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 of high-profile marital infidelities inspired Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Bloody Wilson's 2003 music video entitled "The Shane Warne Song" as well as lines in Tim Minchin's "Some People Have It Worse Than Me" and "The JLA Song". On 12 December 2010, following press reports and footage of him and English actress Elizabeth Hurley kissing, Warne announced via his Twitter account that he and Simone had separated a couple of months previously, but only his close friends and family had been informed. Although the relationship with Hurley at first seemed short-lived following the disclosure of Warne texting salacious messages to a married