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
Shane Warne have taken 1000+ wickets in international cricket, the other being Muttiah Muralitharan. After his retirement from international cricket, Warne was signed as the captain for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League 2008, fetching US$450,000 in the pre-season player auction. He led the Royals to victory in the first season of the competition. He continued as captain of the Royals for a further four seasons, the 2011 season being his last with the franchise. Warne was signed as a player for the Melbourne Stars in Australia's inaugural Big Bash League (BBL) in November 2011. The Stars qualified for the semi-finals