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WIN AT LAST FOR SOUTH WILTS

ALTON 141 ALL OUT LOST TO SOUTH WILTS 146-4 BY SIX WICKETS

South Wilts broke their run of four successive Southern Electric Premier Cricket League defeats with a comfortable success at Alton.

With the heavy early morning rain having saturated much of the square and leaked onto the wicket, the scheduled 11.30 start was not a possibility. However, with two captains eager to play a delayed start was agreed and after a 2 and a half hour delay, the League rules allowed a 45 over game to be played.

It looked like an important toss to win. However, Alton skipper Julian Ballinger opted to bat first, a decision that certainly surprised South Wilts skipper Rob Wade. “I would certainly have bowled first. I can see his thinking, as conditions were not likely to change throughout the day but I generally think you should do what the opposition does not want you to do.”

Certainly, allowing South Wilts to bowl first handed them the initiative but with slippery conditions underfoot, the bowling and fielding effort would have to be good to gain an early advantage.

Roger Fouhy and Adie Holewell kept the Alton batsmen in check from the start and with the fielders preventing any easy runs; the pressure was heaped on the Alton batsmen. No early breakthrough came, but with overs slipping quickly by, it only seemed a matter of time before something had to give. Fouhy ensured that it was Alton that gave way! From 25-0, Alton slipped to 39-3 as Billington bowled, Oliphant caught behind and Gadsby caught at cover all fell to the Kiwi seamer.

Ben Jansen and Ryan Hale began to repair the damage with a half-century partnership but it was slow going, as the South Wilts effort did not let up. Paul Draper replaced Fouhy and began an accurate spell, whilst Ross Crick replaced Adie Holewell, who was unfortunate not to pick up a wicket in a nagging 12 over spell, which cost him just 33 runs.

At 83-4, Crick (2-24) provided the next breakthrough. He induced an edge behind to have Hale (20) caught behind and then two balls later did the same again to dismiss Mark Heffernan. Both wickets were caught by Tom Morton, the second a quite brilliant effort diving away low to his right.

Scott Myers joined Jansen and together the pair held up South Wilts progress, but runs were not slow in coming. James Hayward replaced Crick and the left-arm spin of Hayward and Draper made life very difficult for the Alton batsmen. Myers, in particular struggled to get the ball away and when he edged Draper to Morton for 11 and then Vann was dismissed two balls later lbw to Draper (2-30 off 11 overs), Alton had sunk to 112-7.

Overs were running out and Ballinger (15) and Jansen (42) eked out a few runs before the final three wickets went with a clatter. Fouhy had Jansen well caught by Crick for 42 to give him fine figures of 4-32 off 11 overs and then Hayward (2-21) bowled Ballinger and had Pang-Kessler caught by Andy Hayward to finish off the innings at 141 in the 44^th over.

Skipper Wade was impressed with his charges “We created some intensity from the off and managed to maintain it throughout. We didn’t make any mistakes in the field and barely bowled a bad ball. Just what we wanted!”

Batting had been proven not to be easy, but Alton failed to create the same early pressure that South Wilts had. Eddie Abel was dropped to a sharp slip catch and after that he and Morton progressed in relative comfort: watchful and yet positive. Their 114 run opening stand carried South Wilts virtually all the way to their target. Morton hit 7 fours in yet another impressive performance and it was somewhat of a surprise when he was well caught by Heffernan off Ballinger for 67. Four runs later and Abel too had gone as he top edged an attempted pull shot off Jansen to go for a well constructed 43. With the ball spinning sharply now, batting was extremely difficult and James Hayward and Dan Webb both fell whilst South Wilts got their final few runs, but Paul Draper (12no) saw South Wilts through to a comfortable six wicket win.

Wade was pleased with the day’s work “We played well for the entire game. Probably the first time I can say this season. Full credit to Alton for allowing the game to go ahead, as I’m sure there were plenty of games called off today in better conditions”.

South Wilts will be hoping to earn back-to-back victories when they host rock bottom Hursley Park this weekend.

