Jack Stearman carried his bat for an unbeaten 85 as South Wilts posted 159-3 before restricting Waterlooville to 118-9 in the Southern Premier League T20 Plate final at the Ageas Bowl.
The bespectacled left-hander hit three sixes and eight fours in his 85, adding a quick fire half-century stand with Arthur Godsal 32*.   
Josh McCoy (28) and Kiwi Josh McGregor (23) eased the Ville reply to 88-3 before six wickets fell for 20 runs, Tom Lewis taking 4-26 as the innings closed at 118-9.

​Hook & Newnham Basics will want to bury the nightmare of last season’s Southern Premier League T20 Cup final performance when they face Havant once again under the Ageas Bowl floodlights on Sunday evening, 7pm.
Twelve months ago, they were routed by nine wickets after managing only 106-9 in their 20 overs, a target Havant gleefully polished off with Ben Walker, left, hitting 49 not out.
Seven of that Hook side play again tomorrow night, with skipper Josh Buckingham vowing to do much better this time around.
Hook have been relegated from the Premier Division this summer, but have been in good T20 form, with a two-wicket semi-final win over St Cross Symondians the pick of their victories. 
Havant have been dominant in T20 cricket in recent years. This is their sixth cup final appearance in eight years. They have carried off the trophy three times, including 2020 and 2021.
Havant: Hopson, Hindley, Walker, H Gadd, Metzger, Barnard, M Hayward, Jerry, Stone, Loat, F Gadd.
Hook & Newnham Basics: Josh Buckingham, Sam Lockwood, Richard Willcocks, Harry Robson, Matthew Buckingham, Harry Warner, Rupert Armstrong, Ollie James, Jack Murrell, Will Gardner, Anik Divecha.
Admission is free of charge but spectators are urged to wrap up warm as it may be a tad chilly come nine o’clock !

This is the attacking style of play by Bashley (Rydal) batsman Michael Porter team-mates at the Victoria sub-district side Brunswick will relish when he touches down in Melbourne this weekend.
Porter finished seventh in the ECB Southern Premier Division batting charts this summer, scoring 679 runs, including two centuries. He has made over 4,600 runs in 11 seasons for Bashley, prior to which he made close on 750 runs in two seasons with the Hampshire Academy. 
Porter will look to expand his relatively under-used leg-spin talents during his six months at Brunswick, who helped develop James Hibberd ten years or so ago. 
Also wintering in Melbourne is Lymington spin all-rounder Dan Cox, who will be looking to  enhance his talents with Middle Park CC, whose ground is situated in Albert Park, smack next door to the city's F1 motor racing circuit.  
Academy left-arm pace bowler Finn Calderwood and Bashley (Rydal) prospect Josh Parsons have linked up with the Darren Lehmann Cricket Academy in Adelaide.

Ben Draper has fired a pre-Southern Premier League T20 Plate final warning to his South Wilts team-mates in the countdown to Sunday's showdown against Waterlooville at the Ageas Bowl, 3pm.
As he packed his golf clubs in readiness for a well earned break in Turkey, Draper has told South Wilts not to under-estimate the Ville at any cost.
"They may be a third tier side in the SPL pyramid, but they will give it everything against us, by throwing themselves about in the field and busting a gut with every ball they bowl," he said. 
"South Wilts are obviously favourities, but we'll have to earn that right on the field.  We can't afford to take our eye off the ball."
Apart from Draper and his golfing partner, the newly wed Rob Pittman, South Wilts parade a full srength side as they seek to put their only trophy of 2022 in the Bemerton cabinet.
Left-arm quick Josh Croom plays his last game before flying to Australia for a third winter with Geelong in the South Australia Grade competition.
Ville's Kiwi Josh McGregor has delayed his return flight to New Zealand to play.
South Wilts: Morton, Stearman, Rowe, Godsal, Cranch, Mynott, Falconer, Grant, Croom, Lewis, Burton.
Waterlooville: Birch, Hillman, Hudson, T Jackson, C Jackson, Knight, McCoy, McGregor, Reynolds, Robinson, Shephard. 
Admission to Sunday's final is free, with plenty of car parking available.

CUP WINNERS FAIR OAK 
Back (from left): Monam Abbas, Tom Clark, Toby Wolverson, Henry Nicholls, Joeh Turner, Harry Clark, Nathan Lys, Monty McKenzie.  Front: Lewis Goodyear, Matt White, Sam Reed, Ben Smith.

Fair Oak were crowned Hampshire Under-19 T20 champions beating Rowledge by 25 runs in the final at St Cross Symondians’ Green Jackets Ground. 
Some attractive early strokes by Monam Abbas gave Oaks a fine start, but three wickets put them in an awkward position at 24-3. A partnership of 60 between Sam Reed and Ben Smith (29) set the scene for late acceleration.  
Man of the match Reed (47) and Matt White (33*), who played shots all around the ground, guided Fair Oak to 154-5, the wickets being shared around five different Rowledge bowlers.
The target was probably slightly above par, but Rowledge set off at a tremendous rate, Ollie Hinchliffe hitting two straight sixes in the first over.  But wickets soon started to fall, and although the lads from the Surrey borders were up with the asking rate throughout the first half of their innings, they soon and began to run out of batters.
Southern Premier League regulars Olie Ryman and Ryan Littlewood each made 27, but Oaks’ superior firepower told in the end.  Toby Wolverson took 3-33, Reed 2-14 and Abbas 2-24 , the latter pouching three catches and taking the key wicket of Zac LeRoux (24). Rowledge were bowled out for 129 in the 19th over to leave Fair Oak as county champions.

