South Wilts are playing the Hampshire Academy in an autumn challenge match at Bemerton on Saturday, noon.  Ample car parking space is available.

Portsmouth umpire Andy Anthony is set to step out at a near deserted Lord’s in the National Village Cup final tomorrow, but considers it a ‘very, very proud honour’ to be donning the white coat on such an occasion. 
The 41-year-old has been selected as one of the two umpires for the National Village Cup final at headquarters between Colwall and Redbourn.   He is only the third local south coast panel umpire to get such an appointment behind Dave Bull and Paul Sparshott.
Redbourn, from Hertfordshire, are taking part in the competition for the first time in 2020 while their opponents hail from Worcestershire. Redbourn knocked out holders Reed - the team who had beaten Sarisbury Athletic at the semi-final stage last year - en route to Lord’s.
‘I’m extremely fortunate to get this chance,’ said Anthony.  ‘It’s a bit like refereeing the FA Cup final - you only get the chance to do it once unless there’s extreme circumstances.  ‘It’s a very, very proud honour – I’m really looking forward to it.’
Anthony, originally from Fareham, has only been umpiring for seven years, starting out at the lowest level of the Southern Premier League before working his way up to Premier standard.
He only took up umpiring after a knee injury sustained on a cricket tour of Barbados ended his playing days.
He played for Gosport colts in the early 1990s, and progressed to be a regular 3rd team player by 1995.
Anthony stepped up to the 2nd XI in 1996, and won their bowling award in 1997 after changing from 'pace' to off-spin.
                                                                                    Overton umpire
In 1999 he joined Rowner, and was regularly playing in their 1st XI before moving to Curdridge where his dad, John, was groundsman, and they were about to join the Hampshire league.
After he started on the umpiring route full-time, he did play occasionally for Denmead where his improved batting was very valuable.
Cricket is certainly in his family’s blood - dad John played for Rowner for many years as a prolific left-hand opening bat/wicket-keeper.
Andy’s 2020 National Village Cup campaign started when he was the solitary umpire at Overton’s first round game against Ventnor.
It will finish at Lord’s, but sadly due to the pandemic none of his family and friends are allowed inside the world famous stadium to watch.
The same applies to the players of the two competing teams, though the match is being live streamed.
Anthony has umpired at Lord’s once before. Due to his job in the Portsmouth Dockyard, he was an umpire at the Navy’s game against Cross Arrows on the Nursery Ground in 2016.
‘This is a far more prestigious game,’ he said.
Asked what his umpiring ambitions were, Anthony replied: ‘When I started out my goal was to do well in the Southern League.  A realistic goal now is getting onto the Minor Counties panel. Covid has shut down that avenue this year, but that’s my goal for next year.’

Hampshire Academy pair Fletcha Middleton and Tom Prest are playing in the England Lions South/North Under-19 trial at Loughborough, where 22 wickets fell on day one. 
Sussex YCs Jamie Atkins (5-35) and Surrey left-armer Sean Hunt (3-13) ran amok as the North were dismissed for 126.   But wickets continued to fall, with Prest (15) and skipper Middleton (4) dismissed with the South 76-6 before Middlesex prospect Ben Cullen hit 70 to lift their score to 213.  The North were 24-2 at stumps, still trailing by 63 runs.

Bournemouth will be anxious to avoid anything like a repeat of their last visit to Winchester’s tree lined Green Jackets ground when they face St Cross Symondians II in the Southern Premier League Cup Grand Final tomorrow, 12.30.
Back on July 18 in the opening round of West group league cup matches, they were on the receiving end of a Tom Foyle century amid a 275-4 run mauling from St Cross Symondians, the captain blazing 103 before Bournemouth limped home, tails between legs from a 127-run beating.
“We were rusty,” commented opening batsman Nick Park post match.
Since then, Bournemouth have strung together six straight wins to top a strong group containing Bashley (Rydal), South Wilts and St Cross themselves.
They clinched the ‘title’ with a five-wicket win over Bashley (Rydal) last week.
St Cross Symondians’, having used a ‘squad rotation’ system, topped the East group using 20 players in their six matches, five of which they won before losing to Portsmouth a fortnight ago.
Their potentially tougher matches against Havant and the Hampshire Academy were rained off.
There is ample car parking at the Green Jackets, where SD will be strictly enforced to comply with government guidelines.