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CUP WIN FOR DEFENDING CHAMPS

 South Wilts 101-9 beat Romsey 62 ao by 39 runs  

South Wilts moved into the quarter-finals of the SEC Cup but not without another fright. Their batting collapsed tamely and only late runs by Azeem Hamid (23) saw them into three figures. After a comfortable start, 22-0 off 4 overs, Romsey's batting collapsed spectacularly under high pressure  bwling & fielding. They amassed just  62  as  Eddie ABel (5-16), James Hayward (2 for) and Adie Holewell (3 for) exploited the worn suface.

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WOEFUL WILTS HAMMERED BY DAWSON

SOUTH WILTS 189 all out LOST TO HAMPSHIRE ACADEMY 190-2 BY 8 WICKETS

South Wilts season of struggles reached a new low as they suffered an 8 wicket hammering by Hampshire Academy.

The only aspect of the game that South Wilts are successful at currently is the toss of the coin and after yet another success, skipper Rob Wade opted to bat on a Lower Bemerton pitch that looked full of runs. Indeed that started to look the case as South Wilts got themselves off to a flier, as Tom Morton took full toll of some wayward Academy seam bowling. He raced to 36 and the score to 51 but when Academy skipper Kevin Latouf turned to spin, the game changed in an instant.

As in the game with Totton & Eling a few weeks earlier, it was a Wiltshire player who turned the game. Chippenham’s England Under-19 all-rounder Liam Dawson’s left arm spin paid instant dividends as he dismissed Tom Morton (36) and then after Paul Draper’s suicidal run out, he exposed South Wilts’ lack of confidence by transfixing the middle order. Hayward and Wade both went to close catches and South Wilts’ prospects had been dashed.

Eddie Abel and Dan Webb began to rebuild the innings, but when Abel offered a return catch to Dawson for 36 another flurry of wickets followed. Mistry and Hamid were dismissed by leg-spinner Wahid Khan and South Wilts looked dead and buried at 115-7.

That South Wilts even managed to post a total was down to a spirited 8th wicket partnership between Dan Webb and Adie Holewell. The pair added 65 runs either side of the lunch interval and looked to be pushing South Wilts towards the 200 mark when Webb’s dismissal for 42 off Dawson again proved the start of another flurry of wickets. Holewell holed out in the deep for 37 and then the young spinner completed his personal rout with the dismissal of Fouhy. 7-57 was a fine haul for Dawson, a player who seems well set on the way to a first-class career.

South Wilts had to bowl and field well to create some pressure, but their outfield performance mirrored that of their batting. The two Hampshire contracted players, Latouf and well yes, Dawson again, made the South Wilts bowling look at best ordinary. Both players treated the bowling with contempt and showed the South Wilts batsmen how to bat on a flat wicket. When at 134, Latouf fell to Hayward for 64 it was somewhat of a surprise and only delayed the inevitable defeat a trifle longer. Dawson moved serenely on, ending up undefeated on 98 as the Academy cruised to an 8 wicket win shortly after tea.

South Wilts captain Wade was despondent after the game “Frankly that was embarrassing. The Academy have won all their games this season, but the sad thing at the moment is we’re not even competing.” Wade was however full of praise for Wiltshire star Liam Dawson though. “Here is a player who is at the very top of his game. 98 not out and 7 wickets say it all really. The only time we were in the game was when he wasn’t involved, that is before he came on to bowl and after lunch, when he surprisingly took a break. To be honest we didn’t see much of the rest of their lads!”

Dawson’s dream weekend was completed when he hit an undefeated 145 as Hampshire Academy beat undefeated Havant on Sunday in a rearranged SEPCL match to cement his side’s place at the top of the league.

South Wilts now face consecutive Saturdays against sides in the bottom half of the table. They start with much improved Alton away this weekend, followed by rock bottom Hursley Park the week after and know that these two games will go a long way to shaping their season.