​South Wilts all-rounder Arthur Godsal is among seven members of last year’s triumphant squad who will return to Spain for the National Counties XI’s defence of the Dream 11 European Cricket Network T10 Championship next month.
National Counties, who are again representing England in the multi-nation tournament at the Cartama Oval near Malaga, beat Belgium by ten wickets in last year’s final.   As defending champions, National Counties will enter this season’s competition in the Championship Week which starts on October 10 with the final on October 14.
Godsal hopes to be in Ben Draper's pick for Sunday's Southern Premier League T20 Plate final against Waterlooville at the Ageas Bowl, 3pm.

​Calmore Sports wanted to give Mark Lavelle a retirement gift of a second consecutive Lord's Voneus Village Cup final triumph - but their plans went badly awry as the Gloucestershire side, Dumbleton outplayed them to win by 86 runs.
Lavelle has stepped down Calmore after eight pretty successful years at the helm at Loperwood Park - he is by far and away the Southern Premier League's longest serving captain - and proudly held aloft the 50-years old village trophy on the historic pavilion steps 12 months ago.
But there was to be no repeat in the early autumn St John's Wood sunshine as Dumbleton, runners-up in the West of England Premier League's Gloucestershire feeder division this season, rattled up a powerful 241-4 following half-centuries from teenage batter Tommy Boorman and captain Rupert Salmon. 
Ross Martin then produced player of the match-winning figures of 4-12 to reduce Calmore to 39-5 and so destroy their hopes of becoming just the sixth side to defend the title inside 16 overs.
Hampshire champions Calmore won the toss and were on the front foot in the early stages, restricting Dumbleton to 22-1 after 10 overs thanks to the metronomic opening bowling of left-armer Steve Wright and Josh Metcalfe.
Wright, operating at the pavilion end, removed Martin, but a 62-run second-wicket partnership between Boorman and Dan Holland flipped the match on its head and from that point Dumbleton never relinquished control.
                                                                                            Flipped
Ben Perry eventually removed Holland, caught behind by Max Bailey for 29, just before the halfway mark but Boorman continued his charge, bringing up his half-century off 57 balls with a six in the 23rd over and later dispatching the spinner for 4, 6, 6 in the 25th to get the Dumbleton faithful on their feet.
Seventeen years old Boorman, who has played regularly for Gloucestershire seconds in recent weeks, was in the England U19 squad for the recent 'Test' series against Sri Lanka, but was released prior to the matches taking place. 
Seeking a breakthrough Calmore skipper Mark Lavelle brought himself on from the Pavilion End and immediately struck gold, Boorman picking out Shawn Johnson on the boundary to depart for 71 – Dumbleton 127 for 3.
He continued to bowl tidily in the company of Liam Carty before the Worcestershire group champions burst into life with 101 runs coming off the final 10 overs.
Salmon shared an 89-run fourth-wicket stand with Myles Holland (39 off 34), who smashed two monstrous sixes towards the Dumbleton fans, and put on a further 25 runs with Adam Stuart as his side closed on 241 for 4. Salmon finished unbeaten on 73 off 67, including six fours and one six.
Already needing to make their highest winning total of the season, Calmore needed another equally important innings from Ben Johns, the competition's leading run maker of 2022, but it didn't happen.
Calmore's reply had barely got under way when Johns cramped up and, the very next ball (from Martin) after treatment, edged a low catch to Boorman at second slip.
As the left-hander trailed disappointingly back to the pavilion, Calmore's already slim hopes of repeating their 2021 triumph went with him.
                                                                                          Inswinger
Martin grabbed his second in the eighth over, bowling Lavelle (4) with an inswinger, and four overs later he removed Will Brewster (14) and Shawn Johnson (lbw) with back-to-back deliveries.
Jamie Diamond then snared Matt Taylor – Scott Tremain taking his second catch of the day – to leave Calmore in disarray on 39 for 5 after 13 overs.
The Totton-based Southern Premier Division 1 side were facing the prospect of an unwanted entry in the Village Cup final record books - the heaviest ever margin of defeat (119 runs inflicted by Seesay on Sibton in 2016).

​James Manning (41) Bailey (18) and Metcalfe (18) - aided by 35 extras - spared their blushes. Calmore all out for 155 with five balls remaining, Stuart and Diamond picking up two wickets apiece and one each for Ollie Horne and Will Sharp to go with Martin’s four-for.
It was the first time Calmore Sports had been beaten in two seasons of Village Cup cricket, but to get to Lord’s again and finish runners-up out of an initial entry of over 250 clubs is a fantastic achievement.
Reflecting Mark Lavelle said: "Dumbleton were a good side who were better that us on the day. We were out-played in all three departments but the way we rallied from 39-5 to keep going showed good spirit but it just wasn't to be our day - but a great experience nonetheless! 
"We let the game slip away in the last 10 overs of our bowling innings. Having wickets in hand and a couple of set batsman with a small boundary one side and plenty of twos on offer the other was difficult to stop. 
"We set out to do the same and have set batsmen and wickets in hand going into the last 15 overs but wasn't to be. Ross Martin bowled very well and took the top order out, Ben getting injured didn't help and Shawn's LBW was an interesting call.