Portsmouth & Southsea and Bashley (Rydal) II will both be at full strength for tomorrow’s Southern Premier League Cup East/West 2/3 Grand Final at St James’s Park, off Locksway Road, Portsmouth.
Seamer Chris Turrell [pictured by The News] is likely to be playing his farewell game for P & S prior to a work related move out of Portsea and will hope big guns Matt Benfield and Jack Davies fire at the top of the order for the unbeaten East winners.
Bashley have tweaked their side in recent weeks to give more youngsters experience, but field a pukka second team at the SJP.
They have real experience in all-rounders Simon Ridley, Neil Taylor and Simon Watkins, alongside six teenagers, two of whom are only in their GCSE years at Dorset schools.
Portsmouth & Southsea: Davies, M Benfield, Kanavan, Davidson, T Benfield, Lee, Saunders, Peach, Wiley, Turrell, Dunstan. 
Bashley (Rydal): James Turner, Will Tripcony, Patrick Lewis, Jacob Gordon, Simon Watkins, Saif Achakzai, George Wilson, Josh Parsons, Simon Ridley, Neil Taylor, Ethan Baker.

St Cross Symondians will be delighted to welcome spectators to the Green Jackets Ground for Saturday’s Southern Premier League Cup Grand Final against Bournemouth (12.30 start), but remind everyone attending that strict Covid restrictions will be in force.
Chairman Andy Burgess explains: “Anyone entering the pavilion and/or the bar/ BBQ area will be obliged to leave their name and contact details on the list provided.
“We want everyone to have a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, but people will absolutely have to remain in clear and distinct groups of maximum 6 people either within the pavilion or on the deck.
“This is to comply with the new Covid restrictions together with the track and trace requirements
“This is not “optional” and if not adhered to we will have no option but to close the bar and BBQ facilities.   Please remember the well documented social distancing rules.  We thank everyone in advance for their understanding and compliance.”
Ample car parking is available around the boundary, ideal for picnics in the early autumn, but spectators should bring their own fold-up chairs.  The licensed bar will be open.

Ian Watson, left, who carried off numerous Southern League trophies in his days as Deanery captain, played the key batting role as Hampshire Seniors beat their Worcestershire counterparts by 39 runs to win the National 70s Western Counties Championship play-off at Worcester Nomads.
Watson struck a typically patient 67 before being boosted by Peter Green's unbeaten 47 as Hampshire posted 176-6 off 40 overs.
Worcestershire's top order was completely tied down by Portchester vet Doug Noyce and John Paine, who conceded only 30 runs off their combined 16 overs.
Charlie Prendergast (2-28) and semi-final bowling hero Peter Tapper (2-36) shared four wickets as Worcestershire closed at 137-6 having never been able to catch up from their slow start.

The England and Wales Cricket Board has announced that it is cutting 62 jobs because of the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The governing body believes that coronavirus has already cost the game in this country about £100 million — and that figure could double if restrictions continue into next season. As a consequence, the ECB board has approved a 20 per cent reduction in its workforce budget which will come from all areas of the business including staff working on The Hundred, marketing and communications, commercial and grassroots development.
Most of the 62 jobs to be cut are from existing staff, though some will be accounted for by ceasing recruitment for vacant roles. Many of those at risk of redundancy were informed on Monday afternoon in what was described as a “difficult and emotional” briefing to staff by Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive.
All staff have been offered voluntary redundancy and it is expected not all of the job losses will be via compulsory means. The ECB employs 379 people of which 39 are cricketers and 30 are umpires — the rest are administrative or coaching and development staff. The total wage bill for 2020 was £36.5 million but the ECB is looking to reduce that by more than £7 million.
                                                                                     'Unthinkable'
Harrison said that a year ago — after England’s home World Cup victory, a home Ashes series and the Hundred on the horizon — these redundancies would have been “unthinkable”. However, the ECB began making changes in April, with Harrison taking a 25 per cent pay cut and other employees between 20 and 10 per cent. Those measures are in place until the end of October. The number and value of central contracts awarded to players is also under review.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has left cricket facing its most significant challenge of the modern era,” Harrison said in a statement. “It is now an irrefutable fact that the impact of this pandemic is significant and will be long-lasting. There is also deep uncertainty about the future, and it is vital we take more steps now to ensure the future financial sustainability of cricket in England and Wales.
“Given this new reality, if we are to safeguard cricket’s long-term future and still deliver on the growth ambitions of our Inspiring Generations strategy, it is clear the ECB will need to become a leaner and more agile organisation.
“Seven months ago, sharing a message of this nature was unthinkable. The position we had created to come together as a game and grow cricket on the back of a remarkable year in 2019 was truly game-changing. Our ambition and energy are unchanged, but how we get there now needs to look significantly different to what we originally planned for.”
                                                                                            Losses
The ECB is looking at other areas of cost saving including the possibility of moving its head office from Lord’s to another Test ground either in the midlands or the north, although this is unlikely to result in significant savings given relocation costs and there will, inevitably, still need to be some staff presence at Lord’s. The ECB’s centre of excellence at Loughborough is also expected to be wound down. There have already been some job cuts there and it is likely that the ECB will give up the premises and move the operations to one of the existing first-class grounds to make use of county coaching staff.
The ECB is also expected to introduce more short-term and seasonal contracts for some staff whose work is mostly concentrated into March to October. Umpires and other match officials are protected from the job cuts but if the financial losses run into next year and beyond, one area that could be looked at is moving match officials from full-time to eight-month contracts.
The 16 one-year central contracts for players are due to expire at the start of October. The ECB and the Team England Player Partnership group, which is responsible for agreeing pay deals for both men and women England players, are in negotiations for the next 12 months.
Six multi-format contracts were awarded last year (Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes), four Test-only contracts (James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns and Sam Curran) and six limited-overs contracts (Moeen Ali, Joe Denly, Eoin Morgan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy and Mark Wood).
The value of the contracts varies between players based on their performances but the highest value Test contracts are worth around £600,000 and white-ball contracts up to £250,000. Players receive a match fee and win bonuses on top of that.
                                                                                    Player pay cuts ?
In a normal year, England players would expect to receive a pay rise but Chris Woakes had admitted that the England team cannot be “exempt” from the cost-cutting measures being put in place.
“It’s incredibly sad news really,” Woakes said after the ECB announcement. “It does resonate with the players but we’re also very fortunate that cricket has gone ahead this summer. That figure of £200 million losses could have been a lot worse.”
The completion of all 18 planned international men’s matches this summer means that the ECB did not have to take a reduction in the £220 million a year it receives from broadcasters under the new £1.2 billion five-year deal which started this year. Had international cricket not gone ahead the ECB’s losses could have been nearer £400 million.
Given the financial impact on county and women’s players of the Covid-19 pandemic, the feeling among some in the game is that England players should agree to a pay cut or at least a pay freeze.
County players, through the Professional Cricketers Association, have already accepted a number of salary measures including some players moving to eight-month contracts and academy players accepting a lower than agreed minimum salary of £24,000. Many county players accepted pay cuts of between 10 and 20 per cent for this season and have relinquished their share of prize money for the T20 Blast and Bob Willis Trophy. Ninety county players also lost a collective £7 million in expected income after the cancellation of The Hundred and have agreed to take a 20 per cent reduction in the value of their contracts for the competition when it starts next year.

