#revival

Hampshire's Cricket Revival — From Decline to Respectability, 1840s

Hampshire county cricket, which had declined sharply from its Hambledon-era prominence in the late eighteenth century, began a modest revival in the 1840s centred on the Southampton and Winchester grounds. The county could not match Kent, Surrey or Nottinghamshire in professional depth, but fixtures against touring sides and neighbouring counties gave Hampshire cricket a renewed profile and attracted the attention that eventually led to the county club's re-founding in 1863.