Hampshire Release Gatting, Barber & Akram

Batsman Joe Gatting along with bowlers Tom Barber and Basil Akram are leaving Hampshire Cricket having reached the end of their contracts.   

27-year old Gatting leaves after two seasons at the The Ageas Bowl in which he made 26 first-team appearances in all competitions. Gatting’s highest-score of 67 came in Hampshire’s LV= County Championship match against Derbyshire in April 2014 and the batsman will end the 2015 season with 280 runs from his four first-class appearances.

Barber, a left-arm seam bowler, progressed through the ranks of the Hampshire youth system and earned a two-year scholarship contract ahead of the 2014 season. The 20-year old’s career-highlight came in August 2014, when he dismissed experienced pair Kane Williamson and Andrew Gale in consecutive deliveries during his first competitive match for the club against Yorkshire at the The Ageas Bowl.

Akram signed for the club during the 2014 season after impressing on a number of occasions for the Hampshire Second XI and Loughborough MCCU. The right-arm pace bowler made his only first-team appearance in the 50-over match against Yorkshire in August 2014 at the The Ageas Bowl.