Joe Weatherley

Weatherley comes from a sporting family - his father Ken played professional tennis and also turned up in a Wimbledon. Born in Winchester, Joe is a product of Hampshire's youth academy and has impressed everyone with his batting. The right-arm top order batsman is also a useful off-spinner and made headlines when he picked 6 for 64 in a Second XIs game against Glamorgan.

The Hampshire coaching staff also see him as a potential leader as he has led the age group sides throughout his career, even the England U 19 side when they traveled to Australia in 2015 - a year which was productive for Weatherley as he scored three hundreds and three fifties for the Hampshire Second XI.

In 2016, he made his first class debut against Cardiff MCCU and played nine games for the First XI across the three formats. He was loaned out to Kent in 2017 - a move that would allow him to gain more experience, but with injuries to Hampshire's first choice players made Weatherley return to the county side and he played a hand in keeping them in Division One.

Weatherly recorded his maiden first-class century against Lancashire in June 2018. Later, in the month of November, he signed a new contract with the county, which was described by the club as 'long-term deals'.

By Akshay Maanay