Hampshire director of cricket Giles White has welcomed the axing of the LV County Championship’s mandatory coin toss.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has given the visiting captain the option of bowling first before all Championship matches next season, with the coin spun only if the away team would rather bat first.

White believes the one-year trial is good for the game and that it will suit the all-round quality of Hampshire’s attack, with home teams given more incentive to produce the best possible wicket.

He said: “I’m all in favour of it. The intention is for the betterment of the game and if it produces better cricket wickets and encourages quality pace and spin bowling that’s got to be a good thing.

“Traditionalists may not like it but everything moves on. There was a lot of opposition when one-day cricket was introduced in the 1960s and we now play it with a white ball.”

With match-winners like Fidel Edwards and Mason Crane in their attack, Hampshire will be confident of taking 20 wickets on any surface in 2016.

“I’m hopeful that spinners will come into the game more,” said White. “To get 20 wickets on good batting wickets you have to have a good all-round attack because the intention is to negate the medium pacer, who’s able to able to succeed on greentops by landing the ball on a length.

“This will promote the best bowlers. Fidel obviously falls into that category, he will take wickets on flat wickets but medium pacers who rely on lateral movement because of the conditions will struggle.

“Big spinners of the ball like Mason and Adil Rashid should also benefit so it’s going to favour the counties with the best all-round attacks.

“Look at [2014 and 2015 county champions] Yorkshire. They succeed good wickets at Headingley with the likes of Liam Plunkett, Jack Brooks and Rashid.

“The problem in the past was that teams without the quality to compete would produce greentops.”

With the temptation to 'level the playing field' now gone for counties with less bowling firepower, it will be fascinating to see what results.

The main concern is that, while it will favour the best bowlers, relatively mediocre county attacks will struggle, resulting in a plethora of bore draws.

“That is the flip side,” admitted White. "Wickets don’t deteriorate over four days as much they used to so it will be interesting to see how effective this ruling is in helping spinners.”

Hampshire groundsman Nigel Gray retires next month but White says the new ruling changes nothing for his successor, Karl McDermott.

“It doesn’t change our plans,” he says. “We may well look to start with a covering of grass, as we’ve done for a few years now.

“But that is just to help with the carry. We were already looking to produce good cricket wickets on which batsmen will score runs and good bowlers will take wickets.”