James Vince 'proud' despite Hampshire's 'disappointing' end to the season

In the hunt to end their long wait for the Division One title until the final weeks of the campaign, Hants ended 2022 with back-to-back losses.

Defeat at Kent officially ended their hopes of clinching top spot ahead of Surrey, with the loss to Warwickshire seeing Hampshire slip to end in third, with Lancashire runners-up.

Warwickshire required some heroic last-ditch bowling from Liam Norwell at Ageas Bowl last week to avoid relegation.

The Bournemouth-born talent posted career best figures of nine for 62, to clinch a five-run victory.

The hosts required 139 for victory, but slumped to 91 for seven, before Norwell completed the job just in time.

"After all the hard work we have put in over the summer, to finish with a couple of losses is disappointing," admitted Hampshire captain Vince.

"You have to credit Warwickshire for the spirit they showed. I think it shows that when you are playing for something, like staying in the division, you can find that little bit extra.

"Norwell has bowled an amazing spell, having not played much cricket, so he did really well to keep coming in like that.

"He got the most out of the pitch so credit to him, but it is a disappointing way for us to finish.

"All the hard work we did over the summer and staying so close to Surrey for so long but then it was a hard one to take when we lost that game (against Kent).

"We were still giving our all (against Warwickshire) but it is disappointing to finish third in the end when we probably deserved to finish second."

He added: "Looking back on the season across all three formats, we've been up there.

"Obviously got the trophy for the T20. We couldn't quite catch Surrey, despite giving it our all.

"But across the season in all formats, we've played some very good cricket and got a lot of wins under our belt.

"When we reflect on the season, I think we can be proud of what we've done this year."