Nixon McLean played for Hampshire in 1998 and 1999 but when he departed it broke a link of almost fifty years of cricketers from the Caribbean playing for Hampshire – but the link persisted differently, with players born in England whose parents had come the Caribbean. There have been three to date, with one, Keith Barker, very much a key member of Hampshire’s Championship side.
LAWRENCE 'LAWRIE' Roland PRITTIPAUL (1999-2005)
Born 19 October 1979, Portsmouth Hampshire
Right Handed Batter, Right Arm Medium Pace Bowler
23 First-Class Matches
Batting: 975 runs, average 28.67, One century, Four half-centuries
Highest Score 152 v Derbyshire at Southampton 2000
Bowling: Nine wickets, average 49.22
Best Bowling Innings 3-17 v Worcestershire at The Rose Bowl 2003
Catches: 18
59 Limited Overs Matches
Batting: 498 runs, average 12.45, One half-century
Highest Score 61 v Nottinghamshire at Southampton 2000
Bowling: 19 wickets, average 40.26
Best Bowling 3-11 v Cheshire at Alderley Edge 2004
Catches: 15
13 Twenty20 Matches
Batting: 84 runs, average 10.50
Bowling: Two wickets, average 54.50
Catches: 5
Lawrence (‘Lawrie’) Prittipaul was a right-handed batsman and occasional medium-pace bowler. His father Roland, a good club cricketer who played for Hampshire Over-50s, came from Guyana to Portsmouth, where Lawrie was born (1979) and educated. He played in the Southern League for Portsmouth, for Hampshire Cricket Board and for the county’s age group and 2nd XI sides before he made his Hampshire debut in limited-overs cricket in 1999, and in first-class cricket in the following season. He was the first Hampshire batsman to score a century at the new Rose Bowl, for the 2nd XI against Glamorgan 2nd XI in 2000, and in the same season, the last man to score a Championship century for the county at Northlands Road against Derbyshire, and the last man to score a limited-overs half-century on that ground, in Hampshire’s final game there against Nottinghamshire. He was clearly a player of promise, but like some of his contemporaries, struggled on the Rose Bowl pitches in the early years. After leaving Hampshire, he played in the Southern League with Havant and St Cross, and was one of two leading figures from Portsmouth in the creation of Cage Cricket, a format aimed principally at young people in inner cities which enjoyed the support of Shane Warne and Ian Botham and had a launch at the Houses of Parliament. He lives now in Australia.
MICHAEL Alexander CARBERRY (2006-2017)
Born 29 September 1980, Croydon Surrey
Left Handed Batter, Right Arm Off-break
147 First-Class Matches
Batting: 10,277 runs, average 42.64, 28 centuries, 49 half-centuries
Highest Score 300* v Yorkshire at The Rose Bowl 2011
Bowling: 13 wickets, average 62.84
Best Bowling Innings 2-85 v Durham at Chester-le-Street 2006
Catches: 60
111 Limited Overs Matches
Batting: 3,519 runs, average 38.67, Five centuries, 27 half-centuries
Highest Score 150* v Lancashire at The Ageas Bowl 2013
Bowling: Seven wickets, average 37.71
Best Bowling 3-37 v Derbyshire at Derby 2013
Catches: 39
112 Twenty20 Matches
Batting: 3,066 runs, average 31.28, One century, 23 half-centuries
Highest Score 100* v Lancashire at The Ageas Bowl 2013
Bowling: One wicket, average 19.00
Catches: 38
Michael Carberry was a left-handed opening batsman born in Croydon in 1980 who played initially for his native Surrey; the Cricket Board in 1999, and then the county side in 2001-2002. Seeking a regular place he moved to Kent from 2003-2005, but after scoring four first-class centuries he had an injury problem, played in just one first-class match in 2005, and moved again to Hampshire, where he established himself immediately, becoming one of their finest players in all formats over the next decade. He passed 1,000 first-class runs for the first time in 2007 and after a less successful 2008, averaged 69.50 with four centuries in 2009 and was a member of Hampshire’s FPT cup-winning side at Lord’s. There was a period in that season when he scored over 900 runs in 11 first-class innings, averaging 115.75. He repeated his ‘white ball’ successes in the T20 in 2010 & 2012, and in the latter season, his thrilling 68 from 36 balls at Hove in the C&G semi-final, took Hampshire to Lord’s again, and a Final victory over Warwickshire. By then he had made his Test debut for England in a victory v Bangladesh in March 2010, scoring 30 & 34. It would be two-and- a-half years before he was given another opportunity when he opened with Cook on England’s disastrous Ashes tour – England lost all five matches, with the closest margin, 150 runs. Despite this, Carberry had a respectable record, batting for long periods, and his 281 runs in 10 innings compared favourably with most of his colleagues, although it was not enough for him to retain his place. He also played in six ODIs for England with a best score of 63 against Australia in 2013 and in one International T20 match. In addition to those Finals, Michael Carberry played in Hampshire Trophy-winning T20 sides in 2010 and 2012 and in the FPT Final at Lord’s in 2007 when Hampshire lost to Durham.