​Jude Wright (left) starred with bat and ball as Alton carried off the Vitality Hampshire Under-19 t20 Cup with a comfortable 47-run win over Lymington & Sway at St Cross Symondians’ Green Jackets ground tonight.
The talented 15-year old hit an unbeaten and chanceless half-century before nipping out two of Lymington’s top order to finish with a tidy 2-19 return.
Wright was prominent from the start as he and Abhay Gonella (43) shared a 90-run opening partnership off 12 overs which set up Alton’s win.  Leeds University bound Freddie Egleston powered a quick 33 not out as the young Brewers put the final well beyond Lymington with 155-3 on the board.
The talented Churcher’s College all-rounder went on to take 2-19, including the key wicket of big hitting Sway raised Dan Bailey (26).   Josh Royan was unbeaten with 43 as the combined New Forest side closed 108-7 and well beaten.
Alton deserved their cup success having knocked out highly fancied pair Hook & Newnham Basics and Portsmouth in the previous two rounds.  Six of the beaten Lymington team have been playing regularly in the Southern Premier League Cup in the past two months.

Hythe & Dibden finished second from the bottom of the Southern Premier League Cup West 2/3 group after visiting Fair Oak beat them by eight wickets with ten overs to spare at Jones Lane.
Oaks, for their own part, were runners-up to West ‘champions’ Bashley (Rydal) II, who contest the Grand Final with Portsmouth & Southsea at St James’s Park on Saturday, 12.30.
Hythe opener Matt Young (66) continued his fine recent form sharing in partnerships of 59 with Tom Gates (31) and 66 with Andy Wakely (34).  But when Young was third out at 160-3, one of three victims for Oaks left-arm spin skipper Charlie Gwynn (3-30), the visitors took a firm grip on the match that they were never to relinquish.  
Rhys Oxley and Rufus Bullough took a wicket each as Hythe subsided to 170-6, while seamers Ben Smith, Ross Stewart and Freddie Eley all bowled with commendable economy.
After the break Gregor McKenzie carved the Hythe attack for two sixes and nine fours in his innings of 56, most of his runs coming in an opening stand of 70 with his brother Monty.  The younger McKenzie was bowled by Fair Oak old boy Tim Ndowora, while Gregor fell to Gates, both bowlers returning figures of 1 for 36.
But Gwynn carried on the good work, hitting 52 not out off just 42 balls, while Will Hughes scored an unbeaten 36 in a stand of 90 as Oaks cruised home with plenty of juice still in the tank.

