"It's probably not the smartest thing to do!" - Hampshire's Ben Brown takes over the mantle of red ball captaincy from James Vince

However, Ben Brown has the experience and composure to take it in his stride. When James Vince decided to step down as red ball captain after a decade in the role, Hampshire turned to the 36-year old wicket keeper to take on the mantle.

While excited for the challenge, Brown believes it will be a squad effort to mitigate the loss of Vince. He said: “It's probably not the smartest thing to do, taking over from Vincey! He's done an incredible job at Hampshire, he's a generational player and an amazing leader.

“We spoke in the group, it's not going to be one person that fills those shoes. It's going to be incredibly difficult, so, we're all going to have to step up, both as leaders on the field as well as off the field. We have to fill those enormous shoes that he left but it'll be a great challenge for everybody.”

It is not Brown’s first experience of captaincy having led Sussex from 2017 to 2021. He and Vince share a competitive edge and will to win that he hopes will lead to a smooth transition.

Brown said: “I think those things will evolve over time. Vincey had his style and I think we had a lot of similarities out on the field. We probably bonded over the desire to win and our competitive nature, so, hopefully it won't be too different.

“It's in the DNA here at Hampshire to try and win games of cricket. That's what we love doing and hopefully there won't be a huge amount of change or unrest.”

With the Rothesay County Championship starting on Friday, April 4 with a match up against Yorkshire at the Utilita Bowl, Brown believes Surrey are still the team to beat after their historic third title in a row last year.

He said: “ I think it's an incredible achievement, what they've done in winning three Championships in a row. You'd probably think whoever finishes above them would win the Championship so they’re definitely the team to beat again.”

“I think we can be really proud of what we've achieved over the last few years as a team to finish high in the league, but with a team like Surrey, you have to keep pushing to get better. Even if you turn up the same side, they keep moving on, they keep getting stronger.

“We've spoken about that often, we have to keep driving our standards. We have to keep pushing forward and hope that if Surrey do slip, then you want to be the team that cashes in. That's a challenge for all the counties in Division One.”

It will be a test of Hampshire’s mettle early on as they face Surrey at The Oval on Friday, April 11. While the fixtures against Surrey could prove crucial there is also another fixture that stands out for Brown. Sussex were promoted as champions of Division Two last year meaning there will be a renewing of rivalries between the two counties in first class cricket.

Brown said: “I'm really pleased to see Sussex on the way up, it’s my home club and a place where I played for so long. I still have lots of friends there. I think we have two fixtures against them this year and it will be especially nice to go back to Hove and play a Championship game. I’m looking forward to it.”

While it is the eve of the County Championship, Hampshire will be aiming to win in the Vitality Blast and the Metro Bank One Day Cup this year. Brown added: “I think it's a refreshing thing about Hampshire, we go into every competition to win. There's certainly no talk of development or anything like that, it's about winning and doing the other things alongside trying to win.”

“We’ll be targeting all three competitions again and I can’t wait for it.”

Tickets to Hampshire’s opening game against Yorkshire can be found here: https://www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/tickets/county-championship/

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