Since the Friends Provident Trophy Quarter Final Hampshire’s cricketers have played 10 Twenty20 Cup games and 3 LV County Championship matches... in the space of 35 days. Thankfully, there is a week long break before the Semi Final against Lancashire at Old Trafford on 5th July. 

First Team Manager Giles White is obviously pleased. “It’s nice, isn’t it?” he laughs “It’s the first gap we’ve had in the schedule – we’ve been pretty busy. I think Lancashire have a Championship game on though, so that’s good for us. We can take our time to travel up and practice at Old Trafford the day before and we have a nice break beforehand. Those times to have a rest in the season are like gold – the guys have played a lot of intense cricket and we’ve been fortunate enough to be in the mix for all competitions which can be quite tiring, mentally as much as physically. I’m pleased we’ve got this break and hopefully it will stand us in good stead for the Semi Final – everyone will be raring to go.”

So what will the next week be like for the players? Giles was very keen to get his diary out and share his plans. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I’ve told the lads to get away – I don’t want to see them. I want them to have a break and I don’t want them to think about cricket. Whether or not they’ll do that, I don’t know!  Thursday we’re going to have individual practice sessions so I’ll be available – and so will the other coaches. On Friday we’ll have quite an intense group practice here at The Rose Bowl, and on Saturday we’ll travel early up to Old Trafford and have another good team practice there, followed by a team meeting and then a quiet night.

“That would be the norm for most games – if we were allowed the time. When we went to Durham it was ridiculous. T20 night game, so we didn’t get home until about 2 in the morning, then we had to leave at 8.30. We didn’t have time to have a practice when we got there so it was straight into a four day game after a Twenty20 game. Which was hard. The schedule’s challenging. It’s the same for everyone but I do wonder whether it’s a bit too much. It’s been said before by a number of players, coaches and managers but nothing seems to change. Hopefully one day the penny will drop.”

Photograph by Sarah Ansell

Having qualified for the quarter final stage of the Twenty20 Cup, does Giles think the positive momentum from that will help the team? “I don’t think it will affect it too much. We’re still in the mix for the Twenty20 but so are a lot of other good sides.

“The win over Lancashire in the Championship hasn’t done us any harm though. It’s a completely different game but it does give us a certain confidence that the guys have had success against those players.”

So will home advantage be important to Lancashire? Giles’ answer is an unequivocal yes. “We’re very comfortable playing here at The Rose Bowl and our record’s very good, and it’s the same for Lancashire at Old Trafford. We go there possibly as underdogs, but we’ve got to raise our game and win on their patch. It’s going to be a tough game, that’s for sure. Everyone realises that, but it’s a game that we can certainly win.

“It will be tremendous if we get some support up there. The fans have been exceptional so far, both at The Rose Bowl and when we’ve been away. It means a lot to the guys and it certainly helps us to perform well away from home.”

Barring disasters in the run up to the game, Giles has a bigger pool of players available for selection than he did for the quarter final, with Dimi back from England duty and Chris Tremlett back from injury. “It’s a great position to be in. Pretty much everyone is fit, touch wood” he says, grasping the table in the Atrium firmly. “Nearer the time Dimi and I will sit down and discuss the team and we’ll play the team we feel will win that game on that particular day. That’s how we select sides; sometimes we change things because of conditions, and unfortunately some guys will be disappointed, but that’s the nature of it; we can only have eleven players!”

And Dimi coming back means the team will be playing under a different captain. “I’ve been very lucky, and I think the club is very lucky, to have the two of them so that when Dimi’s not around we have a strong leader in Nic as well. I’ve really enjoyed working with Nic, but Dimi’s come back and taken over the reins, and he inevitably does things a different way. Potentially it could be difficult having two captains but there’s a nice dynamic between them and it’s worked out well. We all seem to agree on most things so there haven’t been too many issues.”

Duncan Fletcher’s arrival at The Rose Bowl is imminent, so will he have any input into the Semi Final? “Obviously I’ll speak to Duncan but he hasn’t seen a lot of the cricketers so it would be difficult for him to have too much input into selection. But he’ll be there as a helping hand and sounding board for players and coaches alike. He’s travelling to Old Trafford with us, so it will be good to have his experience.”

 

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