Old Tauntonians & Romsey will have to beat Portsmouth in the Southern Electric Premier Division 2 showdown on July 18 2015.
They go into the top-table clash at the Romsey Sports Centre (1pm) 20 points adrift of their Southsea seafront visitors – so an OTs win is vital.
The pair each won their latest round 11 fixtures – OTs by seven wickets at Langley Manor, and Portsmouth by a five-wicket margin over Sparsholt at St Helens.
Langley Manor remain rooted to the SPL2 basement after bowled out for 130 (Conor Browne 53) by OTs, who polished off the runs with openers Charlie King (59) and Gus Flack (51) hitting half-centuries.
Six Sparsholt batsmen made 20 runs or more at Southsea, but only teenager Tom Foster (35) progressed beyond that as the third-from-bottom Winchester village side reached 210-9 (Simon Jones 3-25) against the leaders. Kings’ Schoolboy Nick Doubell made an encouraging 27 as later order contributions raised the visitors’ total from 122-6.
Portsmouth lost their openers at 40 and 41, but Henry Farrant (43) and Richie Locke added 77 before a four-wicket haul by Mike Doubell (4-31)left the outcome in doubt at 132-5.
Former Portchester all-rounder Locke, with an unbeaten 75, and skipper Dave Henderson (26) guided Portsmouth home without further loss.
Wayne Smith produced a spell of 6-28 as Fawley moved into nose bleed country – they lie third in the log – with a 16-run win over Hursley Park, who are looking increasingly likely to go down.
In a modestly scoring affair, Fawley successfully defended 153, only Zimbabwean Boswell Chapungu (48) making his mark as off-spinner Smith bowled them out for 137.
Hursley Park’s dilemma worsened when Hambledon piled up 218-9 and bowled Paultons out for a dismal 81 at Ridge Meadow.
Hambledon began confidently but lost three wickets for 16 runs after reaching 45 without loss.
South African Mbulelo (49) and Will Mann (31) steadied the ship – Hambledon’s total proving way beyond Paultons, who nosedived to 81 all out, four middle-order wickets falling for eight runs at one stage.
Tichborne Park checked Bashley (Rydal) II’s five-match winning sequence, edging home by two runs in a BCG nerve jangler.
Queenslander Justin Reid (58), aided by Jake Bristow (27) and Will Allam (26), guided Tichborne to 131-7 but after Andy Neal and Josh Digby had taken three-wickets each it needed Dougie Butler (41) to come in and thump two maximums and five fours to take the visitors to 190 all out.
Reid (3-47) ripped Bashley’s top order to shreds with his opening spell and the in-form New Forest side appeared to have little chance of pulling off a sixth straight win at 32-5.
But old stagers Andy Neal and Neil Taylor almost pulled off a remarkable turnaround – their 114-run seventh-wicket stand having Tichborne casting an anxious glance of two at the BCG’s electronic scoreboard.
Neal pillaged 13 fours in his 88 and Taylor breached the boundary rope seven times before the partnership was broken.
Ross Grierson (18 not out) tried hard to get Bashley across the line one more time, but Bashley finished agonisingly two runs adrift at 188-8.
They go into the top-table clash at the Romsey Sports Centre (1pm) 20 points adrift of their Southsea seafront visitors – so an OTs win is vital.
The pair each won their latest round 11 fixtures – OTs by seven wickets at Langley Manor, and Portsmouth by a five-wicket margin over Sparsholt at St Helens.
Langley Manor remain rooted to the SPL2 basement after bowled out for 130 (Conor Browne 53) by OTs, who polished off the runs with openers Charlie King (59) and Gus Flack (51) hitting half-centuries.
Six Sparsholt batsmen made 20 runs or more at Southsea, but only teenager Tom Foster (35) progressed beyond that as the third-from-bottom Winchester village side reached 210-9 (Simon Jones 3-25) against the leaders. Kings’ Schoolboy Nick Doubell made an encouraging 27 as later order contributions raised the visitors’ total from 122-6.
Portsmouth lost their openers at 40 and 41, but Henry Farrant (43) and Richie Locke added 77 before a four-wicket haul by Mike Doubell (4-31)left the outcome in doubt at 132-5.
Former Portchester all-rounder Locke, with an unbeaten 75, and skipper Dave Henderson (26) guided Portsmouth home without further loss.
Wayne Smith produced a spell of 6-28 as Fawley moved into nose bleed country – they lie third in the log – with a 16-run win over Hursley Park, who are looking increasingly likely to go down.
In a modestly scoring affair, Fawley successfully defended 153, only Zimbabwean Boswell Chapungu (48) making his mark as off-spinner Smith bowled them out for 137.
Hursley Park’s dilemma worsened when Hambledon piled up 218-9 and bowled Paultons out for a dismal 81 at Ridge Meadow.
Hambledon began confidently but lost three wickets for 16 runs after reaching 45 without loss.
South African Mbulelo (49) and Will Mann (31) steadied the ship – Hambledon’s total proving way beyond Paultons, who nosedived to 81 all out, four middle-order wickets falling for eight runs at one stage.
Tichborne Park checked Bashley (Rydal) II’s five-match winning sequence, edging home by two runs in a BCG nerve jangler.
Queenslander Justin Reid (58), aided by Jake Bristow (27) and Will Allam (26), guided Tichborne to 131-7 but after Andy Neal and Josh Digby had taken three-wickets each it needed Dougie Butler (41) to come in and thump two maximums and five fours to take the visitors to 190 all out.
Reid (3-47) ripped Bashley’s top order to shreds with his opening spell and the in-form New Forest side appeared to have little chance of pulling off a sixth straight win at 32-5.
But old stagers Andy Neal and Neil Taylor almost pulled off a remarkable turnaround – their 114-run seventh-wicket stand having Tichborne casting an anxious glance of two at the BCG’s electronic scoreboard.
Neal pillaged 13 fours in his 88 and Taylor breached the boundary rope seven times before the partnership was broken.
Ross Grierson (18 not out) tried hard to get Bashley across the line one more time, but Bashley finished agonisingly two runs adrift at 188-8.