Another excellent weekend for South Wilts Cricket Club saw three victories and a hard-fought losing draw across the four senior sides. The 1st XI showed tremendous resilience against a strong Portsmouth side, digging in to secure valuable points in the Southern Premier League. The 2nd XI produced one of the performances of the season so far, dismantling league leaders Winton to move to the top of the table. The 3rd XI chased down a huge total in dramatic fashion, while the 4th XI continued their excellent run with another victory and a second consecutive century for Freddie Jones.

As we move towards the last third of the season, availability continues to look strong and performances across all four teams show the depth developing throughout the club. Plenty still to play for, with every side continuing to compete, develop and enjoy their cricket.

1st XI vs Portsmouth 1st XI – Losing Draw

The 1st XI welcomed Portsmouth to Wilton Road on another hot, dry and sunny Saturday. With conditions looking ideal for batting, Portsmouth won the toss and elected to make first use of the surface with a decent crowd and plenty on Heather Hill.

The visitors started strongly, with openers Duggan and Caddy proving difficult to break down. South Wilts worked hard in the heat and eventually made the breakthrough at 135, before slowly beginning to chip away at the Portsmouth batting line-up.

At 209, however, Portsmouth rebuilt once again, with Wimble and Metzger putting together another century partnership that pushed the visitors beyond 300. Portsmouth continued batting right through until one ball short of their full 64 overs, eventually declaring on 344 after 63.5 overs.

Whether Portsmouth declared a little too late will only be known by them, but at the halfway stage South Wilts knew they faced a huge challenge chasing such a total.

The bowlers stuck to their task admirably in difficult conditions, with Archie Fairfax-Ross the standout performer, producing an excellent spell of 3 for 72 from 18 overs, well supported by contributions across the attack.

In reply, South Wilts suffered an early setback. James Degg departed first ball, closely followed by Joshua Chippendale, leaving the score at 8 for 2. That quickly became 34 for 3 when Tom Cheater fell, and then 84 for 4 and 5 after the departure of skipper Ben Draper and Archie Fairfax-Ross .

At that stage, the only option was to dig in, and that is exactly what South Wilts did.

Leading the resistance was Harry Broderick, who produced a superb team innings. Normally known for his attacking stroke play, Harry showed a different side to his game, battling for most of the afternoon to score a stubborn 66 from 167 balls.

Matt Falconer kept Broderick company for a solid 39 before falling at 153 for 6. The hosts refused to surrender. At 171 for 8 and later 176 for 9 when Broderick finally fell, we were still not to be defeated and it was left to Tom Grant and Ben Jack to see out the closing overs. The pair held their nerve superbly, ensuring South Wilts reached 189 for 9 from 57 overs to secure a valuable losing draw.

A huge amount of character shown by the team, securing 9 points from a game that at one stage looked lost.

2nd XI vs Winton 1st XI – South Wilts Move Top!

The 2nd XI travelled to Dorset for a huge top-of-the-table clash against league leaders Winton, knowing victory would see them leapfrog their hosts into first place.

Winton won the toss and elected to bat, but what followed was an extraordinary opening spell that left everyone checking the Play-Cricket scorecard twice.

A brilliant piece of fielding from Lawrence Yeo resulted in an early run out 0 for 1 before George Allom struck twice with the ball and it was 0 for 3. Marc Burton then trapped the number Crutchley LBW it was 1 for 4 before Allom claimed his 3rd wicket and it became 3 for 5! Winton had collapsed. A brief rest bite before before a second sharp run out, this time involving Joe Cranch, 34 for 6.

Captain Tom Pearce and Kevin Chidrawi then tightened the screw, wickets continued to tumble, with the score 70 for 7, was very soon 70 for 8 and 70 for 9 before a caught and bowled from big Kev dismissed Winton for just 83.

It was a superb collective bowling and fielding performance, with every player contributing. George Allom (3 for 7) and Marc Burton (1 for 8) laid the platform before Tom Pearce (2 for 16) and Kevin Chidrawi (2 for 12) maintained the relentless pressure that never allowed Winton back into the contest.

Needing only 84 to win, South Wilts made light work of the chase. Liam Vermeulen and Lawrence Yeo quickly settled any nerves with a fluent opening partnership. Lawrence Yeo the dominant force this week before he was finally trapped LBW with the score on 73 for an excellent 46 with 11 fours, not much running! Vermeulen remained unbeaten on 18 and was joined by Gabriel Williams (10) to complete an emphatic victory.

