wadesmith

I get the feeling our names on the cup.

Surely you battle your way back into the team..and with their current bowling injuries, I reckon he was set for a good run. I guess you may question someones motivation who turns his back on a Test career to play in front of two men and a dog each week. And someone who just gives up a test career at 29.

Yeah..thats a good one. I get that essentially i'm saying, 'I'm gutted Hampshire have signed two fantastic players who actually may win us the championship' so I realise that I'm standing alone on this one! I guess I just love cricket..and to me Test cricket is dying on it's arse, and it sets a worrying trend. I would potentially put Abbot as one of the top 10 bowlers in test cricket in English conditions, he's been fantastic recently. I'd have loved to see him come over here with South Africa for a five match series. But I totally understand why i'm alone this opinion.

Fair enough. South Africa have got a pretty exciting team at the moment. I'm a cricket/Hampshire nut , but as I said this really saddens me. I think it's a backwards step for Hampshire & Test cricket. I'd love to see Hampshire develop youth, but next year it's going to be a collection of good/mediocre Kolpack players and some promising youngsters. It's all personal opinion, I get that, but it doesn't sit well with me. Ironically my favourite Hampshire Team was the 85 squad with the Smith Brothers, Greenidge and Marshall. But those were guys we discovered as unknowns at a young age. I remember Marshall refusing to come out and get his Nat West man of the match award in a Semi-Final we had lost as he was too upset.He was Hampshire through and through. I don't think i'll see that kind of thing again.

I'm a massive Hampshire fan..but I think these two blokes will live to regret this..it's not quite Sean Ervine turning his back on Zimbabwe. I actually feel a bit sad for the two of them...both are fantastic players, and both still had gig international careers ahead of them..I think they're nuts.

Thinking about it if you INSIST on rotation then it's probably better to play your strongest team against weaker opposition..and your weaker team against stronger opposition..as statistically your more likely to lose those games anyway

I'm going to watch it tonight on MOTD. Please don't tell me the score.

Cannot consider them a rival. Had free tickets for yesterday as I wasn't bothered I gave them away. Then I couldn't be arsed to watch it on sky even though I was at home. I'm so ambivalent about them I actually still don't know the score. Part of me hopes Bournemouth won as I'm not bothered about them

I remember last season when they said "Leicester have changed everything. The Premiership has changed forever" yeah right.

He needs to bulk up a bit.

When he's fit, Boufal is going to be like having a new signing.

Don't have a problem with what Brangsgrove did to save Hampshire. Have no problem with how he conducts and his involvement with team affairs. I can only comment on how I perceived what he said just days after Durham had been relegated. I thought it lacked class. I guess we are all different, and perceive things differently. I thought it was embarrassing, and not something I would want associated with the team I have loved for 36 years, but I realise others will disagree. Hampshire C.C has meant a lot to me over the years.

I just thought that it's fairly obvious that having one less test ground means more chance of staging a test. Didn't think it needed to be said. It comes to something that I feel this way, after Hampshire staying up. It's not like Durham have done a Leeds/ Pompey and have tried to buy success beyond their means. In my opinion they are just an example of modern day cricket's struggles. Who knows could be us next.

Slightly embarrassed that Bransgrove is on the BBC sport website saying that Durhams exclusion as a test venue should benefit Hampshires chances of staging test match. I know he's right, but can he just put a lid on it. I'm just sick of it to be honest. It seems a long way from watching Nigel Cowley bowling donkey-drops at Northlands Road in 1983..and definitely less enjoyable.

I was lucky enough to see Malcolm Marshall in his first season and it was clear he was from a different planet. I saw Robin Smith in the nets when he was 17 batting with one hand against Tim Tremlett and me and my Dad looked at each other and said "this guy is amazing", the third time this happened is when I saw Mason Crane rip through Notts last year. I thought "this guy is going to be a star" He's had a bit of a disappointing season. I really hope he fulfils his massive potential.

Cheers Weston. What was the story with Wheater?

I played Subbuteo to quite a high amateur level, and I started "shoving" with the side of my finger rather than "flicking to kick" My mate said I was cheating. I referred him to the "rules pamphlet" which made no reference to this.

What if we lose today, but win the next 10.

I love football forums. I came on here Thursday & everyone was whinging about the changes.....and now...you couldn't make it up!

Surely we had to sell a lot of the players above, in order to buy a lot of the players above? Ie they couldn't ever have played in the same team?

Let's be honest if we had 8/9 points from our first 4 games then this thread wouldn't exist. The mood on this forum is always dictated by Saint's results.

It's Simple, the stakes a re so high for Sky & The Football League the big clubs HAVE to be at the top as they have the biggest worldwide fan base. Leicester terrified them last year. It is in their interest that 'decisions 'go' the big clubs way

I've emailed the club. I imagine the response will be interesting....

Has anyone noticed that all our managers since Ted bates have had really strong hairlines apart from Portfleet...and he was ****. Is there some strategy behind this?

Actually rain from 3.00pm tomorrow so they might as well declare overnight