Sun kissed Barbados, oft referred to as the Pearl of the Caribbean.
Lively calypso beats, rum punch, some of the world’s best beaches and, of course, cricket – the home of many of the legends of the game.
The three W’s, Sir Garfield Sobers, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffiths, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and the late, great Malcolm Marshall. And a whole lot more.
For the past week and a bit, Barbados has been ‘home’ for Hampshire’s cricketers, who have been preparing there for the new county season - anxious to avoid a repeat of 2015, when their first summer back in the top flight of domestic cricket remained in doubt until they celebrated a somewhat unexpected victory over Nottinghamshire on the final day of the season.
It’s the sixth successive ‘pre-season’ they’ve been to the exotic Caribbean island, its white beaches fringed with swaying palms and lobster-boiled holidaymakers slapping on the factor 30-plus.
But this has been no holiday for the Hampshire boys.
Yes, the sun has shone – but they’ve sweated in their rigorous training routines, practiced hard in the nets and enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, with the Barbados A team and Nottinghamshire providing the match opposition.
“It’s been an invaluable trip,” agreed former Hampshire skipper Jimmy Adams.
“Having the sun on your backs while you are training or playing is crucial. It’s far better for us to be out in the Caribbean playing on hard surfaces as opposed to experiencing the cold of the UK.
“We’ve got that to look forward to next week !”
Based in the upmarket (perhaps even exclusive) Apes Hill golf and polo complex in the north of the island, Hampshire trained at the remote and aptly named Isolation Cavaliers ground in the parish of St Andrew, located on the harsh, storm bruised Atlantic coast.
Driving across rough terrain, pot holed roads and with a distinct lack of signposting, exotic locations such as Hangman’s Bay, Morgan Lewis Beach and Harrison’s Cave pass you by.
Upon eventual arrival, you half expect a signboard ‘Captain Flint’s treasure buried here’ and see Long John Silver still hopping about, crutch beneath his arm-pit and parrot on his shoulder, trying to find the bounty.
Blackbeard, Henry Morgan pirate country back in the Seventeenth century : it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to a tee ...
If Long John didn’t unearth any nuggets, then Hampshire did - because several younger members of the touring party really shone, none more so than Tom Alsop, who made two unbeaten half-centuries, having top scored in the initial twenty20 cup defeat by Notts.
He made a positive 31 on a testing Kensington Oval surface against Notts and followed it up with a real confidence boosting knock of 79 against Barbados A, and an unbeaten 50 in the two-day game with the Trent Bridge side.
Lewis McManus, who gave a hint of his potential when he played in last season’s County Championship games against Yorkshire at Headingley and hit a game saving half-century to deny Durham last July, put another fifty to his name against Notts in the friendly at Windward Sports Club on Wednesday.
Three days later, he made another half-century, this time against Barbados A at the Kensington Oval, where Joe Weatherley caught the eye with an elegant 84.
While Alsop, McManus and Weatherley were shining with the bat, Brad Wheal took the majority of the bowling credits.
Wicket-less in the nine-run t20 defeat by Nottinghamshire, Wheal ripped the Barbados A batting to shreds with a 5-18 return in the victorious Plate final at Bridgetown.
He had the Bajan top three all caught and later returned to the Hampshire attack to knock over two more poles and finish with a first ever ‘fiver-fer’ in county colours.
Wheal’s return set up an eventual Alsop inspired seven-wicket victory.
But the Durban raised 19-year old South African, who has penned a two-year Ageas Bowl deal, wasn’t finished.
He weighed in with a subsequent 3-13 spell against Notts at Windward, accounting for Chris Read, Ben Hutton and former England Under-19 all-rounder Anuj Dal.
Barbados is a long way from Scotland cricket headquarters in Edinburgh, but having been overlooked for the Cricket World Cup, Wheal (who qualifies on account of his mother being Scottish) will hope his bowling feats in the Caribbean won’t have gone unnoticed north of the border.
Brad Taylor looks to have matured into a decent spin all-rounder following his captaincy of the England team in the ICC Under-19 CWC in Bangladesh and put together a number of useful performances, as did leggie team-mate Mason Crane.
One way and another the younger members of the party reaped some real benefits from the trip and certainly put their names forward for the impending summer season.
Hampshire results –
v Nottinghamshire, Bridgetown Oval, March 13
Notts 150-4 (Smith 78*, Mullaney 39, Wood 2-19) Hampshire 141-8 (Alsop 31, Taylor 23*, Carberry 20). Notts won by nine runs.
v Barbados A, Bridgetown Oval, March 13
Barbados A 109-9 (St Hill 31, Wheal 5-18) Hampshire 112-3 (Alsop 78*). Hampshire won by seven wickets.
v Nottinghamshire, Windward Sports Club, March 15/16
Notts 179-2 (Libby 103*, Lumb 27, Crane 2-24) and 81-5 (Read 25, Wheal 3-13).
Hampshire 93-1 (Alsop 50*, Adams 34*) and 208-6 (McManus 51*, Smith 39, Wheater 38, Wood 29). Match drawn.
v Barbados A, Bridgetown Oval, March 18/19
Barbados A 210 (Goodman-Welcome 86, Stuart 52, Ervine 3-22)
Hampshire 345-7 (Weatherley 84, Carberry 73, Wheater 64, McManus 58, Stuart 3-66)
Barbados A 173-5 (Corbin 116, St Clair 32, Taylor 3-90)
Match drawn
Lively calypso beats, rum punch, some of the world’s best beaches and, of course, cricket – the home of many of the legends of the game.
