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Everyone at Hampshire Cricket thanks Mohammad Abbas for his services after a four-year stint with the Club
Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl thanks Mohammad Abbas after his four-year stint with the club.
In 47 First-Class matches for Hampshire, Abbas took 180 wickets at an average of just 19.26 and a strike rate of 48.13, as well as three wickets in four Metro Bank One-Day Cup matches.
Abbas departs the club after a fruitful four years due to the need to rebalance the squad.
Mohammad has consistently been one of the top performers in the County Championship and has unfailingly produced his very best for Hampshire time and time again. His character will be sorely missed in the dressing room and on the pitch, and everyone at the Club wishes him the very best in his career.
Winning the County Championship remains a top priority for the club. With James Vince moving to a white ball contract and young fast bowlers at the club pushing for more first team cricket, we are exploring alternative overseas player options, which will give the squad more balance as we look to go one step further than last year.
Giles White, Director of Men's Cricket
Pakistan international Abbas joined the Rose and Crown in 2021, and made in instant impact when, in his first home game for the club, he claimed figures of 6-11 to decimate Middlesex.
Of those six wickets, three came in succession as he claimed a hat-trick on his home debut.
Left-hander Max Holden prodded at a ball outside off stump and edged Abbas’ fifth ball to Joe Weatherley at third slip before Nick Gubbins was trapped lbw with the 12th ball of the Seaxes’ innings.
With his seventh ball as a Hampshire player at Utilita Bowl, he drew Stevie Eskinazi forward and found enough seam movement to take the outside edge which landed in the safe hands of Lewis McManus behind the stumps.
Abbas then picked up another two wickets in his third over as he removed Robbie White and Martin Andersson, both lbw, as he had five wickets inside seventeen balls.
His sixth wicket came when Sam Robson, who survived 53 balls, edged to Joe Weatherley.
Having helped dismiss Middlesex for just 79, Abbas set about marking his mark on the second innings, as he claimed 3-28 to end the game with match figures of 9-39 – his best figures as a Hampshire cricketer.
He went on to help Hampshire to fourth place in Division One of the three-division 2021 County Championship as he picked up 41 wickets in his debut season, as the club came within one ball of winning the title.
He also claimed three five-wicket hauls across the summer.
In 2022, Abbas was awarded with his county cap by then-Chairman Rod Bransgrove on his way to fifty wickets in the County Championship as Hampshire secured third place. So far for Mohammad Abbas – 91 wickets in two seasons with the Rose and Crown.
In the opening match of the 2023 summer, the metronomic Abbas picked up his fifth five-for for the club when his 6-49 helped demolish Nottinghamshire on the first day of the season. Three further wickets in the second innings, and Abbas had three figures to his name; 100 wickets in 24 matches for the Rose and Crown.
Another six wicket-haul followed in the very next game at the Oval with 6-64 as Abbas ended the summer with another 53 wickets to his name.
Three seasons, and 144 wickets for Hampshire averaging under 20.
2024 was a quieter year for the medium-fast bowler, by his exceptional standards, but it was still a profitable one for Abbas with 45 wickets.
He also showcased his abilities with the bat making 13* - his top score for the club – against Kent, helping Brad Wheal to a half-century.
Against Worcestershire, he clipped his first ball to the square leg boundary to bring up maximum batting points, with Nick Gubbins nearing a double century at the other end.
His final act as a Hampshire player was taking 5-98 in the final Championship game of the summer against Somerset to help the club secure second place, and Hampshire’s best finish in the County Championship since 2005.
Everyone at Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl wishes Mohammad Abbas all the best in his career, both domestic and international.
