Giles White Reviews A Successful Royal London Cup Campaign

Hampshire’s Royal London Cup campaign – one which saw the team win seven of their eight group stage matches – came to an end at the semi-final stage on Tuesday, at the hands of Kent Spitfires and an inspired Darren Stevens.

Hampshire were represented by a youthful side throughout the 50-over competition and led by Nick Gubbins. The side produced a number of memorable performances to finish top of Group B, before falling just short in Tuesday’s semi-final at The Ageas Bowl.

We sat down with Giles White, Hampshire’s Director of Cricket, to get his thoughts on the team’s performance in this year’s Royal London Cup.

The Royal London Cup campaign has come to an end at the semi-final stage, how proud of the team’s efforts are you?

We are immensely proud of the team; we’ve got a young group here who have been brilliant throughout this tournament. They have all stepped up and produced many memorable performances and results. Getting to the semi-final stage is a great achievement and we are looking forward to seeing what this group can produce in the future.

We saw the likes of Tom Prest, Toby Albert, John Turner, Jack Campbell and other young players all perform well in competition – how good was it to see the youngsters step up?

The younger players have been great. They’ve had limited First XI opportunities in the LV= County Championship and Vitality Blast, meaning they’ve spent more time developing in the Second XI. So, to see them take that opportunity in the manner that we have is very pleasing for everyone – both the coaching staff and the senior players.

Nick Gubbins took on the role as captain for the competition, how impressed were you with his performances and leadership?

Nick led to way superbly, scoring some crucial runs at the top of the order. He has always been a high-quality player but it’s also his attitude and enthusiasm which has been great to see in this competition. He’s also been supported by other senior players, such as Ben Brown and Keith Barker, in creating a winning environment which has allowed everyone’s ability and character to shine through.

The campaign may have ultimately ended in disappointment after not qualifying for the final, but is this a sign of things to come?

I think Nick spoke very well about it after the semi-final – of course we are disappointed we weren’t able to make it to the final but, over the course of the competition, we have gained that experience of winning games. We won a Club record number of games recently and this group played a massive part in that. It’s about looking at the positives that we are involved in these knockout games and these experiences will give us the hunger and motivation to win next time.

The Hampshire Members and fans have also played their part in the campaign, how thankful are you for their support?

We are extremely thankful for their support; it’s been amazing to see the huge engagement from our fans in this competition. We hope that it has encouraged them about the future of the Club and that they have enjoyed seeing these younger names in the First XI. Hopefully we can continue building and bringing them success.

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