HAMPSHIRE captain George Bailey led his side to the top of the Specsavers County Championship, before insisting: “We need to improve if we’re to stay there.”

A year after being spared relegation, Hampshire are 14 points clear at the top of division one, after beating Warwickshire by an innings and 94 runs at The Ageas Bowl.

Bailey said: “It’s a great start to the season but there’s plenty to work on in terms of being a proper Championship contender.

“I still think we’ve got things to knuckle down on but am really happy with how the boys are playing.

“We’ve got a strong stable of batsmen, it’s just about them consistently nailing big first-innings totals so we can give the bowlers a good crack.”

Bailey continued: “I haven’t looked at the table since I arrived. At some stage of the year it gets important but at the moment it’s more about the process.

“Had the weather come earlier it would have been disappointing not to force the result but the way we played the game was great and that’s going to be really important week in, week out.”

Bailey’s first game in charge was an innings-and-97-run defeat at Essex but that was followed by last week’s 90-run win at Somerset.

“Essex was disappointing but we’ve bounced back with two really strong performances,” he continued.

“The key is to make sure that was a blip.

“If we look at the benchmark sides from the last couple of years, Middlesex and Yorkshire, they very rarely have those games.

“They’re consistently really hard to beat and are always in mix. That’s the key.

“Once you get to that stage you find you win more games than you lose.”

Next up for Hampshire is a four-day floodlit friendly against South Africa A, which starts at The Ageas Bowl on Thursday (2pm start).

“I really like the way the season’s been set up,” continued former Australia captain Bailey.

“It provides a couple of good breaks for most team at different stages.”

Hampshire are likely to rest several players on Thursday, with their next Championship match not until their trip to Old Trafford to play Lancashire in two weeks’ time.

“The really great thing about this team is we’ve got guys not in this team who deserve to be and James Vince and Liam Dawson to come back,”added Bailey.

“We’ve also got a strong stable of fast bowlers.

“We’ve got good headaches every time we sit down to come up with an XI!”