Calmore Sports must better Dumbleton's competitive 241-4 in 40 overs of they are to retain the Voneus Village Cup at Lord's.
The Gloucestershire side set the 2021 winners a formidable target after Tommy Boorman (71) and skipper Ross Salmon (73) batted impressively in the pre-lunch session.
Left-armer Steve Wright, bowling from the pavilion end, struck an early blow for Calmore Sports by  bowling Dumbleton opener Ross Martin for 10. 
Dumbleton, 22-1 off the initial ten overs, recovered to 80-2 through Dan Holland and Tommy Boorman 37*, but then lost Holland caught behind by Max Bailey off Ben Perry. 
Seventeen-years old Boorman, who has been playing regularly for Gloucestershire 2nd XI recently, moved on to 71, twice dumping Perry into the Tavern stand off consecutive deliveries.  The spinner gained revenge as Boorman hit a long hop down Shawn Johnson's throat at mid-wicket. He hit three sixes and seven fours.
Skipper Ross Salmon (73*) and Miles Holland (39) took Dumbleton on to 216-4 with three overs left.  Another 25 runs were added to take the WEPL side to 241-4.​
​
​LIVE STREAM: lords.org/lords/matchday/thecricketer-national-village-cup-final

​Dumbleton’s bar manager is looking forward to a trip or two down Memory Lane when he meets up with some of his past Calmore Sports team-mates in the Lord’s pavilion bar at Sunday’s Voneus Village Ciup final.
Nick Holland played for Calmore in his embryo days between 1982 and 1987. Ironically, his two sons, Daniel (20) and Myles (18) will be playing against Calmore – and both are vital cogs in the Dumbleton side, which has won 12 competitive matches on the trot.
Calmore president Steve Brandes recalls: “Nick moved to the New Forest in Hampshire as a 15 year old from the Isle of Wight as his parents took over a hotel in Lyndhurst. 
“He was recommended to Calmore and made his debut for the 3rd XI in 1982 before moving on to the seconds and then playing regularly for our first team from aged 16 years onwards. 
“He played a total of 53 games for the 1st XI (including 14 games in the 1999 season when he came back to represent us in the Premier Cricket League) scoring 765 runs, top-scoring with 62 not out against Bashley (Rydal) at Loperwood Park in 1987 Southern League season.
“Nick was immensely popular at Calmore and is regarded as something of a legend by those of his teammates fortunate enough to play with him.”
Holland returned to his island roots in 1988 and played for Shanklin for whom he went on to score some 20,000 runs. He later moved to the Cheltenham area and joined Dumbleton, where his pint pulling expertise has been evident for a decade or more.
Daniel Holland is the wicket Mark Lavelle’s cup holders will want most. The 20-years old has made a staggering 1,117 runs in WEPL Gloucestershire Division matches this season, making five hundreds and an unbeaten double century when the side chased down 300 to beat Circencester. 
Daniel will shortly be resuming his studies at Loughborough University, has also taken 17 wickets this term. Sibling is a seam bowling all-rounder with 11 league scalps. 
Interestingly, their grandfather is Ray Julian who played First Class Cricket for Leicestershire and went on to become a First Class and International umpire. He is looking forward to seeing his grandsons play at the Home of Cricket

In the previous 50 editions of the Voneus Village Cup, only five teams – Troon, St Fagans, Caldy, Shipton-under-Wychwood, and Woodhouse Grange – have successfully defended the title at Lord’s.
But, after beating Foxton Granta by seven wickets last month’s semi-finals, Calmore Sports Club are just one win away from joining that exclusive club.
Blocking their path at the Home of Cricket on Sunday (1100) will be Evesham-based Dumbleton, who will blaze their way through the Grace Gates on the back of 12 straight wins, nine of them to secure runners-up in the Gloucestershire feeder Division of the West of England Premier League.   
Last year Calmore made hard work of reaching the final – they beat Cheshire’s Alvanley by six wickets in a rain reduced run chase – more often than not overcoming a collapse to win, but this summer’s roads to Lord’s has been far more straightforward.
They cruised through the Hampshire group, defeating Hambledon, Sarisbury Athletic, Ventnor and Bramshaw to progress to the last 32 where, playing the entirety of the national round on home soil at Loperwood Park, they overcame Oxford Downs, and Grampound Road, before repeating a 2021 success over Goatacre and then beating Foxton Granta.
                                                                                   Away days
Only twice did Calmore travel beyond their SO40 postcode address, initially a day out on the Isle of Wight (where run gun Ben Johns helped himself to an unbeaten century), then across the eastern fringe of the New Forest to Bramshaw where it rained soon after tea and the county final was switched back to Loperwood Park.
Compare that with Dumbleton, who have travelled 600 miles from their Evesham home to reach the final, playing away from home on five occasions, including a semi-final trip up the M6 to Liverpool, losing the toss five times out of seven.   
Calmore are taking a squad of 13 to Lord’s, where they’ll enjoy a full scale net practice session on the Nursery ground, while Bexley are battling it out with Nantwich in the ECB Royal London Cup final on the main arena.  
One absentee from the nets will be top order batsman Matty Taylor, who can expect to find himself in a goalkeeping coconut shy in Somerset where he will be Laverstock & Ford’s last line of defence in an FA Cup second qualifying round tie against National League South hosts Taunton Town, the Salisbury side being distinct underdogs.
“Let’s hope Matty doesn’t get a sore back,” joked Calmore Sports captain Mark Lavelle.
Calmore’s cup final squad: Max Bailey, Will Brewster, Liam Carty, Daniel Croft, Ben Johns, Shawn Johnson, Mark Lavelle, James Manning, Josh Metcalfe, Sam Moss, Ben Perry, Matt Taylor, Steve Wright.
If you are unable to go to Lord’s, the game is being screened-
http://player.broadcastradio.com/lords-cricket-ground

