Hampshire Through The Decades: 1950s

Hampshire Cricket's historian, Dave Allen, is back with a brand new series - Hampshire Through The Decades - as he looks at some of the best moments from Hampshire's history from each decade following the conclusion of the World War II. 

This week's next instalment sees him take a journey back to the late 1950s.

For a few years either side of the First World War, Hampshire enjoyed a successful period, and with a side built around their great professionals Mead, Kennedy, Newman and Brown, and with Tennyson captain post-war, they usually finished in the top half of the Championship table. But from seventh place in 1926 to 14th in 1954 they were always in the lower reaches.

At the end of that 1954 season their captain Desmond Eagar wrote of his “friendly side” and predicted “there will come a day - not far off – when their cricket will match their charm”. He didn’t have long to wait.

The County Championship in the 1950s was dominated by Surrey who won the title over seven consecutive seasons after sharing it with Lancashire in 1950. Yorkshire’s supporters had to wait until 1959 for their side to resume their dominance but they also finished second or third five times in that decade so it was no surprise when those two sides finished first and second in 1955.

But the surprise came from Hampshire, finishing in third place for the first time in their history – and in the process they won an astonishing two-day innings victory against Yorkshire at Bradford when, on his 21st birthday, Peter Sainsbury dismissed Len Hutton twice as he and Roy Marshall (off-spin) both took nine wickets in the match. Yorkshire, with a middle-order of five England players were dismissed for 62 & 119.

By the time Hampshire met Surrey at Bournemouth in late August, the Championship had been decided, but Hampshire with a century from Horton plus Gray’s 91, declared twice and beat Surrey by 129 runs (Heath 5-69, Sainsbury 5-40).

Three years later in 1958, Surrey were Champions again but Hampshire pushed them harder in a very wet summer, finishing runners-up for the first time, and when the two sides met at Guildford, Shackleton with 7-34 bowled them out 106. Hampshire declared on 201-8 but the rain ensured they could not force victory. It was nonetheless a splendid first season in charge for their charismatic young captain Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie and his side of mostly experienced professionals exhibited a belief that they might beat anyone on their day.

They had by then established the nucleus of the side that just three years later would finally win that greatest county prize: the top three of Marshall, Gray and Horton were as strong as almost any county side, while fast bowler ‘Butch’ White had already played a few games on his way to establishing a fine partnership with the incomparable Derek Shackleton.

Malcolm Heath supported them, while the captain, wicketkeeper Leo Harrison and Sainsbury would score runs in the middle order and the latter bowled slow-left-arm alongside spinners Mervyn Burden and youngster Alan Wassell.

Batsman and outstanding slip fielder Mike Barnard would be joined next year by Dennis Baldry and Antiguan Danny Livingstone and all the pieces were in place for the thrilling 1961 season.