With the summer weather continuing to be a little unpredictable, it played its part again this weekend. Thankfully, it worked in South Wilts’ favour for the most part, with positive results for the 1st and 2nd XIs, while the rain washed out the 3rd XI fixture — although not quite soon enough to rescue the 4th XI.

1st XI vs Alton 1st XI
The 1st XI travelled up the M3 to take on Alton, and with bad weather forecast later in the day, skipper Ben Draper made what felt like the obvious choice to field first.
Alton started steadily and built a decent platform towards what looked like it could become a very imposing total. However, the South Wilts bowling attack kept things under control throughout. Archie Pascoe led from the front with 3 for 29, while spinners Tom Grant (2 for 34) and Archie Fairfax-Ross (1 for 23 from 10 overs) applied a real squeeze through the middle overs.

Alton eventually finished on 217 for 9 — a target that felt manageable at the halfway stage.
In reply, South Wilts wobbled early at 21 for 2 with both openers back in the pavilion. Overseas player Joshua Chippendale continued to show signs of settling into English conditions with a composed 41, while the in form Tom Cheater added a further 25 to his increasing seasons total.

Skipper Ben Draper (34*) and Archie Fairfax-Ross (18*) then guided the side to 141 for 4 after 26 overs when the heavens finally opened. With South Wilts comfortably ahead on Duckworth-Lewis, the umpires eventually called a halt to proceedings, securing an excellent six-wicket victory and a valuable 21 points.

2nd XI vs Mudeford 1st XI
The 2nd XI hosted newly promoted Mudeford in what looked on paper to be a potentially tricky fixture.
With the weather forecast again in mind, skipper Tom Pearce wisely chose to bowl first — and what followed was a devastating display with the ball.

After Mudeford reached 16 for 1, overseas all-rounder Liam Vermeulen showcased his bowling talents for the club, after nursing a previous sore shoulder injury, he bowled for the first time for the club. He and Marc Burton tore through the batting line-up. Mudeford collapsed to just 42 all out.

Liam finished with outstanding figures of 5 for 3, brilliantly supported by Marc's 3 for 14, there was even time for Matt Anderson-Emm to wrap things up with the final wicket.
It wasn’t quite the “bowl them out for 55” prediction club legend James Hayward had suggested on the WhatsApp groups — but it was even better.

With rain threatening, the priority quickly became knocking the runs off as efficiently as possible. After a couple of small wobbles, skipper Pearce and Vermeulen calmly completed the chase and secured a crucial win and 23 points.

3rd XI vs Longparish 2nd XI
The 3rd XI made the short trip to Longparish, where somewhat surprisingly the hosts elected to bat first.

It proved a long afternoon in the field as several Longparish batters got themselves in and made meaningful contributions, with Plant and Brown both registering half-centuries.
Henry Smith was the pick of the South Wilts bowlers with 3 for 74, well supported by Albin Jacob’s 2 for 52. It was also great to see Max Allen back in South Wilts colours.

Longparish closed on 282 for 8 — certainly a challenging chase, but by no means impossible. Unfortunately, the weather had other ideas and the rain arrived before South Wilts could begin the reply, leading to the match being abandoned.

4th XI vs Damerham 1st XI
The 4th XI welcomed local side Damerham to the Academy Ground.
Like the other captains across the club, skipper Sean Burke opted to field first with the forecast looking uncertain. Saul Smith was the standout performer with the ball, taking 3 for 35 as South Wilts battled hard to keep the visitors under control.

Damerham were led by an impressive 81 from Kiernan at the top of the order, helping the visitors post a very competitive 240 for 7.

In reply, South Wilts approached the chase steadily, but wickets fell regularly throughout the innings. Unfortunately, only Tommy Bray (17) and Simon Miles (16*) managed to reach double figures.

With heavy rain arriving, Burke kept the side battling long enough to secure a valuable batting point before eventually calling things off at 50 for 8, resulting in a 142-run defeat.
Hopefully better weather next weekend will give the 4th XI the opportunity to bounce back strongly.

With the forecast looking much improved, attention now turns to Week 4 as the league season begins to settle and players start finding rhythm and form.