On two occasions, Carberry struggled with serious illness and on the first he recovered in 2011, and participated in two record partnerships: one of 373 with Jimmy Adams for the second wicket at Taunton, and just before that, with Neil McKenzie, posting a mammoth 523 for the third wicket v Yorkshire. When Hampshire declared in what was then a ‘dead’ match, Carberry, having just reached 300*, was only 16 runs from Hampshire highest ever innings. The match was as dull as any might be, but Carberry’s effort was heroic. In 2016, he was taken ill with cancer and when he returned the following year and began with a century v Cardiff University, it was welcomed throughout the cricket world. Sadly, he never really found form after that, apart from a couple of T20 innings, and in late summer, unable to agree terms with Hampshire, he moved to Leicestershire, signing a two-year contract and was appointed captain for 2018. That appointment however was terminated a few weeks into the season, after which he played no more that year and at the end of the 2018 season he left his fourth county. Through his career, he bowled some slow off-breaks (17 first-class wickets) and was a superb fielder at deep point or the covers. In the reduced 21st century Championship seasons, only Carberry his frequent partner Adams, and lately James Vince have scored over 10,000 runs for Hampshire (his average 42.64 with 28 centuries), to which can be added 3,519 limited-overs and 3,066 T20 runs. He proved himself through those years as one of the toughest and also most entertaining of Hampshire batsmen.
KEITH Hubert Douglas BARKER (2019-present)
Born 21 October 1986, Manchester Lancashire
Left Handed Batter, Left Arm Fast-Medium Bowler
40 First-Class Matches
Batting: 1,438 runs, average 28.19, Eight half-centuries
Highest Score 84 v Middlesex at Lord's 2021
Bowling: 138 wickets, average 22.61, Seven five-fors
Best Bowling Innings 7-46 v Nottinghamshire at The Ageas Bowl 2021
Catches: 5
Keith Barker is an all-rounder who bats and bowls left-handed (medium-fast). His parents came from Barbados but Keith was born in Manchester in 1986 and he is one of the last English sportsmen who played both cricket and football (England under-19s, Blackburn Rovers and Rochdale) professionally. Having opted to concentrate on cricket, he played in 240 matches in all three formats for Warwickshire from 2009-2018, taking 359 first-class wickets and enjoyed his best bowling year in 2016 with 62 wickets at 23.00. In the same year, he also passed 600 runs and overall scored six centuries for them with a batting average of 28.43. All his ‘White Ball’ cricket has been for Warwickshire: in 62 List A games he scored 560 runs at 20.00 with 69 wickets at 32.79; in 65 T20 matches he scored 383 runs at 13.67 with 69 wickets at 23.01 (economy 7.90).
He signed for Hampshire from the start of the 2019 season and in that first year, scored 401 runs at 26.73 with a best of 64 v Yorkshire at the The Ageas Bowl, and took 38 wickets at 26.34 with a best of 5-48 v Kent at Canterbury. He has not played in the T20 or Royal London Cup but featured for Hampshire 2nd XI when they won their four-day Championship Final v Leicestershire. In 2020 he played in the first two Bob Willis Trophy matches with a top score of 28* and seven wickets, before sustaining an injury, then in 2021 he won Hampshire’s Player of the Year award after taking 41 first-class wickets at 18.41, including a career best of 7-46 against Nottinghamshire at the The Ageas Bowl. He also scored 379 runs at 27.07 including a Hampshire best of 84 against Middlesex. At the end of the 2021 season he was one of seven players awarded his county cap and to he has enjoyed another very successful Championship season in 2022 as Hampshire challenge for the title. He also helps with coaching the county’s 50-over side.
