​Shrewton have snapped up former England, Surrey and Warwickshire star Rikki Clarke.
The 40-year-old first signed terms with Surrey in 2000, going on to have a two-decade career in the professional game before retiring last year.
Clarke has been associated with Shrewton since moving to the area in 2017. And he is now set to compete for the Salisbury club from this season.
“I have given the majority of my life to cricket and even though I am now retired from the professional game, I still want to give something back," said Clarke.
"I want to have fun with friends while helping the club progress to higher levels and standards.
“Focusing on recruitment of new players to the club and developing the younger generation the best we can is at the forefront of our minds as a club."
Clarke, a 6ft 4in all-rounder, scored almost 18,000 runs during his illustrious career, also taking more than 800 wickets.
He represented England on 22 occasions, including two Test matches, between 2003 and 2006.
Clarke shone on the county scene. Aside from a tough year as captain at Derbyshire, Clarke started and finished his pro career at Surrey, with an eight-year stay at Warwickshire in between.  He won three County Championships, two T20 titles and two ODI trophies.
Shrewton are set to compete in Division Two of the Hampshire Cricket League in 2022, starting their season at Rowledge on May 7.

Havant seconds managed to play just over half their scheduled 16 matches, winning eight of them and having seven either abandoned or washed out altogether. But a points per average record of 21.22 enabled them to finish comfortably ahead of Sway and take the Division 1 title.  The pair will both play Southern Premier Division 3 cricket in 2022.
Opener Andrew Galliers hit 50 or more three times in scoring 352 runs, partner Faizan Tahsin scoring 200. Bowling credits to left-arm spin pair Graham Burns and Steven Matthews. ​

MUDEFORD romped to the Division 3 title, winning all 11 completed matches alongside having seven scheduled games rained off.  
​Harry Dye's return of 421 runs and 16 wickets included one remarkable performance against Verwood, when he made 92 and later ran through the opposition batting with a 6-22 return.  Ronak Patel's 105 in the key win over runners-up Fair Oak II was Mudeford's sole hundred for the season, while Ryan Attree's 28-wicket haul included 6-12 against Southampton Community.

BRAMSHAW
Standing (from left): Zane D’Monte, Daniel Eckton, Jamie Martin, Bailey Loveless, Jonty Loveless, Simon Booth.  Front: Joe Coombs, Johnny Murray, Jack Booth, Tom Arnold, Michael Kingston 

Tom Arnold led from the front as Bramshaw lifted the Division 1 crown, his 587-run tally being complemented by 14 dismissals behind the stumps. 
The New Forest village side won all bar one of their 11 matches, the initial three rounds of games falling to the inclement weather. In all, they lost six matches to the weather and one to Ferndown Wayfarers, the only side to physically beat them.
Arnold's run haul included two centuries - a best 156 against promoted Odiham & Greywell - and four scores of fifty or more.  Simon Booth and Jonny Murray each made over 225 runs, while Jonty Loveless, Michael Kingston and Joe Coombes enjoyed the spoils with the ball. 
​

​​The Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal has received a £170 boost from cricketers attending the first of the Hampshire League's awards presentation dinners at the Ageas Bowl.
​Their generous contributions enabled the Fareham branch of the RBL to raise a staggering £32,000 to such a worthy cause.  Well done guys !
Photographs from the two dinners can be seen on https://davevokes.photography/galleries. They will appear on this website in the next week or so. 

What summer of contrasts for Island pair Ryde and Shanklin & Godshill in the Hampshire League !
Whereas Ryde built on their All Wight success in the covid curtailed 2020 season by finishing runners-up to Bramshaw in Division 2, Shanklin (promoted in 2019) finished bottom of the pile, with only three wins from 13 outings.
Ash Goldsmith was the star turn for Ryde, combining his 262 runs with 24 wickets as the side won nine of its 11 matches.  50s star Kerry Rice made 222 runs and Ben Baker 208, with Julion Jayerajah picking up 20 wickets.