Hampshire Academy prospect Joe Eckland hit an undefeated 48 to steer England Under-19s to a seven-run D/L victory against their Sri Lanka counterparts in the second ODI at New Road, Worcester.
The 18-year old batsman/wicketkeeper hit six boundaries and shared a key 83-run partnership with Somerset's George Thomas (86) as England emerged from 112-4  to achieve a superior run rate to that of SL in a rain affected match.  Sir Lanka made 211-6 (Dom Kelly 1-33) off 35 overs.
Eckland played in all three of England's ODI wins, while Kelly and Eddie Jack were also capped in the 'Test' series which preceded the ODIs .  The Academy pair each took two wickets in the opening match at Chelmsford.

MANOR, Division 3 runners-up
Standing (from left): Simon Peters, Steve Harris, Conor Browne, Ben Morgan, Elliot Ponting, Jay Purnell. Front: Jack Budd, James Furnish, Todd Garner, T


LANGLEY Manor secured promotion and will join Southern Premier League Division Three champions Portsmouth & Southsea in division two next season following a nail-biting tie with Forest rivals Sway at Knellers Lane.
It had seemed to be plain sailing for Manor, with skipper Jack Budd asking the visitors to bat on a turning wicket.  A procession of batsmen all failed to reach double figures, starting with Sway's top-three: Tim Noble, Alex Hall and Greg Jones.
Ben Morgan (2-15) and Hampshire’s Jack Campbell (2-15), bowling slow left-arm, took control. Hugh Bernard (33) started the attempted recovery with Dave Steadman (17) and Tom Burton (18) until he was caught skying one to Campbell.
It was then left to the experienced Craig Renders (4-28) to bamboozle the Sway tail. But to Budd's delight, recent promotion challengers Sway were back in the pavilion for a less-than-modest 128.
Sway turned to their established seam attack. In tandem with the ever-reliable Jon Waller (2-23), a devastating Steadman (5-28) spell trapped three top-six batters without scoring and Campbell for just four runs.
At 52-7, Langley's fingers were certainly crossed. But despite the devastation around him, Steve Harris held the innings together, latterly with the aid of Renders (17) and Tom Spencer (13).
With the scores level at 128-9, with 12 fours and two sixes to his name, Harris (77) was on the verge of claiming a Langley victory before Richard Thomas (3-9) bowled him. The match ended in a tie, with second-placed Langley Manor sealing the final promotion spot.  Sway finished fourth after slipping to a six-wicket defeat the previous Saturday.

Teenage spinner Kit Blomfield (above) took 5-17 as Paultons lost their last seven wickets for 27 runs against South Wilts II, who took third place in Southern Premier Division 3 on account of a comfortable seven-wicket win at Whitemoor Lane.
The 16-years old triggered the collapse when he dismissed Australian Callum Barton for 65, only the Sydneysider's second half-century in a very disappointing summer which yielded only 385 league runs. Newly wed Rob Pittman took 2-18 as Paultons sank to 136 all out.
Joe Cranch (37) and Sam Litchfield (24) consolidated South Wilts' position before Rob Pittman (36) was joined at the alter by sibling Sam (19) to cut the wedding cake. 

If you are planning to go to support Calmore Sports in the Village Cup final against Dumbleton on Sunday (1100), don't forget you must buy a ground ticket in advance and there will be no cash admission on the day.
The link is https://tickets.lords.org/en-GB/events/the%20voneus%20village%20cup%20final/2022-9-18_11.00/lord's%20cricket%20ground?hallmap
Cup holders Calmore have already filled two 63-seater coaches and numerous other locals are planning a weekend in the city
There's good news on the rail front : the 0838 from Southampton Airport Parkway arrives at London Waterloo at 0953. The Jubilee Line tube to St John's Wood takes 12 minutes after which it's a 10-minute walk to the ground.

Rowledge all-rounder Chris Yates sent down a superb nine-over left-arm spin spell and then top scored, but was unable to spare Hampshire Seniors from a 24-run defeat by Durham & Northumberland in the National Sixties Championship Vase final at Grantham.
​Yates (left) bowled immaculately, his nine overs (four of which were maidens) costing a mere 14 runs.
But by the time he had finished his stint. Durham openers Tom Birbeck (72) and Ian McGrath (56) were well on their way to compiling their 130-run partnership, which cemented the platform for a competitive 196-6 off 45 overs.
Several Hampshire batsmen made starts, but from 68-2 they slipped to 127-6 and the game was gone.
Yates, who made 62 in the semi-final, scored 31, while Neil Sutherland (25) and Geoff Beale (24) helped Hampshire reach 172 all out.
Hampshire Sixties seconds didn't bowl a ball in their scheduled Second XI final against Surrey at Horsley & Send, but have seven months to prepare for the 'replay' which will now take place in April 2023.
Both Hampshire sides were beaten in their respective semi-finals, but reinstated when it was discovered that Surrey and Devon (seconds) had fielded ineligible players in winning their ties.
Essex are once again ECB 50-plus County Championship winners, beating Middlesex (216-8) by four wickets in the final at Arundel Castle, where former Suffolk run machine Giles Ecclestone made 62.

