A PAIR of prestigious cricket trophies appeared in Southampton as Hampshire Hawks and Southern Vipers continue to drum up support ahead of a high-profile Twenty20 double-header.

With the Hawks and Vipers based at The Ageas Bowl, Hampshire is home to the current domestic Twenty20 champions in both the women’s and men’s games. And both sides were keen to celebrate their success with supporters in Southampton before their new Twenty20 seasons get underway.

The trophies were taken out on a tour of Hampshire, with supporters given clues on social media as to where the next location would be. Those who guessed correctly were then in with a chance of winning tickets to a champions day double-header at The Ageas Bowl on Friday, May 26, when the Vipers host Western Storm in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in the afternoon before the Hawks entertain Middlesex in the Vitality Blast. 

Among the venues included on the tour was Southampton city centre, near Westquay and the Southampton town walls. 

Greig Stewart, head of customer experience at The Ageas Bowl, was delighted to be able to take the two trophies out into the city. He said: “It is a fantastic time to be a cricket fan in Hampshire, with both domestic Twenty20 champions based in the county.

“We wanted supporters to be able to share in celebrating our success and it was great to be able to take the trophies out on tour and give fans the chance to win free tickets to our champions day double-header.”

Free shuttle buses from Hedge End Station and Southampton Airport Parkway will run throughout the season before and after Vitality Blast games, meaning fans can travel from Southampton Central to their seat at The Ageas Bowl in no time at all.