Fawley's ​Alex Forster celebrated his maiden senior five-wicket return to set up a last day Southern Premier League Cup victory over Paultons at Holbury.
The Cambridge University student took five of the last six wickets to fall, finishing with 5-10 as Paultons crumbled from 104-4 to 124 all out and an eventual five-wicket West group defeat.
Bailey Parratt (3-25) did the early damage to leave Paultons 39-3 and fourth-wicket pair Tom Smart (41) and Scott Dawes (23) with a repair situation on their hands.
But Forester’s 27-ball spell, which began with the key scalp of big hitting Nathan Feltham, ripped Paultons apart, Kieron Earl taking two slick stumpings off the young medium-pacer.
Chris Dunn (3-21) and Dawes (2-23) made inroads but Dave Streather’s unbeaten 41 eased Fawley to a five-wicket win and fifth place in the final table.
South Wilts seconds never recovered from a three-wicket new-ball blast by left-armer James Trodd which left them reeling at 10-3 against Old Tauntonians & Romsey at Bemerton.
Their patched up side recovered to reach 159-9, but a century partnership between Bothwell Chapungu (left) and Harry Tulk swept the visitors to a seven-wicket win.
Trodd (3-35) hit the stumps three times in quick succession to send Joe Cranch, Chris Chaddock and Matt Falconer back to the pavilion.
George Edwards (36) and Tom Pearce (20) repaired the initial damage, but a four-wicket spell by left-arm spinner Matt Bampton (4-15) plunged South Wilts into deeper trouble at 98-8.
Ninth-wicket pair Jack Richards (25 not out) and Tom Bolam (22) added 51 to give South Wilts something to bowl at - but Chapungu and Tulk effectively blew the target away.
Rhys Wathen (19) fell to a return catch by Rob Pittman, but that was South Wilts' solitary success for a long period as the Zimbabwean and Tulk (40) virtually sealed OTs victory with a 116-run stand.
Left-hander Tulk as content to play a support role as Chapungu struck 13 fours on his way to an unbeaten 75. Young spinner James Brewer (2-26) removed Tulk and Jovan Dhariwal before OTs clinched an easy victory with 13 overs to spare. 
A middle-order collapse, in which five wickets fell for 31 runs, nullified any prospect Trojans had of posting a competitive total against Langley Manor at Knellers Lane.
Ed Boyd (41) was largely responsible for a sound Trojans start, but a four-wicket spin spell by Nick Doubell (4-46) and a miserly 2-10 off eight by little Tommy Spencer tilted the balance and left the visitors defending 152-8.
Jack Budd (39) and Conor Browne (20) gave the Manor a 66-run start, but Tristan Bamford broke the momentum with an expensive 4-55 which saw three wickets for four runs.  The Manor were five down before Jordie Smith (34) and Steve Harris (26) got them across the line. 

​Chris Turrell and Matt Benfield starred as Portsmouth & Southsea reached the Southern Premier League’s Division 2/3 Grand Final.
They defeated Waterlooville by five wickets to pip Liphook & Ripsley to the East group title by just three points.
That was a superb effort considering that P & S are a SPL Division 3 side and some of their group rivals, including Waterlooville, would have been playing in a higher division in 2020 but for the pandemic.
P & S won all five of their completed group games, with the other two - including one against Liphook - rained off.
P & S will now host West group winners Bashley (Rydal) 2nds at St James’s Park, Locksway Road, on  Saturday, 12.30
Turrell bagged four cheap wickets as Waterlooville were dismissed for 135 after the visitors elected to bat first.  Benfield, pictured, continuing his fine form, then smacked a half-century as P & S collected a five-wicket victory.
Waterlooville were given a 56-run start by openers Namish Verma (28) and Archie Reynolds (25).
But after that only Max Goddard (24 off 17 balls) and Matt Shaw (14) reached double figures.
Turrell, the last of the six P & S bowlers used, bagged 4-16 off 7.5 overs as the visitors slithered from 110-4 to 135 all out.
Benfield and Jack Davies (16) put on 43 for the first Portsmouth wicket and the former ended up hitting 10 boundaries in his 80.
P & S only needed five runs for victory when he was eventually bowled by Ashan Silva.
Benfield has scored at least 23 runs in all his competitive league and cup games in 2020, topped by 136 against Purbrook in an East group encounter.  He had started his delayed summer by hitting 62 in a friendly against Havant.
Silva took 3-13 off his seven overs but P & S still had seven overs and one ball left when they notched the winning runs.

Liphook & Ripsley achieved their goal of taking maximum points off Hartley Wintney, but still finished short in second place.  They beat the North Hampshire side by four wickets, with George Neave producing an overdue performance.
Neave (2-26) yorked Hampshire Academy prospect Harry Broderick with the first ball of the match - a blow from which Hartley never recovered as Charles Janczur (3-30) left the Cricket Field regulars groaning at the sight of 76-7 on the overhead electronic scoreboard.  Anthony Parson (38) revived affairs, but a total of 134 is nigh impossible to defend on the Green.
Rob Nicklin (37) guided Liphook to 67-1, but a wobble saw three cheap wickets fall before Neave hit an unbeaten 39 to secure a four-wicket win at 140-6.