​Portsmouth & Southsea bowler Jake Peach starred as Purbrook claimed an unwanted Southern Premier League record of losing all 18 Division 3 matches.
Peach tore through their top order at St James’ Park, bagging the first six wickets as Purbrook crashed to 34-6.  At 48-9, the visitors were on course to record their lowest team total across all four divisions of the SPL this year. But a 14-run stand for the last wicket - the highest of the innings - saw Purbrook reach 62 before the final wicket fell.
Peach finished with 6-18 - the fourth best figures in Division 3 in 2022. But they weren’t his best of a sun-drenched summer - that was a 7-17 haul when Basingstoke & North Hants 2nds, relegated alongside Purbrook, were shot out for 57 in early June.
Matt Benfield (28 not out) and Jack Davies (14 not out) helped P & S stroll to a nine-wicket win in the ninth over.
It was their 16th win in 18 fixtures and ensured they finished with an average points per game total of 19.00 - the best across all four SPL tiers.
Davies, with 742 runs, finished as the division’s leading run scorer while P & S captain Ben Saunders, with 44, was the section’s top wicket-taker.
P & S left-arm spinner Kieron Dunstan was the fourth highest, with 32 victims, while Peach (30) was seventh in the divisional list.
In the final reckoning, P & S enjoyed a 69-point advantage over South Wilts 2nds - the top two going up. And Purbrook were 115 points adrift of third-bottom Trojans, with the bottom two playing in the Hampshire League in 2023.
Purbrook finished with 71 points in total, compared to the 85 bowling points P & S amassed over the course of a memorable campaign.
Last-wicket pair of Muhammad Ali and Conor Regan gave Gosport Borough a tense victory over Trojans at Privett Park.
Asked to chase 136 for victory, Gosport’s ninth wicket fell with the score on 106. But last man Regan (14 not out) helped  Ali (16 not out) in seeing Boro’ home.
Craig Stares, batting at No 7, top scored with 19 as the hosts recovered from 62-6 to win.
Jacob Harris (3-32) and Sampath Prathapasinghe (3-44) had helped reduce Trojans to 135 all out (Ed Boyd 45).
There were some fine bowling figures recorded when Havant 2nds lost to relegated Basingstoke & North Hants 2nds by 28 runs at May’s Bounty.
First, Havant pair left-arm spinner Steven Matthews (4-19) and Ali Gardner (4-30) impressed as the hosts were bowled out for 152 (Mandeep Sharma 52).
Chris ‘Tug’ Chandler then bagged 5-31 - removing the Havant top five in the process - as the visitors crashed to 35-6.  Helped by a last wicket stand of 38 between Pete Hayward (17 not out) and Gardner (16), Havant were eventually bowled out for 124.

Hampshire Seniors are set to play in two National Sixties Championship Vase finals on Tuesday – even though they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the 1st and 2nd XI cups last month !
Both Sixties teams were ready to store their kit in the loft after Surrey thrashed Hampshire (159) by nine wickets in the Vase first team competition and on the same late August afternoon in distant Torquay, Devon posted a towering 282-6 before giving Mark Jackson’s elders a 118-run beating.
But, incredibly, both Surrey and Devon have been booted out of the respective competitions for failing to comply with player qualification rules – giving Hampshire a walkover into two cup finals.
It means Neil Trestrail’s sixties first team trudging off to Grantham to play Durham in the National Vase final and Jacko’s troops taking a slightly shorter trip to Horsley & Send, near Leatherhead, to play (ironically) Surrey IIs.   Both matches start at 12.30pm.
For the record, Hampshire plunged to 36-6 on a bowler friendly surface at Banstead before being rescued by Rowledge spin all-rounder Chris Yates (65) and Dave Simpson (41). Surrey polished off the 159 they needed with Sanjay Beri smashing 102*.
Meanwhile, in South Devon, former Saints midfielder Graham Baker took 3-34 and later made 40 as Hampshire II made 164-4 (Jackson 44) in response to that huge 282-2, every run of which proved in vain.
* Lymington old timer Tony Wharton is making an encouraging recovery in hospital following a recent hip operation and has just started walking with the aid of crutches. We wish him well.

​ANDOVER, Division 2 runners-up
Back from left: Hari Williams, Babu Veettil, Charlie Ayers, Mike Adams, Nathan Birks. Front: Matt Hooper, Steve Williams, John Nyumbu, Glyn Treagus, Sam Ashman, Matt Knight.

