Hampshire cricket chairman Rod Bransgrove gives Ian Henderson his verdict on events on and off the field at the Rose Bowl

'IT'S been a disappointing season on the field... we've promised and not delivered,' says Rod Bransgrove as he reflects on the events of the past five months.

"We effectively finished 17th in the County Championship and 12th out of 19 in the National League... even though that was enough to get us promoted!

"We're glad to be back in Division 1, because we'll be playing some of the more attractive one day sides. We'll need to play better cricket next year in all competitions.

"But we've had a great year off the pitch, successfully hosting our first one day international and staging several sell out concerts.

"We've also been setting new standards for our hospitality, all of which enhances our standing in the game and in the local community."

Team's game plan was swept aside

The chairman says he has 'absolute confidence' in his cricket management team of Tim Tremlett, Paul Terry and Tony Middleton.

"Our game plan for the senior side was blown away before the season started when Shane Warne received his year long ban from the game," he admits.

"We badly missed both his leadership qualities and his sheer ability. But he'll be back here next summer and I fully expect him to make a big impact. He and Paul will make a formidable partnership."

Bransgrove has a lot of sympathy for John Crawley, who assumed the captaincy at short notice before the start of the season.

"We always knew that it was going to be a season of transition and John, like Paul, was in charge of the side at a difficult time.

"Several players underperformed and we lost experienced guys like Wasim Akram and Ed Giddins midway through the season. It wasn't easy for John and his own game suffered a bit as a result.

"I don't think he'll be too distraught if Shane takes over the captaincy next summer!"

Injuries and illness hit hard

Bransgrove admits that signing the injury-prone Giddins was 'a gamble that didn't work.'

But he says: "We knew that we would probably have injury problems with the quicker bowlers, but planned to perm combinations from among Ed, Wasim, Alan Mullally and Chris Tremlett.

"As it happened, the injury problems were worse than we feared and Wasim's unfortunate illness was totally unexpected.

"He was an absolute gent both on and off the pitch."

All that, plus the departures for various reasons of Robin Smith, Simon Katich and John Francis, leaves a few holes to fill in the playing staff.

New faces can be expected

The chairman says there are plans to bring in 'the right sort' of proven performers, but they won't include those who may have already had their best years.

"We've been down that road before, so names like Dominic Cork, for example, are unlikely to figure in our rebuilding plans," he says.

Bransgrove is keen to highlight the number of promising younger players who've made a mark this summer.

"We have a quartet of 'Jameses' who we hope to see developing further - Adams, Hamblin, Bruce and Tomlinson all have an important part to play alongside senior players like Crawley, Udal, Mascarenhas, Pothas, Tremlett and Kendall.

"The progress of those younger men this summer reflects great credit on Tony Middleton's work with both the 2nd XI and the Academy side.

"Winning the 2nd XI Trophy was without a doubt one of the most satisfying parts of the season."

The chairman says the one day international between South Africa and Zimbabwe was deemed a great success in terms of the county's handling of it. Hampshire have been rewarded by staging a NatWest Series match between the West Indies and New Zealand next July.

The ICC Champions Trophy competition will be staged in England next September and Bransgrove is lobbying hard for the Rose Bowl to stage a match.

"If we were to land an England game, we'd use temporary seating to increase our capacity up to at least 15,000," he says.

l Next week, the Hampshire chief outlines his thoughts for restructuring County Championship cricket.

He also reveals details of a major redevelopment of golfing facilities at the Rose Bowl complex and examines the financial health of Hampshire Cricket.