Hampshire 2017 thread

[SaintPowelly]

Why send in McManus with Berg and Abbott available

[budgetmeansbudget]

500 up, now to get 20 wickets.

[st_brendy]

Matt Salisbury follows in Andy Carter's steps from last season.

[budgetmeansbudget]

W 4 W.

[st_brendy]

Trott will be able to bat apparently, but not available to do so today. Just how injured he is, will be interesting.

[st_brendy]

We're bowling fine, so I'm not advocating a change. But if ever there is a prefect time for Crane to bowl, it's this situation. Huge score on the board, opposition batsmen in all sort of trouble, slow pitch leading to attacking shots being difficult to execute. Strong possibility that Crane's poor balls wouldn't be punished (and even if they are, so what).

[st_brendy]

Lovely end to the day.

[budgetmeansbudget]

Lovely end to the day.

Yep, and Crane to boot.

[st_brendy]

Lovely end to the day.

Yep, and Crane to boot.

And even better!

[st_brendy]

Trott will be able to bat apparently, but not available to do so today. Just how injured he is, will be interesting.

A family emergency lead to Trott not being able to take part today, rather than an injury. Hope everything is OK.

[st_brendy]

If we win and Somerset draw, we'll be around 50 - 55 points clear of the relegation zone. That is an exceptionally healthy gap. That's three wins.

We will also be top of the table again, and the only side in division with three victories (albeit we would have played one game more than six sides, and two more than Middlesex).

To put those three victories (if we get the third!) into context, over the 16 games last season we only won twice. In 2015 we won four out of 16. In 2011 (when we went down) we won three out of 16. In 2010 we won three out of 16. In 2009 we won three out of 16. You have to go back to 2008, when Tommo had a wonder season and Tahir was discovered from practically nowhere, for the last time we have a respectable win total: five wins out of 16 - and with it, a 3rd placed finish.

[budgetmeansbudget]

If we do manage to win this game and we keep up the same win percentage to the end of the season, 7 could easily be enough to win the title!

[Durhamfootman]

Hants are having a terrific season, so far

[budgetmeansbudget]

Hants are having a terrific season, so far

We capitulated a bit in the Royal London, in the CC we did against Essex too. Apart from that it's been pretty good.

[st_brendy]

Hants are having a terrific season, so far

Signing Abbott has obviously been the number one reason. I'd suggest he is just above Coad, Stevens and Porter as the best bowler in the county championship so far this season.

But no injuries in the batting line-up, additional batting depth through signing Bailey and Rilee (which not just adds international experience, but also means that people cannot just take their place in the starting XI for granted), an extra year of experience for the likes of McManus and Crane, and, to be frank, pretty shocking opposition in the form of Somerset and Warks in recent days, have all helped as well.

Had to we not lost Fidel and then Wheal during the drawn matches to Yorkshire and Middlesex, we might well have won those games too. Trying to bowl both of those sides out on the fourth day with a strike bowler down was always going to be tough. In which case we could have been looking at five wins out of six in 48 hours time. Not to be, that is sport.

(Not to be disrespectful to Somerset and Warks. We more than most know what it is like to be in their shoes).