Tomlinson eyes further success

Hampshire seamer James Tomlinson says the club can go from strength to strength after their strong finish to the season.

The left-armer took LV County Championship Division One by storm with 67 wickets at an average of under 25 to earn Hampshire's bowler of the year and players’ player of the year awards.

The county struggled early in the season and were bottom of the championship at the halfway stage and suffered early exits from the Friends Provident Trophy and Twenty20 Cup.

But they lost only one game out of 14 from July 20, to finish third in the championship and second in NatWest Pro40 Division One, and Tomlinson says the foundations are in place for plenty of success at The Rose Bowl.

“We can achieve a lot,” Tomlinson told ecb.co.uk.

“Four wins and a draw from our last five championship matches shows that. The draw was on a slow pitch where it was always going to be hard to get 20 wickets.

James Tomlinson dismisses Mark Wagh during Hampshire's win against Nottinghamshire

“All the momentum will be with us going into next year. We know that if we all come back a little bit better we can do well in all forms of the game.”

Tomlinson also acknowledges that he was honoured to be recognised by his team-mates having grown up watching Hampshire at their former Northlands Road home.

“It was a dream come true to win the club’s players’ player of the year award,” said the 26-year-old.

“I grew up watching cricket at Northlands Road and obviously most of my heroes have won it, so it’s always been one of my aims.

“To get my name on the shield alongside legends like Malcolm Marshall is a dream come true.”

For Tomlinson, 2008 was truly a breakthrough year. Since making his first-class debut in 2002, he has been plagued by injuries and during Shane Warne’s tenure as captain he found first-team opportunities hard to come by.

But in Dimitri Mascarenhas’ first year as skipper he more than doubled his tally of first-class wickets.

“I’ve been quite hampered by injuries in the past, playing a few games and then having a lot of ankle and rib problems,” Tomlinson admits.

“Obviously with no Shane Warne or Shaun Udal and James Bruce retiring suddenly there weren’t many bowlers at Hampshire and I was able to get a run of games which helped.”

Tomlinson was soon repaying the faith Hampshire showed in him, tearing through a Somerset line-up including Justin Langer and Marcus Trescothick to take a career-best 8-46 in May.

“It was an amazing morning and it gave me a huge confidence boost,” he said.

“Conditions were perfect for seam bowling – it was overcast, muggy and green but by the afternoon it had flattened out and the sun was out.

“It was good to get those wickets under my belt.”

Tomlinson believes Hampshire can continue their momentum in the LV County Championship in 2009

Buy this photo

Tomlinson speaks highly of Mascarenhas, and believes the England all-rounder has a lot to offer as captain.

He said: “Dimi did an amazing job. They were incredibly hard boots to fill – everyone learnt such a lot under Shane Warne. Even someone like me who wasn’t in the team much learnt a lot from him.

“Dimi struggled a bit at first but he did it his own way and like Warne he was very competitive.

“He did fantastically, he’s had his best year with the bat, another great year with the ball - and then throw in the captaincy.”

Another major change at The Rose Bowl saw former batsman Giles White replace Paul Terry as first-team coach, a move that coincided with Hampshire’s improved results.

“It’s hard to realise the difference he (White) made,” adds Tomlinson.

“Chalky was a fresh face, a good man-manager and took more of a back seat. Dimi flourished with the extra responsibility.”

Warne’s departure was supposed to spell the beginning of Hampshire’s demise, with sections of the media predicting relegation in both the championship and Pro40.

“They definitely made us determined,” said Tomlinson.

“To be fair, after two months they looked right. I think the Twenty20 Cup was a turning point, the guys played some good cricket even though we just missed out on going through.

“That was when we turned it around.”

Winter changes have already begun on the south coast, with White landing the first-team coach role on a permanent basis, Dominic Cork arriving from Lancashire and opening batsman Michael Brown leaving for Surrey.

Tomlinson is excited about bowling in tandem with Dominic Cork next season

“Dominic Cork will add to the team, he’s a very positive signing.

“We’re on a high, we are a strong one-day unit, and we have a good spinner which Sussex showed is very important in the four-day game. We’ve got a good bowling attack and although nobody had a great year with the bat everyone chipped in.

“I don’t think we need to add too much, we have got depth. There are some good youngsters like David Griffiths and David Balcombe with the ball and Chris Benham with the bat. Jimmy Adams has shown that you will get chances and can take them.

“It’s a shame ‘Browny’ left, he had been a part of the team a long time and done well for us.”

Brown departed citing a lack of chances in the one-day team and Tomlinson has also struggled to hold down a place in the shorter form of the game.

But he insists it is not a problem: “With my injuries and my ankle I’m always going to need to rest it. I was told at the start of the season I’d play more championship cricket and I was fine with that.

“I would like to play more one-day cricket, there were times this season when I felt I should have been playing.

“But I think there is a chance with Dimi away playing in the IPL for six or seven weeks at the start of next season when there are a lot of Friends Provident Trophy games.

“There could be a chance for me to open the bowling in one-day cricket there. But with 16 championship games, 20 one-day matches and the Twenty20 Cup it’s difficult to play that much.

“Next season I’ll just try and bowl as well, there are little aspects of my game to work on. I can focus more, and try and repeat my success.”