The 23-point haul, coupled with Winton collecting just a solitary point, sees South Wilts move to the top of County Division 2A with a slender but decent advantage. Promotion remains a long way off, but the opportunity is now firmly in the club's own hands in the second half of the season.

3rd XI vs Over Wallop 1st XI – Young Side Produce Stunning Chase

The 3rd XI travelled to Over Wallop with Matt Anderson-Emm unavailable, leaving 19 year old Alex Vincent to captain a youthful side looking to strengthen their promotion push.

After losing the toss, South Wilts were asked to field but could hardly have wished for a better start. Excellent early bowling reduced the hosts to just 10 for 3 and firmly handed the initiative to the visitors.

However, experienced campaigner Brad Dawson counter-attacked magnificently, smashing 101 from only 51 balls, before Ranjith Palanyandi joined in the assault with an equally destructive century from just 53 deliveries. From the depths of 10 for 3, Over Wallop recovered superbly to post 288 all out, although South Wilts did well to dismiss them with six overs still remaining and keep the score under 300!.

Charlie Allom led the attack with 3 for 48, while Jacob Rowe returned 2 for 58 as skipper Vincent rotated using eight bowlers throughout the innings in search of breakthroughs.

Needing 289 to win, South Wilts knew they would have to bat positively.

Max Cordle provided exactly the start required, racing to 45 before becoming the first wicket to fall with the score on 53. Stand-in skipper Alex Vincent then produced a captain's and man of the match innings, combining composure with controlled aggression to compile an outstanding 84 from just 82 balls and keep the chase firmly on course.

Jacob Rowe continued his excellent all-round day by adding a shot making 51, leaving South Wilts needing 60 from the final six overs.

What followed was one of the most exciting finishes of the season. Young Jonas Ball (29 not out) and Charlie Allom (23 not out) showed tremendous composure under pressure, combining clean striking with outstanding running between the wickets to steadily reduce the target. Their partnership ensured the required rate never became overwhelming, and with four balls remaining they completed South Wilts magnificent chase of 289 to secure maximum 24 points.

It was a superb victory for one of the youngest average age sides fielded (Jody Everett exempt!) this season and keeps the 3rd XI firmly in the promotion hunt as they continue an excellent campaign.

4th XI vs Winterbourne 1st XI – Freddie Goes Back-to-Back!

The 4th XI welcomed Winterbourne to the Academy Ground, where skipper Alex Evans won the toss and elected to bat on another excellent batting surface.

For the second consecutive weekend, Freddie Jones made a century and alongside Naimur Rahman stole the headlines.

Fresh from his magnificent 139 the previous Saturday, Freddie followed it up with another outstanding century, compiling a superb 109 to underline just how exciting a young talent he is becoming.

He was brilliantly supported by Naimur Rahman, whose classy 91 ended agonisingly short of a deserved century after being run out. Their partnership laid the foundations before skipper Alex Evans added a brisk 40 and Jasper Blackwood chipped in with 16 late on to lift South Wilts to an imposing 303 for 3 from their 40 overs.

Winterbourne responded positively and never allowed the game to become one-sided. Matt England led the reply with 73, while Seb Norman added 65 and James Bundy contributed 43 as the visitors continued to battle throughout the chase.

Despite those efforts, South Wilts always appeared to have the game under control, maintaining enough scoreboard pressure to keep Winterbourne just behind the required rate.

Naimur Rahman completed an outstanding all-round performance by taking 3 for 54 to accompany his 91 with the bat, while Jacob Nash continued his impressive season with 2 for 32. Freddie Jones rounded off another memorable day by claiming a wicket of his own as South Wilts secured another excellent victory. Jake Redding and Alex Evans also chipping in with one a piece.

It was another hugely encouraging performance from a side packed with emerging young talent, whose confidence continues to grow with every passing week.

Looking Ahead

Another outstanding weekend across the club with performances coming from all levels.

From the resilience of the 1st XI, the promotion push of the 2nd XI, the fearless young 3rd XI and the continued development of the 4th XI, there is plenty to be positive about as we head into the summer holidays stage of the season.

Please keep your availability up to date as holiday's start to hit and many players start to show being absent for the odd week or two, our depth and resilience will now be tested as we head toward end of July and into August. So if your able to play, please up date Pitchero for the selection committee to know who is about to give us every chance of keeping our momentum going.

Thank you as always to everyone supporting across the club — players, scorers, volunteers, families and supporters.

Here’s to more sunshine, more cricket and plenty more South Wilts performances to enjoy.