Runs aplenty... but do Hampshire have the firepower to mount a Championship charge?

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW: Hampshire have one of the stronger batting line-ups in the division on their day, but Sam Northeast and James Vince need to find consistency

Ins: Aiden Markram (overseas), Aneurin Donald (Glamorgan), James Fuller (Hampshire), Keith Barker (Warwickshire), Harry Came (youth)

Outs: Sean Ervine, Jimmy Adams (both retired), Reece Topley, Calvin Dickinson, Asher Hart, Chris Sole (all released), Mujeeb ur Rahman (Middlesex)

Fixture list: April 5 - Essex (h); April 11 - Yorkshire (h); May 14 - Warwickshire (a); May 20 - Nottinghamshire (h - Isle of Wight); May 27 - Yorkshire (a); June 9 - Nottinghamshire (a - Welbeck); June 16 - Essex (a); June 30 - Somerset (a); July 6 - Warwickshire (h); July 13 - Kent (h); July 18 - Surrey (a); September 10 - Surrey (h); September 16 - Somerset (h); September 23 - Kent (a)

Remind me what happened last year?

The year 2018 was not a particularly memorable one for Hampshire in first-class cricket. Four victories from their 14 matches was just about enough to keep them away from relegation, but no red-ball victory between April 16 and August 22 provided supporters with scant reason to celebrate.

Hashim Amla started the season in sensational form, with two centuries and three fifties in nine innings, only for his stay to be cut short by a knee injury.

Talking of injuries, Sam Northeast missed a cluster of matches with a broken finger, Liam Dawson suffered from a similar issue and Mason Crane’s back problems saw him ruled out for July, August and September. There were occasional highlights - James Vince’s unbeaten 201 at Taunton among them - but it was a largely forgettable campaign.

^{Dimuth Karunaratne's proposed stint at Hampshire has been delayed and might not take place}

What’s happened over the winter?

Changes aplenty in the Hampshire dressing room. Two stalwarts of the Ageas Bowl - Jimmy Adams and Sean Ervine - have called time on their respective careers, while head coach Craig White stepped down after two years in the role and six with the club, citing his desire to spend more time with his family.

In his place, Hampshire have hired the former Ireland coach Adi Birrell as first-team manager - a wily operator with a reputation for developing talent.

Birrell has brought in former South Africa seamer Alfonso Thomas as bowling coach and, in a smart move, retained Adams in a backroom role. That should allow for a smooth transition and give Birrell and Hampshire the chance to make a fast start in 2019.

VISIT THE COUNTY HUB: Your one-stop shop for English domestic cricket

Who’s arrived and who’s left?

Aside from the coaching revamp, Hampshire have been relatively busy in the ‘transfer’ market. Keith Barker, the left-arm allrounder, arrives from Warwickshire having turned down the offer of a new contract at Edgbaston.

Barker brings 359 first-class wickets with him to the south coast and is highly likely to specialise in four-day cricket in 2019. A very useful average of 28.43 with the bat also reinforces the Hampshire lower order.

James Fuller’s move to the Ageas annoyed Middlesex fans, who knew they were losing a dependable seamer with a happy knack for taking wickets.

Aneurin Donald, who arrives from Glamorgan, is a precocious talent who has not progressed as might have been hoped after his extraordinary double century for the Welsh county against Derbyshire - the joint fastest ever made in first-class cricket - when he was just 19.

Donald’s move was motivated by a desire to play for England. If he is to make his mark in red-ball cricket, though, he needs to first break into an impressive Hampshire middle order and then find form - his seven Championship innings last season brought just 67 runs at an average of 11.17.

At the top of the order, Dimuth Karunaratne was a shrewd signing - one of the few openers in Test cricket in 2018 to successfully combat difficult batting conditions, he made the ICC team of the year with ease. When he was made unavailable by international duty, Hampshire went out and found another man with very similar credentials, Aiden Markram of South Africa.

Hampshire's bowling attack does not long as strong as their batting

Who will be the key men in 2019?

Hampshire have one of the stronger batting line-ups in the division on their day, but Sam Northeast and James Vince need to find consistency. The batting looks a little more weighty than the bowling, which will rely on the pace injection of Fidel Edwards - who is only playing red-ball cricket in 2019. The possible return of Dale Steyn in the second half of the summer would be a serious boost to any potential title push.

What can we expect from this team this season?

Runs. Plenty of them. Whether or not Hampshire have the arsenal to take the wickets they need to win matches is another question.

Prediction: 7th