2014: Going Up!

Martin Chandler | 8:54am GMT 09 March 2025

Published: 2024
Pages: 16
Author: Allen, Dave
Publisher: Hampshire Cricket Heritage
Rating: 3 stars

‘Don’t the decades fly by’ was my immediate thought whilst I read through this one. It proved a pleasurable antidote to the slightly depressing sight of Rohit Sharma returning to form courtesy of England’s bowling in the recent ODI in Cuttack.

The premise of the booklet is simple enough. It is a celebration of Hampshire’s promotion season in 2014 and, after a brief preamble setting the scene historian Dave Allen goes through a match by match account of the season. He, understandably, spends a little more time on the home match against Essex, won by Hampshire by 470 runs and in the course of which many records were set.

By its very nature the description of the season will be a source of pleasant memories for Hampshire supporters, who would doubtless be happy to purchase the booklet even if pages 12, 13 and 14 weren’t there. They are though, and the memories and insights that they contain from skipper Jimmy Adams and teammates Giles White, Chris Wood and James Tomlinson raise this one to another level.

The booklet appears in a limited edition of 200 numbered copies all signed by the author. It is available from the Ageas Bowl for a mere fiver or, for those not local to Southampton, for £7.50 including UK postage and packing via hampshirecricketheritage@gmail.com. For those in Australia copies will soon be available from Roger Page.