Hampshire's new captain Ben Brown believes the club's "winning mentality" will help them overcome James Vince's absence in the County Championship this season as they look to end a 52-year wait for the title.
Vince has captained Hampshire across formats for almost a decade and led them to three consecutive top-three finishes in the Championship. But he will spend the first two months of the season at the PSL and does not intend to play in the Championship at all this year, with unexplained attacks on his home last summer prompting his family to move to Dubai.
Vince will continue to lead Hampshire in the T20 Blast but Brown is taking over as four-day captain, and concedes that there is a "huge hole" to fill in their middle order. He has already spoken to director of cricket Giles White about the prospect of bringing in an overseas batter, but believes the rest of the squad have a responsibility to cover the loss of a "generational talent".
Brown told ESPNcricinfo: "The big thing here is mentality. It's been passed down: stories of Shane Warne, who passed on a mentality of winning, right through to Vincey who has been driving that culture of trying to win every competition we play in. It's hugely important to make sure that message continues, because there's no doubt Vincey's going to leave a huge hole.
"He's led the club, not just with his runs but his personality. Of course, we are going to miss him. But we have to fill that void as a collective and find a way to move forward. All of us need to step up and that's the senior group and the young players, who are moving in the right direction as well. We have an attitude collectively to fill the gap, and there's no reason why we can't win it."
Hampshire announced this week that Kyle Abbott will return as one of their two overseas players in the Championship this season, with the second slot likely to be filled by a batter. "I'm sure we will get a good overseas to come in to help us out," Brown said, "but I do think it's on the group to make sure we're all stepping up our performance."
Abbott is among a group of senior players who will support Brown as captain, along with Nick Gubbins, James Fuller and Liam Dawson, who signed a new three-year contract at the club on Thursday. He will also be expected to aid the development of Hampshire's young seamers, such as Sonny Baker, who made his first-class debut for England Lions this week, and John Turner.
Gubbins will continue to captain Hampshire's 50-over side, while the formal role of club captain will be vacant in 2025. Hampshire are in a period of transition on and off the pitch: this will be their first season under the ownership of Delhi Capitals co-owners GMR Group, and their first running a fully professional women's team in the ECB's new domestic structure.
Brown is an experienced captain who led his boyhood club Sussex in 78 matches across formats between 2016 and 2021. But he was controversially removed from the role midway through his final season with them, and negotiated an early release from his contract in order to join Hampshire after his relationship with the Sussex hierarchy declined sharply.
He has never won the Championship as a player, but was breaking through as a teenager when Sussex won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. "They were really inspiring times," he recalled. "I was on the balcony watching, and those memories don't go away for a young player. One of the large reasons I came here was that I wanted to win a Championship.
"It would be a hugely special achievement because of the history here: it's the one piece that's missing, and everyone around the club knows how big it would be. Surrey have been incredible, winning three in a row so every other county has to take their hat off - but also find a way to cash in if they slip up, and to close the gap every year."
Brown is yet to play against his old county but will do so this year after their promotion back to Division One. "I'm delighted to see them back," he said. "I was really sad to leave and I still have a lot of passion and love for Sussex. It's a really good squad full of some really good people, and a lot of the young players that I played with are now maturing into first XI players.
"For my own personal journey, you have to do what's right for you in a relatively short career. I've learned a huge amount coming here and seeing a different environment. I was obviously at Sussex all the way through as a boy, and sometimes you just need to change it up. I'm delighted to take on the captaincy and to take the club forwards."