Andover finished runners-up behind Hambledon to clinch the second promotion spot from Southern Premier Division 2 – but it was a mighty close call !
But for tenth-wicket pair Matt Hooper and Mike Adams, Andover might not have got the six bonus points they needed from their final match against relegation threatened Hook & Newnham Basics II to ensure finishing above Old Tauntonians & Romsey.
All appeared well in the London Road camp when Harry Blackburn (40) and Charlie Ayers (21) guided Andover to 105-3, but Hook spin pair Aniket Divecha (3-23) and Will Gardner put an entirely different complexion on proceedings by reducing the Lions to 148-9, six wickets falling for 43 runs.
Andover had only one batting point in the bank at that point and with OTs known to be in a winning position against Fair Oak, it was time to some experience heads.
                                                                                    Promotion
Cue Hooper (41 not out) and Adams (22 not out) to add a precious 53 for the last wicket and lift Andover to 201-9 – a total worth four batting points.
With OTs missing out on maximum batting points by making 201-6, Andover needed only one more points to clinch promotion.
They had to be patient as it wasn’t until Hook openers Tom May (38) and Dan Moore (36) were back in the pavilion at 86-2 before that extra bowling point was achieved.
Andover were on a probable loser – a fact confirmed by Matt Buckingham (59 not out) and Rupes Armstrong (28 not out) – but it was largely academic as they were up and back in Division 1 from which they were relegated in 2021.
                                                                                       Going down
Neither Bashley (Rydal) seconds nor Fawley were unable to hold on to Southern Premier Division 2 status despite producing fine performances in their final matches.
Bashley won by 89 runs at St Cross Symondians II and Fawley posted a losing 257-8 against Hartley Wintney – but with relegation rivals Hook & Newnham Basics II pulling off a shock win at promoted Andover, the New Forest pair both went down.
Ben Francis (53) and Phil Morris (53) hit half-centuries alongside teenage left-hander Finn Gordon (32) and James McMurray (29) to ease Bashley to 232-7 at the Green Jackets, where St Cross tumbled to 143 all out (Michael Booth 55), Dan Goodey taking 3-22.
Sufian Munir blasted a quick fire 64 and with Raminder Singh hitting 54, Fawley left Hartley Wintney 257-8 to chase at Holbury.
Hugo Hammond almost did it on his own, cracking a whirlwind 143 not out off 102 balls, hitting five sixes and 19 fours.
James Mulvey hit three maximums in his 40 as Hartley won by seven wickets with 11 overs to spare.

Archie Reynolds led from the front as Waterlooville handed neighbouring Hambledon a rare Southern Premier League defeat.
The Dons entered the final game of the Division 2 campaign having already clinched back-to-back titles.
But Ville claimed a four-wicket success at Ridge Meadow - only the third SPL game the hosts had lost in 28 games stretching back to the start of last season.
Visiting skipper Reynolds struck his seventh SPL half-century of the campaign as his side won off the last ball of the final over.
After winning  the toss and restricting the champions to 219-9, Reynolds hit 71 as Ville advanced to 159-3. But he was caught behind by Mark Butcher off the bowling of Dan McGovern, and it was 169-5 when Kiwi Josh McGregor (33) was run out.
Jon Hudson (30 not out) and Sam Hillman (14 not out) guided Ville to victory in the first game between the two local rivals in 2022 - the initial return fixture at Rowlands Avenue having been cancelled when travellers invaded the venue.
                                                                                     Trapped
Earlier, Reynolds had claimed the key wicket of record-breaker Matt De Villiers. The South African, who flew back to his Cape Town home to prepare for Claremont’s WPCA season, had reached 32 when he was trapped leg before. It was only the fifth time in 17 innings he had failed to reach a half-century.
Still, De Villiers’ final SPL tally of 1,234 runs - averaging 94.92 - established a new all-time seasonal record that will take some beating. He was, though, playing several tiers beneath his capabilities. 
Reynolds finished second in the Division 2 run log, with 743 - four more than Hartley Wintney’s Hugo Hammond, who brought the curtain down on his campaign with a sparkling unbeaten 143 - with 19 fours and five sixes - against relegated Fawley.
Chris Pratt (52) and Henry Glanfield (34) top scored for the Dons, while Dan Birch (2-21), McGregor (2-23) and Reynolds (2-29) got among the wickets.
Despite losing, Hambledon still finished 25 points ahead of runners-up Andover. A superb effort, bearing in mind they started the campaign on minus 20 - after being punished for an off-field admin error - and played a game fewer than Andover due to travellers.

The agony is finally over for Sparsholt, who have suffered a triple relegation with the firsts finishing bottom of Southern Premier Division 1, the 2nd XI dropping from Hampshire League 2 and the thirds propping up 5 North West.
They will doubtless hope this season’s ‘learning curve’ for some decent young cricketers will rub off in 2023, where players will hopefully enjoy socialising in the smart new bar at the Norman Edwards Ground, which in turn is among the nicest on which to play.
Courtesy of tailender Ian Berrill’s heroics they tied with Rowledge at School Road midway through the season. There was to be no repeat in the rematch with Sparsholt bowled out for 144 and beaten by five wickets, with Jake Wish making a long overdue half-century.
Josh Williams (44) and Callum Doran (26) were among the top order batsmen to make their mark, but Sparsholt didn’t have the depth to enhance an encouraging 82-3.  Max Martin (4-25) cashed in, with Oli Baker and Will Ryman taking two wickets each.
Jake Wish hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons but at least he finished on a positive note with 50. Durham University physics student Zac LeRoux (30) took his season’s tally to a creditable 561, while Ray Littlewood (29) ended with 474 and fellow 17-years old Oli Ryman with 448.
The five-wicket victory was a tenth in 18 matches for Rowledge, who finished sixth, having led the table for some time until late July.

