BOURNEMOUTH skipper Martin Miller believes the Division One title race is wide open following a day of round 7 fixture surprises on June 13 2015.
Lions’ four-match winning run came to a shuddering halt as they crashed to a heavy eight-wicket defeat at the hands of lowly Andover at Chapel Gate, writes Neil Perrett of the Bournemouth Echo.
However, an even bigger shock came at Fernhill where unbeaten leaders New Milton had their colours lowered after being rolled over for just 48 by Basingstoke & North Hants.
A seven-wicket reverse for the Green & Golds saw them claim an unwanted record, having been involved in the shortest game in Southern Premier League history.
New Milton were skittled in 15 overs before the visitors knocked off the runs in 14.2 – with the contest lasting just 128 minutes including a break for a change of innings.
Every team in the second tier has managed at least two victories from their seven games, while New Milton’s defeat saw the final unbeaten record go up in smoke.
Miller told the Daily Echo: “I think the league has always been wide open. I have been saying it from day one and nothing has changed my opinion. Every team is capable of beating every other team.
“It is possibly the most competitive cricket league I have ever played in. There are no weak teams. If you don’t play well, you don’t win. It’s as simple as that.
“We play Basingstoke and New Milton in our next two games so will see what they are capable of. We will go into those matches knowing that if we play well, we will give them a run for their money.”
Miller knows Bournemouth will need to up the ante if they are to sustain a promotion push, especially on the back of such an emphatic beating by Andover.
Although Miller shared an opening stand of 75 with Andy Hayward (18), Bournemouth failed to build on their promising start and were restricted to 181 for six from their 50 overs.
Miller (91) remained undefeated at the close and also put on 54 for the sixth wicket with Pete Smith (15), while Josh Finnie (19) was the only other Bournemouth batsman to reach double figures.
However, despite reducing the visitors to 30 for two thanks to Mike Kitson (1-42) and Smith (1-28), that was as good as it got for Bournemouth.
Lions failed to dislodge dangerman Dave Taylor (105) whose explosive knock from just 63 balls included no fewer than 14 fours and six sixes as 92 of his runs came in boundaries.
Taylor dominated an unbroken third-wicket stand of 155 with Darron Augustus (35) as Andover coasted to victory at 185 for two from just 25.2 overs.
Miller, who hit nine fours in his 155-ball stay, added: “It is fair to say we came third! We were convincingly turned over by a bottom-of-the-table team and I think that shows the strength of the league.
“We lost the toss and would have bowled first as well. The pitch looked slightly bowler-friendly and, to some extent, it was.
“Having said that, Andy Hayward and myself had our most productive opening partnership and we were racing along at five-an-over with the new ball. But after they had taken the pace off it, we ducked to three-an-over.
“We didn’t get on top of the bowling and crawled to 181 which was always going to be short of where we needed to be.
“We were Dave Taylor-ed. In previous games, we have got him early and won but he is a match-winner. He hit a fantastic hundred and batted really well.
“In the context of the game, my innings was positively pedestrian. In hindsight, we clearly needed 70 more runs. I had a good knock but it was all in vain.”
Lions’ four-match winning run came to a shuddering halt as they crashed to a heavy eight-wicket defeat at the hands of lowly Andover at Chapel Gate, writes Neil Perrett of the Bournemouth Echo.
However, an even bigger shock came at Fernhill where unbeaten leaders New Milton had their colours lowered after being rolled over for just 48 by Basingstoke & North Hants.
A seven-wicket reverse for the Green & Golds saw them claim an unwanted record, having been involved in the shortest game in Southern Premier League history.
New Milton were skittled in 15 overs before the visitors knocked off the runs in 14.2 – with the contest lasting just 128 minutes including a break for a change of innings.
Every team in the second tier has managed at least two victories from their seven games, while New Milton’s defeat saw the final unbeaten record go up in smoke.
Miller told the Daily Echo: “I think the league has always been wide open. I have been saying it from day one and nothing has changed my opinion. Every team is capable of beating every other team.
“It is possibly the most competitive cricket league I have ever played in. There are no weak teams. If you don’t play well, you don’t win. It’s as simple as that.
“We play Basingstoke and New Milton in our next two games so will see what they are capable of. We will go into those matches knowing that if we play well, we will give them a run for their money.”
Miller knows Bournemouth will need to up the ante if they are to sustain a promotion push, especially on the back of such an emphatic beating by Andover.
Although Miller shared an opening stand of 75 with Andy Hayward (18), Bournemouth failed to build on their promising start and were restricted to 181 for six from their 50 overs.
Miller (91) remained undefeated at the close and also put on 54 for the sixth wicket with Pete Smith (15), while Josh Finnie (19) was the only other Bournemouth batsman to reach double figures.
However, despite reducing the visitors to 30 for two thanks to Mike Kitson (1-42) and Smith (1-28), that was as good as it got for Bournemouth.
Lions failed to dislodge dangerman Dave Taylor (105) whose explosive knock from just 63 balls included no fewer than 14 fours and six sixes as 92 of his runs came in boundaries.
Taylor dominated an unbroken third-wicket stand of 155 with Darron Augustus (35) as Andover coasted to victory at 185 for two from just 25.2 overs.
Miller, who hit nine fours in his 155-ball stay, added: “It is fair to say we came third! We were convincingly turned over by a bottom-of-the-table team and I think that shows the strength of the league.
“We lost the toss and would have bowled first as well. The pitch looked slightly bowler-friendly and, to some extent, it was.
“Having said that, Andy Hayward and myself had our most productive opening partnership and we were racing along at five-an-over with the new ball. But after they had taken the pace off it, we ducked to three-an-over.
“We didn’t get on top of the bowling and crawled to 181 which was always going to be short of where we needed to be.
“We were Dave Taylor-ed. In previous games, we have got him early and won but he is a match-winner. He hit a fantastic hundred and batted really well.
“In the context of the game, my innings was positively pedestrian. In hindsight, we clearly needed 70 more runs. I had a good knock but it was all in vain.”