Meet the 2016 Hampshire Academy

Name: Felix Organ

D:O:B: 2nd June 1999

Playing Role: All-Rounder

Year in the Academy: Second

Club/School: St Cross Cricket Club & Canford School, Dorset

Thoughts ahead of the new season?

“Last year I performed better than I was expecting, but I would have like to have done better against the stronger teams in the league. This year, I’d like to try and be more consistent; whether that’s my batting, bowling of fielding. Last year we were lucky to have a lot of very good players, but it’s now up to us to step up and perform well like they did and I’m confident we will be able to do that.”  

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: Liam Dawson

Cricketing Hero: Kevin Pietersen

Interesting Fact: "I was born in Australia and I lived there until I was eight." 

Name: Tom Scriven

D:O:B: 18^th November 1998

Playing Role: All-Rounder

Year in the Academy: Third

School: Magdalen College School, Oxford

Thoughts ahead of the new season?

"Winning the U17 National Championship was brilliant last season and it was nice for me to usually come into bat for the last ten or fifteen overs to push the score on. I’ve been here for quite a long time now so it’ll be important for me to add some experience to the team and I'll enjoy being a senior player within the side.

"It always raises the enjoyment level, playing at a higher standard and competing in the Southern Electric Premier League is a good challenge. You are often playing against very good cricketers so it’s a good opportunity to see where you are."

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: Chris Wood

Cricketing Hero: Ian Botham

Interesting Fact: "I'm from Denmark!"

Name: Chris Searle

D:O:B: 23^rd December 1998

Playing Role: Fast-Bowler

Year in the Academy: Second

Club/School: Bagshot Cricket Club, Surrey, Hampton School, Middlesex

Thoughts ahead of the new season?

"Unfortunately, I missed a lot of last season through injury but I know the guys did well last year and there were a lot of impressive individual performances. I don’t really want to set myself any targets for this season, I just want to feel that I’ve done myself justice when I walk off the pitch."

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: David Balcombe

Cricketing Hero: Steven Finn

Interesting Fact: "My cousins are Jonny & Greg Searle, Olympic Gold Medallists in Rowing."  

Name: Ben Duggan

DOB: 28^th March 1998

Playing Role: Opening Batsman

Year in the Academy: Second 

Thoughts ahead of the new season?

"I think we did really well last year and it was nice to have important role personally too. It was great to gain experience and get to know the lads last year – hopefully we can build on that further this year.

"I played a fair few second XI games last year, it was challenging but it’s a good thing to go through if you want to progress further through the ranks. I hope to improve on my performances from last season and I’m always looking to score more runs. I think we can improve on our fourth place finish last year and we are capable of going further in the T20 competition too."

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: Jimmy Adams

Cricketing Hero: Adam Gilchrist 

Interesting Fact: "I sometimes sleepwalk!"

Name: Jake Goodwin

D:O:B: 19^th January 1998

Playing Role: All-Rounder

Year in Academy: Third

Thoughts ahead of the new season?

"An enjoyable part to being involved within the academy and being a more senior figure is being able to help a few of the younger guys through – it’s a big step up so it will be good to support them through that throughout the season. I’m impressed by the guys that have come up I think we’re going to bond well as a team as we all get on well and enjoy playing together.

"I think new can improve on fourth place this year – we’ve got a strong team and if we can be consistent throughout the season I can see us challenging at the top of the table."

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: Sean Ervine 

Cricketing Hero: Andrew Flintoff 

Interesting Fact: "I was born in Wiltshire."

Name: Josh McCoy

D:O:B: 2^nd March 1998

Playing Role: All-Rounder

Year in the Academy: Second

School/Club: Havant Cricket Club, Millfield School

"I’d like to see myself having an important role in the team this year – a captain of the Academy hasn’t been decided yet and I’d like to put my name forward for the role. Last year, I didn’t play as many games as I would have liked because of school, but I was happy with how I performed. I’d like to think I can improve on that this season and hopefully we can have another good season in the league and perhaps improve on our fourth-place position in 2015."

Comparison to Hampshire current or ex-senior player: Gareth Berg

Cricketing Hero: Andrew Flintoff

Interesting Fact: "It takes 10-15 minutes to do my hair!" 

Name: Rory Hipwell

D:O:B: 28^th September 1999

Playing Role: Fast-Bowler

Year in the Academy: First

School: St Edwards, Oxford

"Everyone has been really welcoming since I arrived here and I’ve settled in really well. I’m not sure what to expect at this stage, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing in the Premier League. I like to bowl fast and in short spells so hopefully I can make a quick impact to the team this year. I’ve been impressed with the standard of my team-mates, they are all class players and I’m really looking forward to playing with them."

Cricketing Hero: Andrew Flintoff

Interesting Fact: "I have size fifteen feet and it's very difficult to find shoes!"

Images: LMI Photography