Winchester carried off the Save & Prosper Southern League championship in 1988, ending the two previous years' domination by South Hants Touring Club and triggering a rather bizarre period when the title changed hands seven times in a row.
Ironically, the season did not begin well for the cathedral city club who lost two matches in May before setting off on run of ten successive victories to secure their first title. Runs were hard to come by across the board - few pitches were covered in those days and ten of the 18 SL clubs played on council grounds - with South African pair Richard Montgomery (Trojans) and Wayne Truter (Deanery) the only batsmen to exceed 500 runs.
Mark O'Connor, then an aspiring Hampshire cricketer, was Winchester's top scorer, his 415 run aggregate including four half-centuries, while skipper Rob Savage (333) and Richard Edwards (248 were the only other players to make the averages. Off-spinner Steve Ball's 43-wicket haul (which included three separate five-fers) proved pivotal for a Winchester side which excelled in the field. Paul Kerley's career-best spell of 6-17 demolished Waterlooville, who were unbeaten and top of the table at the time, only to fall away and finish in mid-table.
Ironically, the season did not begin well for the cathedral city club who lost two matches in May before setting off on run of ten successive victories to secure their first title. Runs were hard to come by across the board - few pitches were covered in those days and ten of the 18 SL clubs played on council grounds - with South African pair Richard Montgomery (Trojans) and Wayne Truter (Deanery) the only batsmen to exceed 500 runs.
Mark O'Connor, then an aspiring Hampshire cricketer, was Winchester's top scorer, his 415 run aggregate including four half-centuries, while skipper Rob Savage (333) and Richard Edwards (248 were the only other players to make the averages. Off-spinner Steve Ball's 43-wicket haul (which included three separate five-fers) proved pivotal for a Winchester side which excelled in the field. Paul Kerley's career-best spell of 6-17 demolished Waterlooville, who were unbeaten and top of the table at the time, only to fall away and finish in mid-table.