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SOUTH WILTS CUP RUN ENDS 

Falkland 204 all out beat South Wilts 173 all out by 31 runs

South Wilts endured a dismal day in the Cockspur Cup 3rd round. With a much weakened side, in fact just four of the previous day’s first team present, South Wilts controlled much of the day’s play. Tidy bowling and good fielding saw a poor Falkland side muster just 204 off their 45 overs (Pittman 4-37). However, despite being 92-0 off 23 overs, Eddie Abel’s dismissal (56) triggered a spectacular collapse and saw South Wilts slump to 136-7. Andy Hayward’s 35 looked to have rescued South Wilts as they reached 172-7 with 6 overs remaining, but in a bizarre finish, South Wilts last three wickets all went to needless run outs to leave them 173 all out, 31 runs short of their target.

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SOUTH WILTS STRUGGLES CONTINUE 

South Wilts 100 all out lost to Portsmouth 101-5 by 5 wickets

The last time South Wilts managed to complete a game at Portsmouth’s St Helens ground, it was the day they secured the Southern League title in 2004, but the post-match mood was understandably different after Saturday’s defeat. The loss was South Wilts’ fourth in five league matches this term and sank them to 8^th in the ECB Southern Electric Premier League table.

After yet another successful coin toss, South Wilts skipper Rob Wade opted to bat first. “The wicket looked very dry and we did not think it would last a 100 over game” he explained. As it was South Wilts did not score enough runs to take the game to the 100 over maximum. 

There was little sign of what was to come as, despite the early loss of Eddie Abel, caught spectacularly at slip by Khan off Ranjith, South Wilts made a confident start. Indeed the score had reached 34-1 off 8 overs when Portsmouth introduced their newly acquired spinners. The whole complexion of the innings was transformed instantly. Ahmed bowled Tom Morton for 17 and the innings stagnated and fell away.

No batsman was able to get the ball away, so much so that Hayward, such a free-flowing batsman scored just 9 off 33 deliveries before he became Ahmed’s next victim at 49-3. Dan Webb quickly followed and then after Ranjith finished his spell 1-19 off 10 overs and Ahmed had finished 3-16 off 10, there was to be no respite as spinners Ancell and Khan made full use of the wicket. Duffell fell off Khan and then skipper Wade’s long vigil ended with the score on 74-6. He top-scored with just 18 off 79 balls. Paul Draper did his best to guide the South Wilts tail through to the 130 score they had quickly readjusted their sights to, but when he was last man out for 15, the score had only just reached the three figure mark. Khan finished with 4-10 off 10.

Wade was far from content at the break. “You have to give them credit for the way they bowled. Portsmouth have lost many of their star players in previous seasons and have adapted by tapping into the Asian community and on this evidence, with some effect! The two left-arm spinners bowled superbly from ball one. I should know I faced it! We tried our hardest to get some runs on the board, 46.5 overs to get 100 in fact, but it was not a good effort. They bowled well, we batted badly”.

South Wilts knew they needed early wickets to have a chance. Roger Fouhy and James Tomlinson bowled with determination and aggression but the Portsmouth batsmen were filled with intent and aggression. Skipper Pervez Aziz typified this approach, simply launching into anything pitched up.  Fouhy bowled Lavery for 9 with the score on 29, but when the expected wickets came they came too late to make a difference. Wade switched his bowlers in a desperate bid to get the breakthrough, and it was Hayward who had Malik caught by Abel and then Ranjith brilliantly caught in the deep by Fouhy. Eddie Abel then had Aziz well caught by Webb for 47 and from the next ball had Khan well caught by Duffell. 50-1 had become 79-5 but a few lusty blows later and it was all over. Portsmouth had reached their target in just 24.2 overs to secure a 5-wicket defeat.

Wade refused to blame the wicket for the defeat. “It wasn’t a great wicket, but certainly I’ve played on much worse. The surface was probably too dry if anything and with inconsistent bounce and exaggerated turn, batting was extremely difficult. Maybe we are spoiled playing on good wickets every other week at South Wilts but we certainly did not cope with this one. You have to give the opposition credit, they bowled well on a tailor-made surface but we have now got to regroup and get into winning ways as soon as possible.”

South Wilts will be hoping that the change in format leads to a change in fortune, as they entertain Hampshire Academy in the first all day game.

