England World Cup winner quits UK and moves to Dubai after several attacks on family home due to ‘mistaken identity’

ENGLAND World Cup winner James Vince is to step down as Hampshire captain and move to Dubai following several attacks on his family home.

The 33-year-old, who was part of the squad that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup on home soil, has captained Hampshire for the last decade.

PAWorld Cup winner James Vince is to step down as Hampshire captain and move to Dubai following several attacks on his family home[/caption]

AFPThe 33-year-old was part of the squad that won the Cricket World Cup on home soil in 2019[/caption]

Vince’s Southampton home was attacked twice in senseless incidents

Vince has previously revealed that the attacks on his home had left his family fearing for their safety.

The all-rounder told The Telegraph in July that he believed the strikes were a case of mistaken identity.

But Vince will continue play white-ball cricket for the county in the 2025 Vitality Blast campaign and skipper the Hampshire Hawks.

Hampshire said: “James Vince has signed a revision to the final year of his contract which fulfils his obligation to play for Hampshire Hawks in the 2025 Vitality Blast campaign and confirms that he is not planning to play red ball cricket this year.

“After 10 consecutive years as club captain, Vince will also step down from this position but will remain as team 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 have taken the decision to move to Dubai.”

Hampshire said Vince had confirmed his desire to prioritise limited overs cricket, with the aim of extending his playing career, in light of a busy red ball schedule in the UK.

Vince made his Hampshire debut in 2009 at the age of 18 and has scored over 22,000 runs for the county across all formats.

He is the Vitality Blast’s all-time leading run scorer and has played in Hampshire’s three title-winning T20 teams.

GettyVince (left) celebrating with the World Cup trophy with Liam Dawson, Moeen Ali and Tom Curran in 2019[/caption]

He made his England debut in 2015 and went on to represent his country 55 times in Test, One-Day and T20 cricket.

Vince recalled how, during the first attack, he and wife Amy awoke to the sound of smashing and alarms and had “no idea” what was going on.

They immediately went to check on their children – aged seven and three – who were “clearly very shaken up”.

By the time they had checked on the kids and called the police, the attacker had gone.

He added that “some kind of metal bar” appears to have been used in the first incident, with almost all of the windows of his two cars being smashed, along with the windows at the front of the house.

The family had security cameras and alarms installed as the damage was repaired, but when they returned to the home, a second attack took place just a few days later.

During the second attack, the perpetrators used bricks, which did not cause quite as much damage.

Vince has hired local crime and security experts to keep an eye on their home in July 2024.

New security cameras captured footage of the second incident

Vince hired local crime and security experts to keep an eye on their home