Hampshire County Cricket Club begun on Hampshire's long-awaited new ground. The realisation of this move almost led the club to financial ruin, as encouragement from financial partners Sport England and the hiring of architect Sir Michael Hopkins had led the then part-time voluntary committee running the club to lose control of the budget. In 2000 Australian great Shane Warne was signed as the club's overseas player. The 2000 County Championship was to be the last season that Hampshire would play at the County Ground Southampton before they moved in 2001 to the new Rose Bowl ground just outside Southampton. 2001 also saw current club
Australian cricket team in Pakistan in 2007–08 Australian cricket team in Pakistan in 2007–08 The Australia national cricket team was scheduled to tour Pakistan in March and April 2008, to play three Test matches and five One Day Internationals. The tour was cancelled by Australia due to concerns about the security of playing in the country. Following the 2008 general elections in Pakistan, there was continual violence, and some of the Australian players spoke about against travelling to compete in the series. Security concerns continued to trouble Pakistan's cricket fixtures over the following years: they were scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy in 2008, but this