Three new Hampshire Books

The Hampshire Handbook for 2000 has been published and is now available from the club at £7.50.

It provides extensive coverage of the 1999 season, thanks to statistics supplied by scorer Vic Isaacs, while Will Kendall provides a weekly commentary on the season from a player's point of view, including insights into his fellow players, taken from his weekly articles for The Hampshire Chronicle.

Events of the past century are reflected in an article by Dave Allen on one of the greatest games, the 1950 tie with Kent; while the 1900 season is recorded, although since it was Hampshire's most disastrous season ever, editor Andrew Renshaw admits it might have been best forgotten.

Another match with Kent is featured in an article by the editor on the Whitsun game of 1921, which was marred by a tragedy that befell the Cornwallis brothers who were appearing on opposing sides. Shortly after the match started, the brothers were informed that their eldest brother, an Army officer serving in Northern Ireland, had been shot dead the previous day in an IRA atrocity. The story of the shooting, in which four people were mown down in cold blood, is told for the first time. Oswald Cornwallis, who was in the Hampshire team, took no part in the game against Kent - and this was to be his only match for the county. A superb but rarely seen team photograph accompanies the article.

A more recent tragedy, the death of Malcolm Marshall last November, is recorded through the eulogy which former captain Mark Nicholas gave both at the funeral in Barbados and at the memorial service in Southampton in March. A portrait of Malcolm Marshall appears on the first page inside the handbook.

In the aftermath of Marshall's death, and in the light of the signing of Shane Warne for the 2000 season, Andrew Renshaw has detailed the enormous contribution made to Hampshire cricket by its overseas stars, who have included such greats as Roy Marshall, Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge and Andy Roberts. It therefore comes as a surprise that the player with the highest batting average was Linden Joseph, who averaged 152 in 1990: the only problem being that he was signed for his bowling!

Other articles cover the World Cup '99 and Hampshire's 2000 beneficiary, Adrian Aymes. Hampshire CCC Handbook 2000: £7.50. Available from the Hampshire Shop at the County Ground, or post free from Hampshire CCC, County Ground, Northlands Road, Southampton SO15 2UE.

Still available, price £6, is the Handbook for 1954. Wisden 2000 editor Matthew Engel writes in the newly published almanack:

"The most remarkable cricket publication of the year was perhaps the Hampshire County Cricket Club Handbook - for 1954. It was finally produced, in the style of the time, 45 years late by the 1999 editor, Andrew Renshaw. The handbook originally failed to come out due to financial problems, leaving collectors with an irritating gap."

In the review of the 1999 county handbooks, Wisden says: "Hampshire get high marks for clarity."

THE 52nd book in the series of Famous Cricketers produced by the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians is devoted to Malcolm Marshall.

The book gives a complete statistical record of every match in which he played, with career records updated at the end of each season. This monumental task was undertaken by Vic Isaacs, with a commentary by Dave Allen, and provides a well researched tribute to the great West Indian and Hampshire bowler.

The 110 page book is available price £9.50 post free from the ACS, 3 Radcliffe Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 5FF, or from the Hampshire Shop.

At the end of the cricket season in 2000 Hampshire will move from the County Ground near the centre of Southampton to a new stadium on the edge of the city. The old ground at Northlands Road has a history reaching back to 1885 and a vast archive of cricketing memories. Former Hampshire cricketers are fondly remembered and most of the great international cricketers have played at Northlands Road. This is a ground on which Bradman played and scored a century.

Two years of concentrated work by Richard Binns have come to fruition with the publication of a book planned to coincide with the final season of Hampshire at its home ground. Over the past two seasons Richard has been busy photographing and collecting other images of the ground. During this time, and dozens of films later, more than 2000 pictures have has been accumulated to record the ground and to document the atmosphere of a typical day's cricket at the County Ground.

The new book contains over three hundred colour and black and white pictures as well as specially commissioned sketches. The images are of a ground which will soon be a building site and a distant memory. Intended to do more than just record what it used to look like, the excellent photographs, sketches and text convey the charm and unique ambience of the County Ground.

Arranged to take the reader on a final stroll around the ground, the pictures of the buildings, views, people, cricketers in action and many other activities recall typical days at Northlands Road. When cricket is no longer played there, the book will be a pleasant reminder of times spent at Hampshire's historic County Ground.

The definitive souvenir publication "Close of play at Northlands Road" by Richard Binns will be available from the Hampshire Shop and from the Administration Office at the County Ground. Or, it can be ordered direct from Chipstone Books, High Trees, Botley Road, Curdridge, Hampshire. SO32 2DS. (Tel 01489 786430). Price £9.99 softback and £14.99 presentation hardback. (UK postage and packing £1.85). All cheques payable to "Chipstone Books".