A New Zealand & Hampshire Connection

Following the recent announcement of the signing of New Zealand international, Colin de Grandhomme, for this summer's Vitality Blast, Hampshire Cricket's historian Dave Allen looks back at the Blackcap connection with Hampshire.

In Hampshire County Cricket Club’s first-ever match in 1864 their side included Australian John Lord, while at the turn of the century one of their key players was the South African Test all-rounder CB Llewellyn and for twenty years from 1953 West Indian batsman Roy Marshall was a dynamic batsman during some of the county’s finest years. More recently, a number of Pakistan cricketers have featured in Hampshire’s white ball sides, but there has only ever been one Indian (Rahane in 2019) and few New Zealanders although perhaps we have more connections with the ‘Kiwis’ than is immediately apparent. In terms of the club’s history, the first is the most important:

Representing Hampshire

David O’Sullivan, from Palmerston North, New Zealand was a slow-left-arm bowler who from 1971-1973, played in 26 first-class matches for Hampshire, taking 84 wickets at 23.82; five times taking five or more wickets in an innings. He played only occasionally in the first half of the 1973 season but in Hampshire’s last six matches he took 33 wickets at 13.75 each and did as much as anyone in bowling them to the title. His best figures were 6-26 v Nottinghamshire at Bournemouth in the match before Hampshire clinched the Championship. Despite that performance, at the end of that season Hampshire had to choose between him and Andy Roberts as their second overseas player, and O’Sullivan was released. From 1974-1977 he played for Durham when they were still a Minor County, and from 1972/3-1976/7 he played in 11 Test Matches for New Zealand, taking 18 wickets.

In 2005, all-rounder Craig McMillan, from Christchurch, New Zealand played for Hampshire. in four first-class matches, five limited-overs matches and seven T20 matches, including a score of 65* in a victory v Middlesex at Richmond.

In 2008, the New Zealand international pace bowler Shane Bond had a brief spell with Hampshire and on his Championship debut v Sussex at the Rose Bowl he took 7-66, still the county’s best inter-county innings figures on debut (equalled by Imran Tahir, later in the same season). He played in only four Championship matches but in his final game v Durham at the Riverside Stadium, he took 5-57 & 4-72, finishing with 19 wickets at 19.21.  

In 2015, 39-year-old Andre Adams from Auckland, left Nottinghamshire and played a few games for Hampshire before retiring.

A New Zealand Connection

Slow left-armer John Southern, played for Hampshire 2^nd XI from 1975-1983, mainly in first-class matches, where he took 412 wickets for Hampshire at 29.81. He later played Southern League cricket with Deanery (Southampton) before moving to New Zealand.

In July 1981 Richard Hayward made his first-class debut for the county v the Sri Lankans and became the third of seven men to score a century on Hampshire debut (101*), but like the others, this was his county, not first-class, debut – he had played on previously for the Minor Counties. In 1985, he played for Somerset and scored 100* v Cambridge University, by which time he had emigrated to New Zealand, where he played for Central Districts, captaining them in 1984/5. He returned for the summers to coach Hampshire in the early 1990s.

Hampshire all-rounder and now BBC commentator Kevan James played for Wellington, New Zealand during the two ‘winters’ of 1982/3 and 1984/5.

Batsman Paul Whitaker, moved from Derbyshire to Hampshire in 1994. He made his first-class debut in September of that year at Leicester, scoring 94 in the second innings, which remains the highest innings for Hampshire, by a player making his first-class debut. In the next two seasons, he played in 25 first-class matches, with an average just short of 30, and including his only century, 119 v Worcestershire at Southampton, but there were fewer games in the next two years and having played in New Zealand for Central Districts in 1995/6, he moved there.

in 2016 Yeovil-born Gareth Andrew who played for Canterbury in 2012/13 joined Hampshire to cover an injury crisis.

Two Hampshire opening batsmen Johnny Arnold and Chris Smith made Test debuts v New Zealand at Lord’s and both suffered the same fate of being dismissed without scoring. Double international Arnold also played for England v Scotland at football but in 1931 came his ‘duck’ and despite 34 in the second innings he was never selected again. In 1983, Chris Smith was lbw Hadlee first ball although his 43 in the second innings led to more games and a Test highest score of 91 also v New Zealand in at Auckland in February 1984.

In July 2000, age 18, Chris Tremlett made his first-class debut v New Zealand ‘A’ at Portsmouth, and took a wicket with his first ball, and returned figures of 13-6-16-4.

Former Hampshire captain ‘Dimi’ Mascarenhas had a spell coaching New Zealand.