Hampshire opening win is a sign of intent. James Fuller delighted to be among One-Day kings

Hampshire have been the undisputed one-day kings of the past decade having won three List A finals, including last season’s Royal London One-Day Cup triumph, and reached seven Vitality Blast Finals Days.
CANTERBURY, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Kyle Abbott of Hampshire celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent during the Royal London One Day Cup match between Kent and Hampshire at The Spitfire Ground on April 17, 2019 in Canterbury, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)CANTERBURY, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Kyle Abbott of Hampshire celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent during the Royal London One Day Cup match between Kent and Hampshire at The Spitfire Ground on April 17, 2019 in Canterbury, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
CANTERBURY, ENGLAND - APRIL 17: Kyle Abbott of Hampshire celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Daniel Bell-Drummond of Kent during the Royal London One Day Cup match between Kent and Hampshire at The Spitfire Ground on April 17, 2019 in Canterbury, England. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)

And new-boy James Fuller, who arrived from Middlesex over the winter, is embracing the pressure that comes with walking into a winning dressing room, writes Alex Smith.

Hampshire opened up their defence of the One-Day Cup with a 90-run victory over Kent and face Glamorgan at the Ageas Bowl on Good Friday (11am start).

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Fuller said: ‘Everyone is full of confidence; they expect to win and that is a huge change from Middlesex.

‘At Middlesex we had gun players but we never got on a roll where we believed.

‘The guys here have won a lot of one-day trophies over the last 10 years and just know how to win. I moved here to be part of a great one-day side and four-day side and play with people like (Kyle) Abbott and Fidel Edwards, those players are amazing.

‘The opportunity to be part of that type of set up was the main push to coming down and to help me become the best version of myself.

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‘It is just nice to be on the field to see how the guys go about things like Abbott coming down the slope against Kent and bouncing guys and getting wickets – it is a really nice environment to be in.

‘I guess that also adds pressure on me to be one of the guys to perform every match but that is why you play the game.’

All-rounder Fuller comes with his own white-ball pedigree having been a part of Gloucestershire’s One-Day Cup win in 2015.

The 29-year-old believe he has a good chance of lifting the trophy at Lord’s this summer and has warned Hampshire’s opponents that the best is yet to come.

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He added: ‘I won the competition with Gloucester which was amazing. It was with a group of guys who had been together for five years.

‘It is good to be in a side which is winning white-ball games again.

‘I think we have every chance of winning the competition again this year. We have to give ourselves the best opportunity.

‘We didn’t play at our best at Kent, the guys were pretty honest about that, but to win a game by around 100 runs and not play your best means you are in a good spot.

‘If we can turn it on then we are going to be tough for any opposition.’

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