Hampshire Fire Services were called to Havant Park on Tuesday tea-time to extinguish a blaze on the boundary hedge alongside the adjoining railway station.  No damage was caused to the cricket square or pavilion and no one was burned or injured.    Picture : Michael Booth exploring SPL grounds.

South Wilts lost four top order wickets for three runs – three of them in the space of seven deliveries - at London Road, but recovered to post 198 and then bowl Andover out for 152 to record a fourth successive Southern Premier League Cup win.
The victory secured a third place finish in the nine-team group, with eventual West division winners Bournemouth the only side to beat them in the successful 40-over competition – and that was only by four runs !
South Wilts appeared well placed at 62-1 with Tom Morton (39) threatening a score, but when he holed out to Will Carr the visitors top order fell apart.

​Bristol University ecology graduate Rowan Duckworth (3-20) quickly removed Raff Hussey (21) before sending Peter Rowe and Will Harries back to the pavilion in quick succession, both for ducks.  South Wilts 65-5. 
Ben Draper (56) kept his cool amid the mayhem and found an improbable partner in Steve Warner (31), who justified his promotion up the order in a 72-run sixth-wicket partnership which turned the tide in South Wilts favour.
Matt Hooper and Will Carr made further inroads, but Draper later found another useful ally in Josh Croom (23) and together they added a further 41 to take the game away from Andover.  
Tom Lewis was spectacularly caught on the boundary by substitute fielder Ben Black attempting a six to bring up the 200.

It was Croom (3-25), this time with his pacey left-arm bowling, who dismantled Andover’s response, taking out Glyn Treagus, Andrew Duckworth and Carr in quick succession as the Lions sank to 36-5.
Matt Burton (3-30) created further problems before Matt Knight (42) and Richard Taylor, with a no nonsense 49, gave Andover’s 152 respectability.

Cup favourites Sway & Lymington have been dealt a blow on the eve of Wednesday’s Vitality Hampshire Under-19 t20 final against Alton at St Cross Symondians’ Green Jackets Ground, 4pm.
Key all-rounder Cam Robertson, arguably their most influential all-rounder, has been ruled out leaving a gaping hole in the top order batting.
Unchanged Alton, who defended low totals to win their quarter and semi-final ties, are at full strength. 
Alton: Freddie Egleston, Abhay Gonella, Tom Green, Jude Wright, Sam Bridger, Ellis Ballinger, Xavier Bochereau, Toby Fuller, Ethan Footit, Gemma Porter, Nathan Vincent.
Sway & Lymington: Jude Tollerfield, Dan Cox, Josh Royan, Josh Bailey, Dan Bailey, Thomas Sykes, Liam McCurdy, Ben Paxton, Danny Paxton, Charlie Hampton, Harrison Gorny.
+ Spectators are welcome to attend and should bring their own fold-up chairs and refreshments. Ample car parking is available.

​Purbrook saved their best for last as they brought the curtain down on a forgettable Southern Premier League Cup East campaign with their first victory.
After five successive losses - and a host of low scores - Josh McCoy’s side finished with an exciting two-run victory over Hambledon in Division 2/Division 3.  It was their first competitive victory since beating relegated Fareham & Crofton in SP3 in July 2019.
Asked to chase 207 for their opening victory, Purbrook were some way off on 162-8.
But Brad Mengham, below, (60 not out) and tailender Jordan Price (14 not out off just four balls) added an unbroken 44 for the ninth wicket, enabling Purbook to win with nine balls remaining, though they still finished bottom of the group.
Hambledon began badly, losing openers Spencer Le Clerq (0) and Chris Pratt (10) cheaply.
They were dug out trouble by left-hander George Marshall, who hit eight fours and a six in his 75-ball 77.  Purbook opening bowlers Price (2-35) and Tom Amis (2-36) impressed, while McCoy (2-44) was a bit more expensive.
In reply, Purbook were 40-2 with opener Josh Spiers (10) and McCoy (0) back in the pavilion.
But opener John Moller - with only 41 runs to his name from four previous SPL innings - struck 55 off 59 balls before he was third out with the score on 94.
Mengham, coming in at No 6, struck three fours and three sixes in his unbeaten half-century as Purbrook finally had something to celebrate. One-time Hampshire left-arm spinner Ian Turner bagged 4-24 but Hambledon were left to rue bowling 17 wides.