Ben Johns got his eye in for Calmore Sports’ upcoming Voneus Village Cup final at Lord’s with a crisply struck century which set up his side’s 44-run win over Southern Premier Division 1 rivals Ventnor at Steephill.
The left-hander, man of the match in last season’s Village final win over Alvanley, hit a polished 123 as Calmore posted 267-7 before bowling Ventnor out for 223, the last five wickets falling for ten runs.
His third century of the season – ironically, he also made an unbeaten 100 in the Village Cup in May - neatly brought up a 1,500 run tally for the season, basically comprising 30 SPL, Village Cup and T20 matches.
Johns struck a six and 19 fours and, with support from Will Brewster (24) and Max Bailey (34), steered Calmore to 213-5 before giving way to Josh Metcalfe, who thumped 36 off balls just before tea.

Ventnor certainly batted themselves into a strong position, with Rob Snell hitting 33 and Dineth Thimodya three sixes in an eye catching 27, on his farewell Vectis appearance before returning to Sri Lanka.
Martin Blackman (48) and Zepth Wells (29) kept the pot boiling as Ventnor reached 206-5 off 44 overs to leave themselves a testing 62 off the last five overs.
Liam Carty’s 45th over – the one which decided the match - began with a wide, then a six by Charlie Calloway, who was bowled next ball for 35 by the young spinner (213-6).
Carty’s next delivery clean bowled Oli Morgan. His last ball removed Ben Woodhouse for a second ball duck to make it 213-8.  Three wickets in four balls by Carty, who finished with 3-48.
Ben Fisher finished things off by having Namish Verma caught behind and Sam Read bowled.  Ventnor 223 all out.
Calmore Sports will have a perfect opportunity to watch Dumbleton, their Village Cup final opponents at Lord’s on Sunday week (September 18), in action this weekend – if it ever stops raining !
The Worcestershire side have fixed a two-day trip to the Isle of Wight to play Ventnor at Steephill on Saturday and Shanklin & Godshill at Westhill on Sunday.  
Steve Wright hopes to rent a second hand drone for the weekend to film Dumbleton in action.

​A third loss in their last five matches, culminating in an 85-run defeat by relegated Liphook & Ripsley, left Sarisbury Athletic 17 points adrift of Southern Premier Division 1 champions Alton.
Going into the home straight, everything in the Allotment Road garden looked rosy. They had just won a sixth game in a row against Rowledge and led the field by 29 points with five to play.
Then it began to go wrong. Defeats at Portsmouth and New Milton (either side of beating Ventnor) unlocked the back door for Alton and Sarisbury’s confidence was shaken. It was never really recovered.
Opener Ryan Covey struck 76 as Liphook, winning for only the fourth time in 18 uninterrupted league games, reached 199-4.  Six wickets then clattered for the addition of only 11 runs, with Jordan Wright (4-44) and Josh Hill (4-18) doing most of the damage.
In reply, Sarisbury lurched from 24-0 to 25-3 with Sam Floyd and Cameron Grierson both dismissed without scoring.  Nathan Feltham (28) and Jack Lovett (23) took the score to 82 before Feltham fell, and Lovett followed two runs later.
There was no way back from that and Sarisbury’s season ended in overwhelming anti-climax as they slithered to 125 all out.
Portsmouth brought the curtain down on their SPL campaign by skittling New Milton for just 68 at Fernhill.
The last six home wickets mustered just 18 runs with cheap pickings for Reuben McArdle (3-12), coach Steve Warner (3-16) and Joe Kooner-Evans (3-19).
That gave Portsmouth a 128-run victory and fourth place in the second tier, with Jamie Mitchell (41) having top scored in their 196 all out total.

Alton cricketers celebrate at the Jubilee after a 44-run victory over Basingstoke & North Hants clinched the Southern Premier Division 1 championship and a return to the ECB top flight after a 12 month absence.
Relegated in August 2021, the Brewers won 13 of their full complement of 18 matches to finish 17 points clear of Sarisbury Athletic, who stumbled badly at the end.
Beating a Basingstoke side (with a good point haul) desperate not to give them an inch was never going to b straight forward, but Dan Harris made 83 at the top of the order to ensure Alton enjoyed a box seat position early on.  With initial support from Abhay Gonella (31) and then Huw Wheeler, he powered the Brewers to 133-2.
A half-century by Michael Heffernan (53), aided by Scott Myers and Freddie Egleston, took Alton to 255-8, with a maximum five batting points banked.
Myers struck a double blow in his opening over and Basingstoke were 47-3 before Matt Deadman (34) and Dean Nurse (59) began any form of resistance. Freddie Egleston’s left-arm spin brought rewards of 3-31, leaving Mat Thankachan (33*) to lead a late fightback from 146-8.  By then, Alton had the champagne uncorked, Basingstoke reaching 211-9 by stumps, the tail adding 65.

​Alton team celebrating (from left): Freddie Egleston, Nathan Vincent, Ethan Footit, Tom South, Abhay Gonella, Zak Gadsby, Dan Harris, Huw Wheeler, Bash Walters. Bottom Row (L to R): Ryan Hale, Mike Heffernan, Scott Myers, Mark Heffernan, Howard Gadsby. Front: Ryan Hale, Mike Heffernan, Scott Myers, Mark Heffernan, Howard Gadsby

TOTTON & ELING
Standing (from left): Fletcha Middleton, Joe Bracey, Tom Vardy, James Taylor, Jaidel Richardson, Bothwell Chapungu, Stephen Jones. Front: Harry Stephens, Brighton Mugochi, Sam Bracey, Ethan Taylor, Conor Griffiths. 

