Neser and Lehmann to join Hampshire for next year's county championship

Southampton, Dec 12 (IANS) Australia duo Michael Neser and Jake Lehmann will join Hampshire for the 2026 County Championship season. Neser, fresh from taking a five-wicket haul in the recent Ashes win in Brisbane, is set to feature in the first six Championship matches before the T20 Blast.

Neser, 35, took 13 wickets for Hampshire in 2024 across eight matches in the county championship and T20 blast. “In Michael Neser and Jake Lehmann, we have two players who have the ability to make a significant impact. Michael brings valuable runs alongside his quality with the ball - he will partner Kyle Abbott as one of our overseas players,” said Giles White, Director of Cricket at Hampshire, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Lehmann, the son of former Australia player and current Northamptonshire head coach Darren Lehmann, has signed a two?year all?format deal with the club. He has scored 5,684 runs in 97 first-class cricket games for South Australia with 16 centuries against his name.

In the ongoing Sheffield Shield, Lehmann is South Australia’s leading run scorer and has the third-most runs of anyone in the competition with 426 runs. He has also scored two centuries and one fifty (96 v Western Australia) in his ten innings so far.

“Jake is in outstanding form and is the leading run scorer in Shield cricket over the past 18 months. With a British passport, he is eligible to play as a locally qualified player, allowing flex in strengthening the squad. Both players possess a great attitude and bring quality and experience; it’s a great boost as we look to finalise our plans ahead of 2026,” added White.

Last season, Lehmann scored 750 runs, including a century in the final, to take South Australia to their first Sheffield Shield title since 1995/96. He has previously featured in eight county matches across short stints with Yorkshire in 2016, where he averaged 54.85, and Lancashire in 2019; he scored 419 runs with two fifties and one hundred.

“I’m excited to join Hampshire on a two-year deal, it’s great to return to county cricket. Hampshire has a fantastic history of Australian players and to follow in the footsteps of Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden and the like is really special. I look forward to joining up with the team at Utilita Bowl and hopefully contributing to the trophy cabinet,” added Lehmann.