St Cross Symondians seconds will play Bournemouth in the Southern Premier League Cup Grand Final at the Green Jackets Ground, Winchester, on Saturday, 12.30.
They clinched their cup final place with a comfortable 61-run win over Rowledge, which clinched top spot in the East Premier/1 group of the 40-over competition introduced in mid-summer when the government gave the go-ahead for recreational cricket to resume.
Bournemouth topped the West group, finishing first with a five-wicket win at Bashley (Rydal).
When the league cup was hurriedly set up in July, St Cross Symondians were allocated slots for their two sides in the East and West regions of the league cup to reflect the status of their teams in the ECB Premier Division and the Division 1 feeder league.
St Cross Symondians IIs  were due to have played in the second tier of SPL cricket this summer following last season's promotion from SPL2, but the Winchester club has come under fire from rivals for a 'squad rotation' system which, whilst not breaking any competition rules, others believe has not been in keeping with the Spirit of the Game.  
Players have swapped teams, with Hampshire's Harry Came among those to have turned out for both the East and West league cup sides, while  'home grown' county team-mate Felix Organ was controversially drafted into the second team the night before a recent key East win over Alton.
Premier Division regulars Simon Beetham and Ed Ellis have also turned out for both St Cross sides.
Needing a victory to clinch their cup final place, St Cross II made steady progress as they built a 213-6 winning total against Rowledge - Jason Laney (40), Steven Hirst (18) and former Middlesex cricketer Chris Whelan (31) setting the platform for Harry Foyle (pictured above) to hit 71 and Matt Howarth an unbeaten 27.
Rowledge, fielding eight players under-21 years of age, made 152-9 (David Lloyd 33), with David Orchard taking 4-18.​

Matt Stokes (above) was the star of the show as Symondians’ West side won by six wickets, chasing down New Milton’s modest 146-8 at Fernhill.
The Guernsey raised all-rounder, who finished with a tidy 3-18 return, struck two early blows before Lee Beck (57) and Joe Hall (31) lifted the Green & Golds from 16-2 to 106-3.
Stokes returned to remove Beck before Charlie Preston (3-22) struck three more blows to leave the hosts defending 146.
St Cross didn’t exactly make easy work of chasing down the target and were 38-3 with the in-form Harry Trussler going for a duck and Came trapped leg before for nine.
Enter Matt Stokes to strike an 11-boundary 73 not out and share a key 71-run partnership with Jack Bransgrove (27) which took St Cross to within touching distance of victory.
St Cross finished second in the log behind Bournemouth, while New Milton captain George Watts (2-33) finished the league cup campaign with 20 wickets.

Hapless Lymington lost eight wickets for 44 runs before plunging to a five-wicket defeat by Totton & Eling at Southern Gardens – their fifth loss in six Southern Premier League Cup West group matches.
They crashed from 102-2 to 146 all out – a total Totton polished off in 23 overs, their run chase eased by Lymington’s wayward bowlers, who sent down 29 wides.
Lymington made a sound enough start, but 42-0 quickly became 50-2 when Terry Crabb (17) missed a straight ball from 15-year old Tom Cheater (2-14), who then nipped out Gareth Schreuder for a fourth ball duck, caught behind by Ollie Thomas.
Cheater, a young year 11 Testwood schoolboy, had brought his geometry homework to the game and clearly got his angles right when he got Schreuder to feather one behind.  The crestfallen South African wicketkeeper later had to contend with Lymington’s spray gun bowling. It wasn’t his day …
Nonetheless, Ryan Scott (42) and Cameron Robertson (36) improved Lymington’s lot before the roof caved in.  Bright Mugochi helped himself to 3-22 as those eight wickets fell for 44 runs.
The unorthodox Sam Bracey (46) and Owen Morris (25) – aided by that plethora of wides – eased Totton to 85-1 before some wickets fell, but it was purely academic by then. 

The new ball had a significant impact at Botley Road, where Burridge lost their first four wickets for only 13 runs and visitors Alton fared even worse, with half their side back in the pavilion with only 29 on the board.
The difference was that Burridge recovered to make 175 and Alton didn’t, the Brewers being bowled out for 97 and beaten by 78 runs.
When Dan Scott (2-16) knocked over Joe Colling-Wells and Chris Blake first ball and then Academy loanee Tom South (2-29) bowled  opener Jack Paskins and Hilio De Abreu, Burridge sank to 13-4.
Azim Chowdhury (41) began the recovery in a sixth-wicket stand with Dan Damley-Jones (28), but Burridge were still deep in trouble on 117-7 before Dan Stancliffe (16), Mo Abbas (20) and Sully White (28) – all more than capable lower-order batsmen - boosted the total to 175 all out.
Alton’s top order crumbled almost as easily as Burridge’s had done, with White [left](3-16) and Stancliffe (2-20) did the damage as Alton crashed to 29-5, Michael Heffernan, and teenage pair Freddie Egleston and Jude Wright bagging ducks. 
Scott Myers (37) added some respectability to Alton’s eventual 97 all out, Abbas (3-17) removing the Brewers’ top scorer before taking the last two wickets.

