Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove defends groundstaff over damp second Test stoppages

Rod Bransgrove has defended the Hampshire groundstaff who came under fire for their role in the ‘heart-breaking’ stoppages that ruined the ill-fated second Test.

The Hampshire chairman, who has done so much to bring international cricket to the ground that represents his lifetime’s work, is adamant no more could have been done, by his staff at least, to avoid the embarrassing hold-ups that marred Test cricket’s reputation.

‘We did our job very well,’ Bransgrove told Sportsmail. ‘There are no fingers pointing at all at groundsman Simon Lee or his team. 

England’s second Test with Pakistan ended as a draw after poor weather conditions

Fewer than 140 overs were played over the five-day duration of the second Test

‘They acted to the letter of every instruction they were given and I was very happy with them, as were all the authorities.

‘The groundstaff were starting to take a bit of stick by day four and I didn’t understand that really. The pitch would have been ready for inspection by the umpires at 6pm that day but by that time play had been called off. 

‘It was a really good wicket too, and it would have been a fantastic Test if the weather had been different.

‘It’s not so much the rain. We cope with that and can clear that off but the issue which has frustrated people over the last few days has been the light and the apparent inconsistencies about how bad it has to be before play is stopped. It’s been vexing everyone and has got a lot of attention because there are so few draws in Test cricket.’

The problems that saw fewer than 140 overs of play over the five days between England and Pakistan were particularly galling for Bransgrove, who has long campaigned for regular Test cricket at his purpose-built ground just outside Southampton.

And it took a global pandemic for his dream to be realised, with the three scheduled Tests at the Ageas Bowl and its accompanying hotel this season doubling the amount of red-ball international cricket staged at the ground since its England introduction in 2005.

Rod Bransgrove (left) has defended the groundsman at Hampshire who have come under fire

‘It’s been a tremendous privilege this summer and we’re happy to have been able to help rescue the ECB’s huge broadcasting rights agreement,’ said Bransgrove. ‘The amount of money we, along with Lancashire, have saved for the game is phenomenal and we’re delighted with that. Hopefully, weather aside, we have put ourselves firmly in the frame once and for all for future Tests and my personal ambition of one day holding an Ashes game. I still believe we should have had one allocated before now.’

The controversies would have been avoided had Hampshire gone ahead with ambitious plans to put a roof on what was then the Rose Bowl when it was conceived in the early 2000s.

‘I was trying to find ways we could infiltrate the tight-knit Test match group and make our ground even more compelling than just being new and fit for purpose,’ he said.

‘It was back of fag packet calculations to be honest and we never got round to a formal desire to look at it because we knew the budget wouldn’t stretch to it. A roof would have cost a hundred million pounds even then and that was before we’d built the hotel and stands, so now it would be even more problematic. It’s out of the question unless some dazzling new technology came along.’

England lead 1-0 going into the final Test against Pakistan which will begin on Friday

Now the man who has done so much for Hampshire cricket is keeping his fingers firmly crossed that the same issues do not plague the third Test, that starts at his beloved Ageas Bowl on Friday.

‘One thing we’ve always been proud of is that if there’s iffy weather in the area, it usually passes us by,’ added Bransgrove. ‘We’ve always been lucky like that but this time we weren’t. The irony is that today is lovely down here so we can only hope this weather carries on over the next few days.

‘We don’t want a repeat of the second Test because it was heart-breaking, but I really don’t think there’s anything more we could have done.’