innings on the ground.
“The cricket grounds where we watched the heroes of our boyhood can never be in our minds solely the fields of the current generation of players. When Philip Mead died during the winter, the BBC met the demands of topicality by broadcasting an obituary talk. It was also their idea that during the cricket season and from the County Ground at Southampton, a subsequent and longer piece should be put out in his memory. When they asked me to make this broadcast I wondered if I had not written and said all that I could about him. Yet the place seemed to create a different setting and a different demand. That monumentally reliable batsman, Philip Mead, is dead. But we who were boys in Hampshire in my generation – or, for that matter, in the two generations on either side of it – can never, as long as we live, see this County Ground at Southampton without remembering him. Even now, when I buy an evening paper and turn to the stop press cricket scores, I feel as if I am going to read once more that Philip Mead – a hundred and twenty-two not out – has saved the Hampshire innings.” (Cricket Journal 1958)1920 Brown and EIM Barrett achieved a record partnership of 321 for the 2nd wicket v Gloucestershire
1919 All Championship matches during this season were played over two days but play was extended and in two matches (v Gloucs & Surrey) the teams exceeded 600 runs in a day – ground records.
1914 Fast bowler Arthur Jacques took 7-51 v Warwickshire in his last season. He was killed in action during the Great War. Hampshire finished 5th – their best to that date.
1913 CH Abercrombie scored a century on his Hampshire debut v Oxford University (not his first-class debut)
1912 Hampshire defeated Australia for the first and only time
1911 Hampshire scored 463-8 v Kent – 105 short of a victory target of 568 but a record 4th innings score at the ground
1910 Lancashire scored 404-5 to win the match. CB Lewellyn was the first Hampshire player to do the double
1909 Jack Newman took a hat-trick v Australia”If you look at the railings in front of the pavilion on the county cricket ground at Southampton you will see, just above ground level, a number of dents, curving in towards the pavilion. Almost forty years ago….Jack Newman, pointed to those dents and said to me, only half-humorously – “see those dents – all made by chaps edging my faster ball.” Jack was one of the greatest of Hampshire cricketers. He was the last survivor of the four great professionals – Philip Mead, George Brown, & Alec Kennedy were the others – who, for years carried Hampshire cricket on their strong backs and were, arguably, as fine a group as any county has ever possessed at the same time.” (1967 in Arlott on Cricket 1985)1908 24 year-old John Badcock from Bournemouth took 26 wkts in six matches at Southampton and 212 wkts in three seasons but never played again after 1908.
1907 Wicket-keeper James Stone scored 97* in the victory v Derbyshire
1906 J Greig who later became a priest opened the batting v Derbyshire. The Rev WV Jephson appeared in the same match.
1905 AJL Hill’s scored two centuries in the match v Somerset (only Mead 1913, Richards 1976 and Hayden 1997 have equalled the feat at Southampton)
1904 Webb scored 162* v Somerset in his benefit match
1903 The victory against Derbyshire was Hampshire’s only success of the season
1902 Author Hesketh-Prichard took 6-39 in the Sussex total of 72 but Hampshire lost by 8 wickets.
1901 South African CB Llewellyn hit 216 for Hampshire v South Africa in the tourists’ first match in England. Hampshire made 538 and Hill and Greig also made centuries. Lewellyn also took 14-171 v Worcs, the only instance of 14 wickets in a match for Hampshire on the ground.
1900 Hampshire lost the services of Wynyard, Poore and Heseltine to military service in the Boer War
1899 ER Bradford was called for throwing in the match v Australia
1898 The match v Yorkshire was Hampshire’s lowest-ever match aggregate (235 for 30 wickets). It was Harry Baldwin’s benefit match but finished in one day and Baldwin made a loss on the event.
1897 Bainbridge & Diver of Warwickshire did not bowl in the match v Warwickshire – (all eleven of Hampshire bowled)
1896 EG Wynyard scored 268 for Hampshire v Yorkshire
1895 The match v Derbyshire was particularly significant because it was Hampshire’s first home match in the County Championship. Walter Mead (Essex) took 17-119 – record match figures on the ground
1894 The victory v Sussex was the first in any match after opponents had declared
1893 Future Club President AJL Hill joined Hampshire as a batsman
1892 Dr.Russell Bencraft became captain of the side
1891 Winchester won the Challenge Cup for the second consecutive season
1890 The leading batsman and bowler (Wynyard and Barton) were both Military Officers
1889 The groundsman’s donkey disappeared, leading to a 10/- reward
1888 Tom Soar was engaged as the new groundsman
1887 FE Lacey’s innings of 323* v Norfolk remains the highest on the ground and in a minor county match
1886 Lt Col J Fellowes was Hampshire’s player-secretary
1885 Hampshire moved to Northlands Road from the Antelope Ground in Southampton.
1879 The County Club was reorganised with Russell Bencraft as secretary
1876 W Mycroft (Derbyshire) took 17-103 on the Antelope Ground – a record against Hampshire.
1865 First first-class victory v Surrey at Antelope Ground Southampton
1864 Formation of the modern county club.Dave AllenHCCC Heritage 2000

‘We have come back in the match after the breakthrough’ © AFP

Danish Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, feels his wicket of Mahendra Singh Dhoni shortly before stumps on day two was a turning point for Pakistan in the Feroz Shah Kotla Test. Kaneria said that moment allowed Pakistan the chance to come back in the game, and given the aim was to set India at least a 300-run target, he could have a winning role in the series opener.”Sachin Tendulkar’s run out and disturbing the Dhoni-[VVS] Laxman partnership were important” said Kaneria after an absorbing day’s play. “Dhoni’s wicket was a good breakthrough, especially when they have a long tail. Dhoni is in good form and is an aggressive player who keeps the scoreboard ticking. So claiming his wicket has helped the team a lot.”India were in serious trouble at 93 for 5 but a115-run sixth-wicket stand between Laxman and Dhoni took them extremely close to Pakistan’s total of 231. Kaneria still felt the match was could swing either team’s way.”This is a five-day match and every day is different with one team up one day and another the next day. Today it is balanced,” he said. “We have come back in the match after the breakthrough. Tomorrow morning we will do well.”Batting on day four, said Kaneria, would not be easy. “We did not have the first innings advantage but we’ll give them a target as the fourth day will be difficult to bat with the wicket deteriorating and becoming very slow and low. If we give them a target of 300 we can win the match.”There has not been much sunlight on these two days so wicket has not broken yet. It could be difficult to play spin tomorrow. We will like to come and bowl them out in the morning tomorrow. I can have a vital role in winning the match for Pakistan.”Meanwhile, injured fast bowler Umar Gul, ruled out of this Test with a back sprain, remains in doubt for the second Test. According to Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, Pakistan may call up Rao Iftikhar Anjum as his replacement. “I don’t think Gul will be fit for the second Test. We may bring Iftikhar Anjum back to India,” Salahuddin told PTI. “Iftikhar did very well in the ODIs against South Africa.”An unnamed source in the Pakistan team disclosed that a decision on Gul would be taken in the next few days. “We have sent the [MRI] reports to Pakistan and after consulting with the orthopedics and other medical experts a decision will be taken on whether to retain him or send him back,” the source said.