Joe Weatherley has called on his generation at Hampshire to turn around the county’s disappointing recent Vitality Blast record.
Hampshire won just two matches in the T20 competition this year to finish rock bottom of the South Group, having failed to qualify for the knockout stages in 2016, 2018 and 2019, writes Alex Smith.
It has been a far cry from the all-conquering side which won the tournament in 2010 and 2012 and reached Finals Day in seven out of eight years between 2010 and 2017.
And batsman Weatherley reckons Mason Crane, Tom Alsop, Lewis McManus and Aneurin Donald need to start influencing matches similarly to how James Vince, Chris Wood, Danny Briggs and Liam Dawson did at their age in the glory years.
“The T20 campaign was particularly disappointing and is something we have lost our way at slightly,” 23-year-old St Cross Symondians raised Weatherley said.
“We had those years of success at what feels like a long time ago now and I feel like we have been slightly left behind in that format.
“You think back to those years of success and you knew when Briggs, Dawson, Carberry, Adams and Vince were going to bat and all knew their roles.
“They were ahead of the game domestically and our challenge is to drastically improve and get ahead of that curve again.
“It is a tough one because we are known as a successful white-ball team and our challenge recently has been to compete in the Championship – that is still a key goal of ours.”
Hampshire have slowly turned the focus to the County Championship in recent season, with 47 years progressing since they were red ball champions.
Multiple formats
But Essex’s Championship and Blast double last season proved to Weatherley that it doesn’t need to be one or the other.
“If you look at a team like Essex they have done it the right way,” Weatherley said. “They have built from within. They have developed young players and added in outstanding overseas and Kolpak players, and I think that is the template.
“When you look at our team, the likes of myself Mason, Donald and Alsop can progress in a similar way to some of the Somerset and Essex players then we have the star overseas to supplement them.
“It is no doubt tough to compete across multiple formats due to the relentless nature of the schedule; and for a lot of guys their game plan can change quite a lot between format.”
A winter where fewer players will jet out the country to play and train overseas is likely to mean more time as a group at the Ageas Bowl.
And Weatherley believes that could benefit team spirit and Hampshire’s fortunes in the long term.
“It does look like a long and bleak winter, especially if we can’t go away,” Weatherley said.
“But I think once the guys have got their heads around this year and had some time off we will have no option but to really gel together and get better.
“We have got a lot of learnings and a lot of places to get better from the season.
“It is a really good chance to settle in with the coaches and the playing group and look inwardly at how we get better both individually and as a group.”
Hampshire won just two matches in the T20 competition this year to finish rock bottom of the South Group, having failed to qualify for the knockout stages in 2016, 2018 and 2019, writes Alex Smith.
It has been a far cry from the all-conquering side which won the tournament in 2010 and 2012 and reached Finals Day in seven out of eight years between 2010 and 2017.
And batsman Weatherley reckons Mason Crane, Tom Alsop, Lewis McManus and Aneurin Donald need to start influencing matches similarly to how James Vince, Chris Wood, Danny Briggs and Liam Dawson did at their age in the glory years.
“The T20 campaign was particularly disappointing and is something we have lost our way at slightly,” 23-year-old St Cross Symondians raised Weatherley said.
“We had those years of success at what feels like a long time ago now and I feel like we have been slightly left behind in that format.
“You think back to those years of success and you knew when Briggs, Dawson, Carberry, Adams and Vince were going to bat and all knew their roles.
“They were ahead of the game domestically and our challenge is to drastically improve and get ahead of that curve again.
“It is a tough one because we are known as a successful white-ball team and our challenge recently has been to compete in the Championship – that is still a key goal of ours.”
Hampshire have slowly turned the focus to the County Championship in recent season, with 47 years progressing since they were red ball champions.
Multiple formats
But Essex’s Championship and Blast double last season proved to Weatherley that it doesn’t need to be one or the other.
“If you look at a team like Essex they have done it the right way,” Weatherley said. “They have built from within. They have developed young players and added in outstanding overseas and Kolpak players, and I think that is the template.
“When you look at our team, the likes of myself Mason, Donald and Alsop can progress in a similar way to some of the Somerset and Essex players then we have the star overseas to supplement them.
“It is no doubt tough to compete across multiple formats due to the relentless nature of the schedule; and for a lot of guys their game plan can change quite a lot between format.”
A winter where fewer players will jet out the country to play and train overseas is likely to mean more time as a group at the Ageas Bowl.
And Weatherley believes that could benefit team spirit and Hampshire’s fortunes in the long term.
“It does look like a long and bleak winter, especially if we can’t go away,” Weatherley said.
“But I think once the guys have got their heads around this year and had some time off we will have no option but to really gel together and get better.
“We have got a lot of learnings and a lot of places to get better from the season.
“It is a really good chance to settle in with the coaches and the playing group and look inwardly at how we get better both individually and as a group.”