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STRUGGLING SOUTH WILTS SLIP TO THIRD DEFEAT 

South Wilts 233-7 lost to Havant 239-5 by 5 wickets

A third defeat in four matches leaves South Wilts in the lower reaches of the early ECB Southern Electric Premier League table. Despite having a major say in much of the game on Saturday, a depleted South Wilts side ended up defeated by a comfortable five-wicket margin.

On winning the toss yet again, South Wilts skipper Rob Wade had little hesitation in making first use of what looked another belting South Wilts wicket. Tom Morton and Eddie Abel looked in prime form as they took toll of some early loose deliveries. However, with the score on 29, Abel edged to Hindley off Ingram and departed. Abel has struggled for runs so far this season, but it can only be a matter of time before the young left-hander plays a substantial innings. With Rob Wade struggling with a shoulder injury, Charlie Duffell got a chance at the top of the order but he edged behind off Ord and with the score on 34-2, the signs were ominous of another South Wilts batting collapse. It certainly did not turn out that way though as the two in-form batsmen Tom Morton and James Hayward built up a big third wicket partnership. Morton, full of confidence from his debut hundred two weeks earlier against St Cross played in powerful and orthodox fashion, whereas Hayward was his usual mixture of classical strokeplay mixed with outrageous improvisation.  The score had reached 176 with 9 overs left, when Hayward was bowled by Ord for 74. Hayward had looked well set for a first century of his own and the manner of his dismissal was kamikaze and unnecessary. Wade joined Morton at the crease as Morton (101) progressed to his second successive ton. However, from 209-4 with 4 overs and plenty of wickets in hand, the run glut failed to materialize, and although South Wilts finished up on 233-7, a fine effort, there was the overwhelming feeling, that they should have got twenty runs more.

Against a strong Havant batting line-up, South Wilts needed early wickets and to keep a tight rein on the score. Roger Fouhy had instant success, clean bowling Ben Walker. Then in the very next over the prolific Steve Dean was extremely fortunate to survive an edge behind off Ross Crick. It was a particularly disappointment for young Crick, as it would have been a huge personal success for him to take the scalp of Dean, but things turned from bad to worse for him as Dean then took him apart with a series of superb shots. When Fouhy trapped Dean in front for 34 in just the seventh over, the score had already reached 44 and Havant had got off to the flier they wanted. Holewell replaced Crick and had Ransley lbw to leave Havant struggling at 55-3. Had ex-Hampshire all-rounder Laurie Prittipaul been dismissed by Fouhy when he spilled a sharp caught and bowled chance, how different the game may have progressed, but it was not to be and Prittipaul who looked very much out of form when he came to the wicket rapidly found his feet against South Wilts second string bowlers. Rob Pittman took his first wicket for the premier side when he bowled Prozesky for 25 and when Hayward then had Australian Mills caught behind the score was intriguingly poised at 134-5. Overs were certainly not a problem for Havant though and Wade was unable to impose any pressure as every time South Wilts looked in with a chance, a few loose deliveries took the game away again. Havant skipper Richard Hindley joined Prittipaul and the pair put together a 100 run partnership that saw Havant cruise home with 8 overs to spare. Prittipaul ended up with a match-winning 117 not out whilst Hindley ended up on 27. Best perfomers for South Wilts were Fouhy with 2-43 off his 10 overs and Holewell 1-32 off his 10.

Wade was once again left trying to find positives from a defeat. “I think it’s fair to say that after four weeks, we have probably played the sides that will finish as top three, so next week’s trip to Portsmouth is crucial for us to start winning. Once again we played well at times, but the side currently has not got enough depth to cope with absentees and injuries. Without Paul Draper (on a family holiday) and Dan Webb (working) and then with the addition of my inability to bowl due a shoulder injury, plus both James and Eddie struggling with shoulders we look at times paper-thin. However, once again Tom and James batted well and if we had taken our chances then who knows”.

South Wilts visit Portsmouth this Saturday with a full strength squad, whilst on Sunday they visit Falkland CC in the Cockspur Cup 3^rd Round.

