Born On This Day: 21st October

Over many years, Hampshire have recruited more players from Middlesex, than any other county. They began with Charles Robson in 1889 and just over a century later Matthew Keech made the same journey south.

Born in 1970, Matthew was a batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler, who had played for England under-19s, and in 20 first-class matches for his first county, before making his Hampshire debut in 1994.

He played most regularly for Hampshire from 1996-1998, in 1996 scoring 793 runs with one century at 44.05, while in the following year there were two further centuries, including his best of 127 v Oxford University.

He played frequently in limited-overs matches (74) scoring 1,440 runs at 22.85, and his best of 98 came v Worcestershire at Southampton in 1995 in an exciting tied match – he shared a partnership of 158 with Paul Whitaker.

He left the staff after the 1999 season, having scored for Hampshire 2,240 first class runs (49 matches) at 32.46.  He played subsequently for Dorset in limited-overs cricket, and in the Southern Premier League, before pursuing a coaching career.

Also today: Keith Barker and Hamilton (Haigh-) Smith.