Chris Morgan produced a stunning all-round performance by hitting 71 and then taking five cheap Sarisbury Athletic wickets as Havant romped to a 148-run Southern Premier League Cup victory to clinch second place in the East Premier/1 group.
Morgan (71) and opener Peter Hopson (70) shared a century fourth-wicket partnership as Havant eased to 223-9 (Jordan Wright 3-50).
The Havant captain, utilizing his skills and benefitting from batting higher up the order, twice cleared the Allotment Road boundary alongside hitting eight fours, while Hopson hit nine fours.
Two early strikes by Richard Jerry (2-20) led to Sarisbury dropping to 39-4 (Sam Floyd 18) before Morgan (left) emerged with his flighted left-arm spin.
He sliced through the rest of the Athletic batting to take five of the last six wickets to fall at a personal cost of 20 runs.  Sarisbury Athletic were 75 all out.
Morgan finished the truncated season with 20 wickets, three more than teenager Freddie Gadd, who also bowls left-arm spin,  took 17 in his debut SPL season.

Bournemouth will face St Cross Symondians in the Southern Premier League Cup Grand Final in Winchester on Saturday (12.30) after beating Bashley (Rydal) by five wickets.
The victory, based on a century-plus opening partnership between Nick Park and Tom Robinson, ensured that Bournemouth finished top of the West group.
They chased down Bashley’s under-par 174-8 with almost four overs to spare, the hosts not helping themselves with some erratic bowling which culminated in 28 wides and no-balls being conceded.
The zone decider turned in Bournemouth’s favour midway through the Bashley innings when, with the score at 80-1, top scorer Ben Walker (42) was run out by Sam Collins in a “yes/no” mix-up with Alex Turner (35) who returned to the BCG pavilion 12 runs later at 91-3.
Michael Porter (20) tried to pick up the pieces, but it was largely due to the emerging Jacob Gordon (39), aided by Josh Digby (17), that Bashley reached 174-8, the last three wickets falling for a mere seven runs.

Bashley needed Brad Currie to make early inroads if they were to put Bournemouth’s often uncertain batting under pressure, but whilst the left-armer returned a tidy 2-16 off his eight overs, a breakthrough was a long time coming.
Their cause wasn’t helped when fellow left-arm seamer Ben Fletcher pulled up lame, leaving captain Porter with precious little bowling experience to call upon.
Park and Tom Robinson took full advantage, although the Poole Town raised all-rounder injured a hamstring and had to bat with Chris Park as a runner for a large chunk of his innings.
Nonetheless, Robinson (pictured below) did his job splendidly, hitting 52, virtually half the 106-run opening stand with Park, which gave Bournemouth the perfect launch in their quest for a Grand Final place.

Bournemouth’s innings became becalmed when Currie, in his second spell, dismissed Collins and Adam Davies and Digby bowled the out-of-touch Luke Matthews at 148-5. Only ten runs came off 35 deliveries.
But the experienced Nick Park remained unflustered and, even though Simon Woodruff was run out (162-5), carefully eased Bournemouth towards their target, striking 12 boundaries in an unbeaten 71 which saw the Lions home with almost four overs to spare.

​Jack Marston was trapped leg before wicket just ten runs shy of a century against Portsmouth, but by the time Sparsholt dismissed him the city visitors were on the brink of an eight-wicket Southern Premier League Cup win.
Marston and left-hand opener Ben Duggan pinged fours and sixes all around the compact Locks Lane ground as Portsmouth raced past Sparsholt’s 164 with 1`5 overs to spare.
Marston cleared the boundary rope six times, alongside hitting 12 fours – 84 of his 90 runs coming in boundaries.
Duggan was a little more circumspect, hitting three sixes and two fours in his 50, the pair putting on 144 for the first wicket.
Joe Kooner-Evans and Harrison Webb shared six of the Sparsholt wickets, while Mike Haworth (39), Tom Foster (33) and Liam Doran (26) top scored for the Winchester club, who lost all seven of their East group League Cup matches.
Sparsholt's prospects of posting a competitive total effectively disappeared when they lost three quick wickets in mid-innings - a tidy 72-2 soon became 79-5 - before Haworth and Doran repaired the damage.​

Bournemouth, St Cross Symondians II and Portsmouth & Southsea have joined Bashley (Rydal) II in the inaugural Southern Premier League Cup Grand Finals on Saturday afternoon September 20.
Bournemouth clinched the West Premier/1 'title' with a five-wicket win at Bashley (Rydal), with St Cross Symondians confirming top spot in East Premier/1 with a victory over Rowledge.
Portsmouth & Southsea's victory over Waterlooville ensured first place in East 2/3 - they like Liphook & Ripsley took maximum points from their last group game and will host Bashley (Rydal) II at St James's Park.

SOUTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE CUP
EAST PREMIER/1

Burridge 175 (Chowdhury 41, Damley-Jones 28, White 28, Scott 2-16) beat Alton 97 (S Myers 37, White 3-16, Abbas 3-17) by 78 runs.

