Hampshire Hawks enjoyed a record-breaking T20 season on and off the pitch as the team made a tenth appearance at Finals Day and welcomed more than 50,000 fans to games at The Ageas Bowl.
The Hawks were unfortunate to lose to Essex Eagles in a semi-final which was heavily impacted by poor weather and saw them score the highest total of what was a rain-affected Finals Day at Edgbaston.
But despite the disappointment of not securing back-to-back Blast titles, the Hawks can look back positively on a season which saw the highest ever number of supporters attending a T20 game at The Ageas Bowl and the team reach an unprecedented tenth Finals Day.
The overall attendance of 56,051 across the eight home Blast fixtures – which included a quarter final with Worcestershire Rapids - was nearly 8,000 higher than the total for 2022 and a record for a single T20 season at The Ageas Bowl. The highest individual attendance came against Essex in a game which also saw the Hawks complete their record T20 run-chase – passing Essex’s score of 209 with four balls to spare, helped in no small part by James Vince’s 74 off 42 balls.
Vince’s string of impressive performances this season saw him pass Luke Wright’s long-standing record to become the leading domestic T20 run scorer; he now has more than 5,500 runs to his name in the competition, all scored during his 13-year professional career with the Hawks.
That form with the bat saw him named runner-up in the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s overall MVP rankings for the Blast competition and top the batting charts. He was also named in the team of the tournament by The Cricketer, alongside fellow Hawks Ben McDermott and Nathan Ellis, with John Turner – arguably the tournament’s breakthrough star – given an honourable mention after narrowly missing out.
The team were desperately unlucky to lose their semi-final, but there are plenty of reasons to look back positively at this season’s T20 tournament.
Greig Stewart, Head of Customer Experience at The Ageas Bowl
We’ve seen more supporters than ever attend out T20 games over the course of the season – including a growing number of young fans, which has been brilliant to see.
We’re incredibly fortunate to receive such superb backing and a lot of the players have commented publicly about how fantastic the atmosphere has been at T20 games this season – one of the best we’ve known.
Everyone at the club appreciates the amazing support we receive – not just at T20 games, but across the LV=Insurance County Championship and Metro Bank One Day Cup fixtures as well.
With the Hawks and the Vipers both continuing to be among the most-competitive teams in their domestic competitions, there has never been a better time to be a cricket supporter here in Hampshire.
Other season highlights included Hampshire securing their first-ever ten-wicket win in the Blast when they beat south coast rivals Sussex Sharks at The Ageas Bowl, comfortably passing Sussex’s 144 without losing a single wicket to take bragging rights in the ‘el clasicoast’ derby.
Initiatives to introduce a new generation of supporters to live cricket at The Ageas Bowl also proved successful, with more than 2,000 local school children enjoying a T20 game at the stadium alongside 1,500 players from local All Stars youth cricket sessions.
And as well as packing the stands at The Ageas Bowl, Hawks supporters also snapped up the new T20 shirts in impressive numbers, which were created in partnership with New Balance and featured club partners Connect It Utility Services, Hendy Group and Trade Nation.
Sales of the shirt, which included a quote from the late Shane Warne on the inside of the collar as a tribute to the Australia and Hampshire legend, were up 51 per cent compared to the 2022 version.
It wasn’t just the Hawks who had supporters flocking to The Ageas Bowl. The Southern Vipers, who are also based at the stadium and represent the region in domestic women’s T20 cricket, hosted two games at The Ageas Bowl on their way to successfully defending their Charlotte Edwards Cup title. The combined attendance of 6,671 across both games was a record total attendance for a single season of Charlotte Edwards Cup action at The Ageas Bowl.
The Business Development Executive will support the day-to-day operation of our hospitality and advertising sales efforts and play a key role in identifying new opportunities, leads, and supporting the delivery of memorable experiences for our guests.
The Business Development Executive will support the day-to-day operation of our hospitality and advertising sales efforts and play a key role in identifying new opportunities, leads, and supporting the delivery of memorable experiences for our guests.
Watch the live stream of Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Worcestershire at Utilita Bowl