  NATIONAL JOY FOR SOUTH WILTS 

SOUTH WILTS 214-5 BEAT NEW MILTON 135 BY 79 RUNS

South Wilts did emerge victorious from their Cockspur Cup Second Round tie at New Milton. The tie represented a real banana skin with South Wilts fielding a very inexperienced side against their Division 3 rivals. However, a solid third wicket partnership between Eddie Abel (42) and Rob Pittman (47) took South Wilts from 17-2 to 115-3. Rob Wade (56no) and James Glover (29no) then shared an 81 run sixth wicket partnership to lift South Wilts to a highly respectable 214-5 off their 45 overs.

New Milton struggled early on as Ross Crick (6-2-14-0) bowled a superb opening spell, and young Simon Beetham picked up two wickets (2-37). However, the third and fourth wicket partnerships gave New Milton an outside chance. Behind the run rate after the tight start Edgell seemed to be masterminding an effective run chase until he was superbly caught in the deep by Mistry for 46. From 109-4 the innings subsided to 135 all out. Rob Pittman completed a fine personal day with 2-33 off his 9 overs, whilst Eddie Abel showed some bowling form with 1-29 off his 9 overs, but it was Paul Draper who effected the collapse with 4-9 off his 5.3 overs. South Wilts now visit Falkland CC in the third round, which will be played on one of the next two Sundays.

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WILTSHIRE ALL-ROUNDER SHATTERS SOUTH WILTS

TOTTON & ELING 228-9 BEAT SOUTH WILTS 104 BY 124 RUNS

South Wilts slipped to their second defeat of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League season as they were comprehensively outplayed and soundly beaten by Totton & Eling, formerly known as BAT Sports. The defending champions finished up victorious by 124 runs. Largely responsible for the defeat was Wiltshire all-rounder James Hibberd who produced a fine display with 4-14 to add to his earlier unbeaten 85.

Like the previous week, South Wilts captain chose to bowl first with the prospect of a rain-affected day, but once again the rain did not come. South Wilts made a bright start as Paul Draper took a sharp chance at gully off Roger Fouhy to remove the dangerous ex-Hampshire all-rounder Lee Savident and then Adie Holewell (10-0-26-1) cleaned up Ricky Rawlins to leave Totton at 22-2. In fact the South Wilts fielding display was vastly improved on the two previous weeks and with the depleted bowling attack bowling well, South Wilts can take some comfort from at least the first half of the game. Wade (7-1-29-1) himself took over from Holewell, bowling into a stiff wind, and trapped Totton skipper David Banks in front to leave Totton precariously placed at 49-3. However, that meant the arrival of Hibberd, and he joined ex-Hampshire batsman Derek Kenway in the significant partnership of the day. Kenway was the dominant partner at first, looking barely troubled, and whilst Hibberd was close to being out a couple of times, he soon looked in ominously good nick. It was James Hayward (10-0-37-1) who finally got the breakthrough at 136, when he had Kenway lbw for a fluent 55. When Norris then miscued Abel to Holewell, there was a sniff of hope for South Wilts at 150-5. Franklin struck a few lusty blows in his 20 before dismissed by Draper, but Hibberd remained immoveable at the other end and despite a further wicket for Draper (2-64) and two late blows by Fouhy (9-1-36-3), a last over blitz by Hibberd saw him end up with 85 and the score finish at 228-9.

Wade was relatively happy with the performance. “I thought with the bowling resources available today, we did a good job. In fact with a bit of luck we may have kept them under 200, but it was certainly an improvement on the previous weeks’ performances and gave us a chance of winning the game”.

Those hopes of a win were quickly dispelled. Adam Sharp (2-26) had Abel and Morton quickly back in the pavilion and then Hibberd got in on the act. Only Morton (12) and Wade (11) reached double figures as Hibberd tore through the middle order. Wade, Webb, Duffell and Hayward were all dismissed as Hibberd bowled a superb seam spell. His figures of 4-14 off 10 overs just reward for a match-winning performance. When Mistry edged Goldstraw to slip South Wilts had crumbled to 55-7. Paul Draper had showed some middle order resistance with 19, but when he was given out lbw to Rawlins, the score stood at just 67-8. Robbie Nicholson (19) and Roger Fouhy (16) saw South Wilts through to three figures but not much beyond as South Wilts were eventually bowled out for 104 and a 124 run defeat.

