Fletcha Middleton is a right-hand batter and right-arm off-spinner.
He was born in Winchester, Hampshire and is the son of former Hampshire cricketer and batting coach Tony Middleton.
Middleton appeared a star from a young age, first featuring in Hampshire’s Under 14s side, before progressing quickly into the Under 17s and Academy teams at just 15 years of age.
The right-handed batter has played in the club’s Second XI for quite some time and found his calling in the summer of 2019, scoring a pivotal unbeaten century (132*) in the side’s Second XI Championship Final.
Furthermore, he was selected as the best batter in the country from ECB Lions Super 4s, where the best Under 17 cricketers from around England & Wales gather.
Since then, Middleton has continued to perform for the Second XI, before earning a first team debut in a Royal London Cup match against Durham in August 2021.
He made more positive strides during the 2022 season, starting the season strongly for the Second XI before making his First-Class debut against a Sri Lanka Development XI in May, where he recorded a score of 64.
In August, he played in all ten of Hampshire’s matches in the Royal London Cup – scoring 219 runs – as a youthful Hampshire side impressed in reaching the semi-final of the competition.
The following season saw Middleton given a chance at the top of the order in the County Championship. He kept his spot for all 14 matches of the campaign, scoring 610 runs with four half-centuries – scoring a fifty in each innings against Nottinghamshire at Utilita Bowl.
He also opened the batting in the Metro Bank One Day Cup and scored his maiden century for the club during the opening group match against Middlesex. The batter’s 480 runs, which came at an average of just under 50, was the highest for the team during the competition as Hampshire fell just short of a first List A trophy since 2018.
Middleton scored a gritty maiden first-class century against Warwickshire in the second County Championship match of 2024. His 116 from 329 balls, part of a 213-run partnership with Nick Gubbins, helped Hampshire recover from 16-1.
An unbeaten 59 from 132 deliveries was also crucial in guiding Hampshire to a first win of the County Championship season against Nottinghamshire after the side were reduced to 44-5 chasing 169.
A second century of the season came against Lancashire, his 109 seeing Hampshire to a first innings total of 389 and eventual victory by an innings and 37 runs. He would finish the County Championship season with 604 runs to his name.
Making 24 appearances in 2024, Middleton racked up 806 runs, with four further half-centuries to add to his two tons.
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