Havant 223-9 (Morgan 71, Hopson 70, Stone 23, Wright 3-50) beat Sarisbury Athletic 75 (Morgan 5-20) by 148 runs.

Portsmouth 168-2 (Marston 90, Duggan 50) beat Sparsholt 164 (Haworth 39, Foster 33, L Doran 26, Kooner-Evans 3-20, Webb 3-31) by eight wickets.

St Cross Symondians II 213-6 (H Foyle 71, Laney 40, Haworth 27*) beat Rowledge 152-9 (Lloyd 33, Orchard 4-18) by 61 runs.

WEST PREMIER/1

Bournemouth 175-5 (N Park 71*, Robinson 52) beat Bashley (Rydal) 174-8 (Walker 42, Gordon 39, A Turner 35) by five wickets.

South Wilts 198 (Draper 56, Morton 39, Warner 31, Duckworth 3-20) beat Andover 152 (Knight 42, Croom 3-25, Burton 3-30) by 46 runs.

St Cross Symondians 147-4 (Stokes 73*, Bransgrove 27) beat New Milton 146-8 (L Beck 57, Hall 31, Stokes 3-19, Preston 3-22) by six wickets.

Totton & Eling 148-5 (Bracey 46, Morris 25) beat Lymington 146 (Scott 42, Robertson 36, Mugochi 3-22) by five wickets.

EAST 2/3

Liphook & Ripsley 140-6 (Neave 39*, Nicklin 37, Brown 3-37) beat Hartley Wintney 134 (Parson 38, Rowland 23, Jancur 3-30) by four wickets.

Portsmouth & Southsea 136-5 (M Benfield 80, Silva 3-13) beat Waterlooville 135(Verma 28, Reynolds 25, Goddard 24, Turrell 4-16) by five wickets.

Purbrook 206-8 (Mengham 60*, Moller 55, Turner 4-24) beat Hambledon 202-9 (Marshall 77) by two wickets.

WEST 2/3

Fair Oak 171-2 (G McKenzie 56, Gwynn 52*, Hughes 36*) beat Hythe & Dibden 170-6 (Young 62, Wakely 34, Gates 31, Gwynn 3-30) by eight wickets.

Fawley 128-5 (D Streather 44*, Dunn 3-21) beat Paultons 124 (Smart 41, Forster 5-10, B Parratt 3-25) by five wickets.

Langley Manor 156-5 (Budd 39, Smith 24, Harris 21, Bamford 4-55) beat Trojans 152-8 (Boyd 41, Doubell 4-46) by five wickets.
​
Old Tauntonians & Romsey 163-3 (   ) beat South Wilts II 159-9 (Edwards 36, Richards 25, Bampton 4-15, Trodd 3-35) by seven wickets.

Rowledge are continuing to back their youth policy to the hilt and plan to send eight Under-21 year old’s into the fray against Southern Premier League Cup East group leaders St Cross Symondians at the Green Jackets.
Three of the youngsters – Ollie Baker, Will Ryman and Jonty Sebborn – head off to university next week, while several others, including recent five-wicket pair Ryan Littlewood and Ethan Martin have just begun their GCSE year 11 studies.
“Six of those lads got us to the Surrey U19 t20 finals – a fantastic achievement – so it promises to be another learning curve day against St Cross,” smiled Rowledge skipper Ben Wish.
St Cross Symondians will certainly be up for it as a win will guarantee them top spot in the East division and a place in next Saturday’s Grand Final.
Rowledge: B Wish, J Wish, Lloyd, R Yates, Baker, Sebborn, E Martin, M Martin, W Ryman, O Ryman, Littlewood.
Second placed Havant are the only side who can overhaul St Cross, but it will mean the Winchester club losing and them winning at Sarisbury Athetic for that to happen.
Havant name and unchanged side, while Sarisbury – who have beaten the Hampshire Academy at Allotment Road in the 40-over competition - have skipper Ricky Rawlins back.
Sarisbury Athletic: Rawlins, Floyd, Smith, Lovett, J Hill, Wright, Franklin, Sanders, S Hill, Jewell, Orr.
Havant: Harry Gadd, Hopson, Stone, Hindley, Morgan, Perkins, Bulled, Freddie Gadd, Taw, Stares, Jerry.
Alton are boosted by the return of Hampshire Academy loanee Tom South for the visit to Burridge who, in turn, recall Ollie Southon, believed to be one of the fastest bowlers on the local scene.  Tom Green makes his debut.
Alton: Harris, South, Mike Heffernan, Wright, Egleston, Myers, Mark Heffernan, Green, Scott, Bochereau, Paul.
Portsmouth will be minus broken leg victim Dan Wallis for the visit to Sparsholt – the Chichester university batsman suffering the injury while on holiday in Portugal. 
Portsmouth: J Marston, T Wallis, Smitherman, Christian, Woolf, Hammond, Kooner-Evans, McArdle, A Marston, Webb.