The three W’s, Sir Garfield Sobers, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffiths, Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes and the late, great Malcolm Marshall. And a whole lot more.
For the past week and a bit, Barbados has been ‘home’ for Hampshire’s cricketers, who have been preparing there for the new county season - anxious to avoid a repeat of 2015, when their first summer back in the top flight of domestic cricket remained in doubt until they celebrated a somewhat unexpected victory over Nottinghamshire on the final day of the season.
It’s the sixth successive ‘pre-season’ they’ve been to the exotic Caribbean island, its white beaches fringed with swaying palms and lobster-boiled holidaymakers slapping on the factor 30-plus.
But this has been no holiday for the Hampshire boys.
Yes, the sun has shone – but they’ve sweated in their rigorous training routines, practiced hard in the nets and enjoyed some valuable time in the middle, with the Barbados A team and Nottinghamshire providing the match opposition.
“It’s been an invaluable trip,” agreed former Hampshire skipper Jimmy Adams.
“Having the sun on your backs while you are training or playing is crucial. It’s far better for us to be out in the Caribbean playing on hard surfaces as opposed to experiencing the cold of the UK.
“We’ve got that to look forward to next week !”
Based in the upmarket (perhaps even exclusive) Apes Hill golf and polo complex in the north of the island, Hampshire trained at the remote and aptly named Isolation Cavaliers ground in the parish of St Andrew, located on the harsh, storm bruised Atlantic coast.
Driving across rough terrain, pot holed roads and with a distinct lack of signposting, exotic locations such as Hangman’s Bay, Morgan Lewis Beach and Harrison’s Cave pass you by.
Upon eventual arrival, you half expect a signboard ‘Captain Flint’s treasure buried here’ and see Long John Silver still hopping about, crutch beneath his arm-pit and parrot on his shoulder, trying to find the bounty.
Blackbeard, Henry Morgan pirate country back in the Seventeenth century : it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to a tee ...
If Long John didn’t unearth any nuggets, then Hampshire did - because several younger members of the touring party really shone, none more so than Tom Alsop, who made two unbeaten half-centuries, having top scored in the initial twenty20 cup defeat by Notts.
He made a positive 31 on a testing Kensington Oval surface against Notts and followed it up with a real confidence boosting knock of 79 against Barbados A, and an unbeaten 50 in the two-day game with the Trent Bridge side.
Lewis McManus, who gave a hint of his potential when he played in last season’s County Championship games against Yorkshire at Headingley and hit a game saving half-century to deny Durham last July, put another fifty to his name against Notts in the friendly at Windward Sports Club on Wednesday.
Three days later, he made another half-century, this time against Barbados A at the Kensington Oval, where Joe Weatherley caught the eye with an elegant 84.
While Alsop, McManus and Weatherley were shining with the bat, Brad Wheal took the majority of the bowling credits.
Wicket-less in the nine-run t20 defeat by Nottinghamshire, Wheal ripped the Barbados A batting to shreds with a 5-18 return in the victorious Plate final at Bridgetown.
He had the Bajan top three all caught and later returned to the Hampshire attack to knock over two more poles and finish with a first ever ‘fiver-fer’ in county colours.
Wheal’s return set up an eventual Alsop inspired seven-wicket victory.
But the Durban raised 19-year old South African, who has penned a two-year Ageas Bowl deal, wasn’t finished.
He weighed in with a subsequent 3-13 spell against Notts at Windward, accounting for Chris Read, Ben Hutton and former England Under-19 all-rounder Anuj Dal.
Barbados is a long way from Scotland cricket headquarters in Edinburgh, but having been overlooked for the Cricket World Cup, Wheal (who qualifies on account of his mother being Scottish) will hope his bowling feats in the Caribbean won’t have gone unnoticed north of the border.
Brad Taylor looks to have matured into a decent spin all-rounder following his captaincy of the England team in the ICC Under-19 CWC in Bangladesh and put together a number of useful performances, as did leggie team-mate Mason Crane.
One way and another the younger members of the party reaped some real benefits from the trip and certainly put their names forward for the impending summer season.
Hampshire results –
v Nottinghamshire, Bridgetown Oval, March 13
Notts 150-4 (Smith 78*, Mullaney 39, Wood 2-19) Hampshire 141-8 (Alsop 31, Taylor 23*, Carberry 20). Notts won by nine runs.
v Barbados A, Bridgetown Oval, March 13
Barbados A 109-9 (St Hill 31, Wheal 5-18) Hampshire 112-3 (Alsop 78*). Hampshire won by seven wickets.
v Nottinghamshire, Windward Sports Club, March 15/16
Notts 179-2 (Libby 103*, Lumb 27, Crane 2-24) and 81-5 (Read 25, Wheal 3-13).
Hampshire 93-1 (Alsop 50*, Adams 34*) and 208-6 (McManus 51*, Smith 39, Wheater 38, Wood 29). Match drawn.
v Barbados A, Bridgetown Oval, March 18/19
Barbados A 210 (Goodman-Welcome 86, Stuart 52, Ervine 3-22)
Hampshire 345-7 (Weatherley 84, Carberry 73, Wheater 64, McManus 58, Stuart 3-66)
Barbados A 173-5 (Corbin 116, St Clair 32, Taylor 3-90)
Match drawn
