Stands to be Named After Club Legends

Shane Warne and Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie stands launched at Eve-of-ODI Lunch

Hampshire Cricket is delighted to announce that it will be officially naming its two new stands after two Club legends, Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie and Shane Warne later this summer.

The official naming ceremony will coincide with England’s first One Day International of the summer at The Ageas Bowl against the West Indies on 16 June.

As part of the celebrations, an Eve-of-ODI Lunch will be held in the Ageas Suite in the newly-titled Shane Warne stand on the West side of the ground. The family of Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie (whose stand on the East side of the stadium holds the Media Centre and Shaun Udal Suite) will be present, as will a selection of former Hampshire captains and some other very special guests.

The event, which is open to the public, will include a Question-and-Answer session with some of the guests and will be compèred by former Hampshire and England spin-bowler, Shaun Udal.

Following that, Warne, himself, will be on hand on the day of the ODI to officially unveil his stand.

Club Chairman, Rod Bransgrove said; “Naming our new stands is a supremely appropriate way for The Ageas Bowl to acknowledge two legends from Hampshire Cricket’s history; one of whom pre-dates the move to the new stadium while the other is symbolic of the first decade at our fantastic new home.

“It is important to emphasise that we consulted widely with our membership and fans in an effort to solicit their proposals for this recognition and I think they have nominated two very worthy candidates for the Club to honour in this way.”

Eve of ODI Lunch tickets for Friday 15 June are available now, priced £99 including VAT and are available directly from The Ageas Bowl. Anyone interested in coming should contact Clare Hankey on 02380 475 635 or clare.hankey@ageasbowl.com.

The event will run from 12.30 until 3pm and will include a drinks reception, lunch and feature film presentation including an exclusive interview with Shane Warne. 

About the stands:
The stands were erected as part of a £48m re-development of the ground which brought Test match cricket to the South Coast for the first time ever in 2012. The stadium’s permanent capacity now stands at 12,000.

It also holds 15 function suites and some of the best facilities for conferences and events in the region.

Indeed, with the imminent construction of a 4-star hotel to the Northern End of the venue, we will be the only Model Test match ground in the country as defined by the ECB.

About Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie:
Ingleby-Mackenzie was born in Devon and educated at Eton from where, at Easter 1946, he went for holiday coaching at Hampshire’s Southampton ground. The new Secretary-Captain Desmond Eagar saw something in him and within a decade he was being groomed to succeed Eagar. The new amateur captain inherited a side of accomplished and experienced professionals, with two stars in Roy Marshall and Derek Shackleton and in his first season in charge he led the county for the first time to the runners-up place in the Championship.

As a middle order left-handed batsman he could play scintillating if not wholly orthodox innings. In that first season as captain he won an award for the season’s fastest century (61 minutes) and was elected “Young Cricketer of the Year”. His side’s challenge was not sustained in the following two years but in 1961 he revealed a tough intelligence as a captain contrasting with his carefree advocacy of “wine, women and song” to motivate his side. They were frequently too strong for the opposition but when that was not the case, his natural instincts as a gambler kept matches alive and he pursued unlikely victories when others would have settled for a draw.

One such instance was on the Isle of Wight when his highest innings of 132* took Hampshire from danger to victory on the last afternoon against Essex. During that same year when his faithful right-hand-man Leo Harrison was injured, the captain took on the wicket-keeper’s gloves and Hampshire drove on. In sight of a first title in 1958 they had faltered but in 1961 they clinched that first, historic title with a match to spare and the captain became a legend in Hampshire’s cricketing history.

About Shane Warne:
Warne first came to Hampshire in 2000 while they toured the county under Robin Smith, bidding farewell to their old grounds. When he returned as captain in 2004 they had a magnificent stadium (now The Ageas Bowl) but a side that had just finished next-to-bottom of the second division. In that first season, Warne led them to promotion and third place in the 45-over National League and he did it by instilling belief in a group of cricketers who had not previously fulfilled their potential as a team.

In 2005 he split his county duties with Australia in that most thrilling of English summers. He captained Hampshire to victories in the first two rounds of the C&G Trophy then handed the reigns to his deputy Shaun Udal as his team went to Lord’s and won their first trophy in 13 years. After a thrilling Championship campaign they finished second, just 2.5 points behind Nottinghamshire. In just two years, Warne’s inspiring leadership transformed Hampshire and he was back in charge when the 2005 champions came to West End for the final game of the season. He made his point as Hampshire posted their record score, winning by an innings.

Warne had two more seasons, including third place in 2006 and a less successful return to Lord’s in 2007. They enjoyed four consecutive years in the Championship’s top five, an unprecedented achievement in their history and among Warne’s players, Chris Tremlett, Udal, Michael Carberry and Dimitri Mascarenhas all represented England while current captain Jimmy Adams has matured as a fine batsman and leader. Wisden honoured Shane Warne as one of the Five Cricketers of the Twentieth Century. At Hampshire we are honouring him as the man who transformed our first generation of twenty-first-century cricketers.

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