Fletcha Middleton marked his return from Royal London Cup action with Hampshire by making 70 and Harry Stephens chalked up a 5-43 return with his off-breaks as Totton & Eling handed out a 119-run beating to Havant at the Park.
Middleton's knock was the ideal foil for Boswell Chapungu (25), Owen Morris (20) and James Taylor (24) before teenager Leon Taylor (42) arrived at the crease to push Totton on to 258-8.
Aldershot's pacey Tom Varney (2-8) whipped out young Ben Feeney and Stuart Ransley, and before Havant's reply had reached 20, Harry Gadd and George Metzger were also back in the pavilion, courtesy of the Cambridge University Light Blue Sam Beer (2-13).
Stephens (5-43) made regular inroads into the middle-order. Havant plunged to 38-7 before teenager Harrison Barnard (30), son of Simon, and Freddie Gadd, 42 not out, raised a disappointing reply to 139 all out.  

​St Cross Symondians' Southern Premier League championship winner Charlie Gwynn hit a valiant 85 as Hampshire IIs battled in vain to save their Second XI Championship match against Kent at Folkestone today.
Forced to follow on after being bowled out for 119 (Jack Stearman 31) in reply to Kent's 289, Hampshire made 225 in their second dig, mainly due to a last wicket stand of 75 between Gwynn and Jack Campbell (44), who lifted the visitors from 158-9. Fletcha Middleton earlier made 45.  Kent polished off the target to win by eight wickets.
Nine Southern Premier League cricketers, four county contracted, are playing for Hampshire IIs.  Lymington spinner Dan Cox and Jack Campbell shared six Kent wickets.
Hampshire II: Toby Albert*, Fletcha Middleton (Totton & Eling), Jack Stearman (South Wilts), Charlie Mumford† (Academy), Charlie Gwynn (St Cross Symondians), Tom Cheater (Academy), Archie Fairfax-Ross (Academy), John Turner, Dan Cox (Lymington), Ethan Martin (Academy), Jack Campbell (Langley Manor), Matt Burton (South Wilts).

​Hampshire’s Felix Organ produced a stunning individual performance, hitting 135 and later taking four wickets as St Cross Symondians clinched a second ECB Southern Premier League championship.
They beat Bashley (Rydal) by 158 runs to finish four points clear of the second placed Hampshire Academy, who thrashed Hook & Newnham Basics by seven wickets .
Winning the title meant a lot to Organ, who skippered St Cross to the ECB Under-13 Club Championship title, but missed out when the Winchester club lifted their first SPL title in 2018.
“I was skippering the Hampshire Academy that season, so didn’t get to play a part in that, but having been at St Cross so long it means a lot,” he said.  
“I’ve been at St Cross since I was eight years of age and a lot of the lads who play now have been team-mates for a very long time, so it was something special.
“Bashley was a title decider  and in games like that you want to be the one who stands up and makes a big contribution and luckily enough that was me this time.
“Throughout the year, so many individuals have stepped up in tough situations and that[‘s what’s got us across the line on occasions. It’s been a massive team effort.  
“The pitch was flat when we batted but began to spin later on which was idea for Charlie Gwynn and myself. We took seven of the Bashley wickets between us.
“We’ve played cricket together since we were 11 year olds at Twyford, so we got back a long time. Again making it very special.”
Organ’s 135 was the all-rounder’s second SPL ton of the season, following on from his record-breaking 222 not out against Burridge in July.
Organ hit 10 fours and five sixes in his 142-ball knock sharing a decisive fourth-wicket stand of 144 with Ed Ellis, who hit 68 off 58 balls.
                                                                                          Competitor
“Felix is truly remarkable, he wants to play as many games as possible and really buys in the team when he does. His application at Bashley was at the forefront of our success. He’s such a competitor and always wants what’s best for his club,” praised skipper Ellis. 
Bashley bowled poorly early on, with Dorset teen Joe Huns testing Patrick Lewis’s agility behind the stumps with a flurry of leg-side wides.  
They later paid the penalty for taking the field with only four front line bowlers, spin all-rounder Jacob Gordon testing covid positive pre-match and Devon all-rounder Dan Goodey being sent to bolster Bashley’s seconds in their ultimately unsuccessful bid to avoid the drop from Division 2.
Skipper Josh Digby used five different players to fill that fifth bowler vacancy. Most of it was third team standard, at best, Organ and Ellis helping themselves to 107 runs off the stop gap bowlers.
There was no shortage of spice at the start of Bashley’s reply. They had little or no chance of matching the visitors’ 297 (James Trodd 4-37), but teenage opener Will Tripcony was up for a scrap, particularly when facing Australian seam Sam Beer.
The pair exchanged verbals as the 18-year old Dorset prospect launched into Beer and Matt Haworth, hitting the pair for a six and seven fours before being caught for 36. 
Bashley made it to 90-3 (Saif Achakzai 25) before Organ (4-25) and Gwynn (3-34) took complete charge.
Organ made an immediate impact. With only his second delivery, he had Saif Achakzai caught behind by Ellis. And, off his next ball, he pinned Digby leg before to reduce the hosts to 90-5.
Organ later claimed the key wicket of Michael Porter, Charlie Gwynn backing with 3-34 as Bashley slithered to 139 all out.
The only downside to Symondians’ title winning triumph was Ed Ellis re-breaking his finger, an injury that will probably put him out of the start of the National League hockey season with Oxford Hawks.