Wade was in reflective mood after the game “The only thing to say in our favour, is that they got us out. By that, I mean we just didn’t throw away our wickets with poor shot selection. They were better than us, simple as that, and Hibby was in terrific form.”

South Wilts will have to show a sharp improvement when they host Havant this weekend. They go into that game without the absent Draper and Webb, with Nicholson injured but Crick returning. Havant are one of three sides with 100% records, the others being Hampshire Academy and Bournemouth.

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MORTON GETS SOUTH WILTS BACK ON TRACK

SOUTH WILTS 225-3 BEAT ST CROSS 221-9 BY 7 WICKETS

South Wilts registered their first win of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League season thanks in no small part to a superb individual performance from Tom Morton. His undefeated 125, added to a fine performance behind the stumps, saw South Wilts home to a seven-wicket win.

After winning the toss under rainy skies, Rob Wade took the option to bowl first. “It’s generally accepted that it’s better to bat second in rain affected games, so the forecast of heavy showers throughout the day, gave me no real option. Not a drop of rain fell though!”

On another flat South Wilts surface though, it was clear that South Wilts would have to bowl and field much better than the previous week against Bournemouth. However, after a bright start, which saw Roger Fouhy flatten Irvine-Fortesque’s stumps, the bowling and fielding performance was once again a disjointed one. Crick and Fouhy bowled without any discernible luck but too many loose balls allowed New Zealander Sam Fairley and Ben Adams to keep the score ticking over. Adie Holewell replaced Ross Crick and the pattern continued as South Wilts strove for a breakthrough. Ben Adams was particularly fortunate to survive a cluster of lbw appeals from Holewell, but meanwhile Fairley looked more and more confident as the score progressed to a dangerous looking 127-1 off 30 overs. Once again though South Wilts upped their game in the latter stages to prevent the St Cross batsmen from getting away from them. The start of the fightback came when Fairley was run out for a fine 73 thanks to an almighty mix-up. Tom Morton had his first influence on the game with a good pick-up from a poor return throw. Paul Draper now increased the pressure with a tight spell of left arm spin bowling, but it was Eddie Abel who got the next breakthrough, as he had an increasingly frustrated Adams well caught by Crick by 49. Fellowes (21) then fell to a good catch by Dan Webb off Draper for 21 but Burridge (19) and Haycock (16) kept the scoreboard moving. From 170-4 though, wickets then began to fall. Draper picked up Haycock caught behind, but then came a moment to savour. Fouhy returning from the bottom end bowled a bouncer to Lovett who top-edged an attempted pull. Morton raced back to short fine leg to take a spectacular diving catch. When Fouhy then ran out Charman and Paul Draper (3-40) had Burridge stumped by Morton, to give him just reward for a fine spell, the score had tumbled to 208-8. Fryer hit some lusty blows in the final over before being cleaned up by Fouhy (3-54) as St Cross closed on 221-9. 

Skipper Wade was partly satisfied at the break, “I was disappointed with our performance, as once again there were dropped catches, misfields, poor throws and too many bad balls, but to our credit we restricted them well to scoring just 94 runs in the last 20 overs”.

Like the previous week, the key was going to be wickets in hand and this time South Wilts managed to do it. Morton and Eddie Abel started slowly but surely against a determined St Cross bowling and fielding performance. Lovett bowled Abel for 17 with the score on 68 and then Wade was caught by Adams off Boote for 8 to leave South Wilts at 104-2 just after the halfway mark. Morton was looking increasingly dominant though and together with James Hayward the game was taken away from St Cross. At 174-3, Hayward (42) nicked behind off Lipscombe but any nerves were quickly dispelled as Dan Webb (14no) supported Morton through to and beyond a superb century. His unbeaten 125 was his first century for the club and it was an innings of such assurance that there is little chance of it being his last. Morton saw South Wilts home to a 7 wicket win with 3 overs to spare.

