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
Brian Lara Cricket '96 the capability to play as English county sides as well as a player editor. Lara '96 uses the same pseudo-3D graphics used in its predecessor, but the animations and sprites were updated. This game uses a serial EEPROM (24C65 type) for backup. Brian Lara Cricket '96 Brian Lara Cricket '96 (also known as Lara '96 and Shane Warne Cricket in Australia and New Zealand) is a follow up to Brian Lara Cricket and the second game in the Brian Lara-endorsed series of cricket video games. It was developed by Audiogenic for Codemasters and released in the summer of 1996 for