World Cup winner James Vince will step down as Hampshire captain after a decade in charge and move to Dubai following attacks on his family home, the English cricket region announced on Wednesday. Although he will miss the English domestic first-class County Championship or the 2025 red-ball season, Vince will continue to play white-ball (limited-overs) cricket and skipper Hampshire in the T20 Blast. The 33-year-old batsman, a member of the England squad that won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019, saw his family home near Hampshire's headquarters twice attacked last year.
Vince, who said the incidents left his young family fearing for their safety, told Britain's Daily Telegraph in July that he believed the attacks were a case of mistaken identity.
“James Vince has signed a review of the final year of his contract, fulfilling his obligation to play for Hampshire Hawks in the 2025 Vitality Blast campaign and confirming he has no intention of playing red ball cricket this year “said a statement from Hampshire. .
“After ten consecutive years as captain of the club, Vince will also step down from this position, but will remain as captain of Hampshire Hawks.
“In 2024, Vince endured a challenging year on a personal level, following several attacks on his family home. As a result, the family made the decision to move to Dubai.”
Vince added that he “understands what's best for my family and balancing that with the stage of my career I'm in.”
He made his Hampshire debut in 2009 at the age of 18 and scored more than 22,000 points for the county. Vince is the Blast's all-time leading points scorer and has played in Hampshire's three title-winning T20 teams, while representing England 55 times across all formats.
Vince has also been signed by the Karachi Kings for this season's T20 Pakistan Super League on a contract worth a reported $122,000 (approximately Rs 1.05 crore).
The PSL has made a one-off switch from its usual February to March period, taking place between April 8 and May 19, at the same time as the first half of the County Championship.
English cricket chiefs have introduced rules that prevent England-contracted or Red Ball County players from appearing in overseas competitions such as the PSL that take place during the English season, with the exception of the Indian Premier League, cricket's richest T20 franchise tournament.
But the policy appears likely to convince Vince, who won the last of his 13 Test caps in 2018, to give up English first-class cricket, at least temporarily, rather than turn down a lucrative PSL deal.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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