Wade was full of praise for the South Wilts hero “Tom was superb today. His class stood apart on a day of general mediocrity. He knew that we had a much weaker batting line-up than normal and his innings was magnificent. Add that to his fantastic catch and his general performance behind the stumps and I think he can be fairly happy with his day.” For his opponents, Wade also had praise “St Cross are not going to be one of the stronger sides in the League, they’ll be the first to admit it, but I thought they played well throughout. They batted solidly and bowled and fielded doggedly. The result was in doubt until 10 overs from the end, so they will take many positives from the match”.

South Wilts now visit Totton & Eling next Saturday. Formerly known as BAT Sports, Totton are the defending champions and will be a tough nut to crack. They suffered a comprehensive defeat to Bournemouth last week and will be keen to bounce back immediately, so South Wilts will need to up their game to the next level.

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OPENING DAY DISAPPOINTMENT FOR SOUTH WILTS

BOURNEMOUTH 266-8 BEAT SOUTH WILTS 167 ALL OUT BY 99 RUNS 

A thoroughly disappointing display by South Wilts failed to break the opening day hoodoo in their home encounter with Bournemouth.

Bournemouth skipper Darren Cowley won the toss and right from the start it was clear there was only one winner. Indeed it was Cowley (45) himself who got his side off to a flier as he fed hungrily on some wayward South Wilts bowling and indeed it was somewhat of a surprise when he chipped Ross Crick to Eddie Abel at extra cover with the score on 66. Ben Lawes joined Richard Scott in the middle and together the pair built a formidable total. Scott was rarely in trouble as he moved past fifty and on towards a seemingly inevitable hundred. Lawes never looked comfortable but was dropped four times as he too moved past fifty and towards an eventual unbeaten 71.

300 plus looked a sure thing but to South Wilts credit, they fought back hard in the latter stages. Paul Draper (0-36 off 10) and Adie Holewell (1-44 off 10) had done their best to stem the flow of runs, but it was in the last ten overs that some success was finally achieved. Tom Morton took a fine low catch at cover off Rob Wade to deny Scott (95) a century at 205-2. Suddenly the wickets began to fall and indeed went with a clatter as 237-2 became 250-8 as Wade took 3-23 and Ross Crick (2-55). Roger Fouhy picked up the wicket of Metcalfe to finish with 1-54.

Skipper Wade was relatively happy at the half-way point “I felt that considering how badly we had bowled and fielded, to only be chasing 267 for a win had to be pleasing. We dropped at least five catches and were generally poor in the field. Our bowling recovered well in the end but we just bowled to many bad balls”.

South Wilts knew that to stand a chance of a large run chase, they would have to keep wickets in hand, so when Metcalfe and Denham reduced them to 36-3, there really was little hope. Denham (8-2-17-2) picked up the wickets of Wade and Morton, whilst Dorset seamer Matt Metcalfe trapped Abel and was not flattered by figures of 1-43 off his 10 overs. James Hayward and Dan Webb rebuilt the innings well and after 25 overs with the score on 94-3, there appeared to be an outside chance for South Wilts, but Webb’s (30) unfortunate dismissal, run out by a deflected drive, ended all hope. Hayward did his best to revive the run chase but spinners Cowley (2-39) and the impressive Hall (3-31) took control. When Hayward fell to Hall for 54, the innings subsided and tailed off to 167 all out and a 99 run defeat.

Wade was philosophical after the match, “Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit the opposition were better than you. We bowled, fielded and batted poorly so really we did not stand much chance, but credit to them, they looked good.”

South Wilts have a second home game this weekend when they entertain newly promoted St Cross, who were thumped by 8 wickets by Bashley in their opening fixture. South Wilts are without Charlie Duffell, so Tom Morton will resume his keeping role. The side will be selected from Wade, Morton, Abel, Hayward, Draper, Webb, Mistry, Holewell, Crick, Fouhy, Nicholson, and Shaw.