PENALTIES for alleged late umpire reports have not been applied to the 2021 Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League table, the Dorset Echosport can reveal.
The revelations mean that Poole Town, and not champions Dorchester, should have won the league.
Last season Dorchester beat rivals Poole by just four points, securing the title on a dramatic final day.  However, the drama has continued into the off season.
Echosport has obtained documents revealing seven of the nine Premier League clubs have allegedly submitted late umpire reports.
Leaked files, when cross-referenced with the final league tables, show Dorset Cricket League (DCL) officials have failed to apply penalties to five clubs in the division for the alleged late reports.
One of those, Dorchester, has allegedly submitted three late umpire reports, amounting to a deduction of 10 points.
It means Poole Town would have won the league by six points – if the DCL had enforced the penalties.
​The Dorset Funeral Plan League has applied for ECB accreditation.
For the full story read: www.dorsetecho.co.uk/sport/19720416.dorchester-title-doubt-alleged-late-umpire-reports

​WEYMOUTH Cricket Club’s first team has been relegated to Dorset County Division Two after being found to have fielded an unregistered player three times in the 2021 season.
Malick Kudmany, the unregistered player in question, was knowingly fielded twice by the club under another player’s name – once each for Weymouth’s first and second teams.  Kudmany then played a third game, again for the Seasiders’ first team, under a second pseudonym.
After discovering the discrepancies, the Dorset Cricket League (DCL) slapped a 100-point deduction on Weymouth’s first team – 50 points per game Kudmany played – for misleading league officials.
Securing seven wins in the 2021 season, the Seasiders finished the campaign in fifth place on 215 points, some 73 points clear of the County Division One drop zone.
Weymouth successfully appealed the harshness of the penalty, however, the DCL reduced the first and second team’s total deduction to 80 and 25 points respectively.
Eighty points equates to four maximum-point victories.
It means the penalty was still narrowly sufficient enough to relegate Weymouth’s first team to Division Two by seven points.
Compton House are therefore reprieved from relegation, with Weymouth finishing in ninth and Beaminster in 10th.
Weymouth’s second team finished bottom of County Division Five North & West, regardless of the 25-point fine.
                                                                                 Devastating blow
Weymouth chairman Simon Browne told Echosport: “This is obviously a devastating blow to the club, losing our (County Division One) status for reasons other than what took place on the cricket field in 2021.
“As soon as the committee became aware, we contacted the league and were nothing but compliant and co-operative in the hearings and other correspondence.
“I expected that we would lose the points from the games concerned, as is the case with most other sports in such a similar situation, and possibly get a small financial penalty or match ban for the individuals concerned.
“However, the actual punishment of 50 points per game, then reduced to 40 per game on appeal is in the opinion of the club, very unfair, especially as the points total represents the equivalent of four 20-point winning games.
“Also, to increase the penalty by five extra points for each subsequent game is not consistent with the other league regulations on player registration. This particular factor is significant, given the club has been relegated by just seven points.
“We were given no credit for our co-operation and nor was any reference made to the fact that Weymouth CC did not benefit from the registration issue, other than be able to field 11 players in a game, thereby avoiding league punishment for scratching games due to player availability.
“We have conducted our own internal enquiry and the club has put in steps to ensure that this situation should not occur again.
“Weymouth CC committee took the decision to support the captains rather than punish them further, hoping the individuals learn from it.
                                                                                             Concentrate
“Throwing the book at them – as the League have done with the club – would have demoralised all concerned and impacted our player numbers. This is something we can ill afford at present.
“We would now like to put this difficult period behind us and concentrate our efforts on readying the club for the 2022 season.”
DCL chairman Jon Ridout, on behalf of the League Management Committee, said: “The Dorset Cricket League requires that all players must be registered and that the agreed medium for this is Play-Cricket.
“The reason for players registering is so that the league knows who is participating in matches. It ensures that the club have a record of who is playing for their teams because the registration process collects personal data which a club may need.
“It is a comfort to parents and guardians that their young players are playing in an environment where participants have completed a basic form of ID. The data returned on the match scorecard was also used as the basis for Track and Trace during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Where a person plays under a false name it completely breaks the cycle of trust between player, club and league.
“In the circumstances with Weymouth there was no dispute that the club had played an unregistered player on three separate occasions using two different names, neither of which was the player’s true identity.
“This takes the matter far outside the normal scope of league rules which were designed to punish a one-off offence.
“In Weymouth’s case there must have been a number of parties involved in disguising the player’s ID. The club has not taken any action against the persons involved in the cover up.
“In respect to our disciplinary process the complaint was heard by three committee members and a decision made. The decision on a points deduction taken by this committee was 50 points per match which reflected the seriousness of the rule breach.
“This decision was appealed and a separate hearing took place with three other committee members. The appeals committee reviewed the evidence and found that there were no additional matters to support an appeal.
                                                                                               Unavailable
“They did review the penalty and imposed the following revised sanction which incrementally enhanced the penalty.
“The composition of the disciplinary and appeals subcommittee was structured so that any person whose club may have been affected by playing against Weymouth CC made themselves unavailable to serve on either committee.
“The full committee received reports from the original and appeals committee and ratified the decisions made.
“Committee members agreed that the points deduction has regard to the current league rules point deductions and the fact it was not a one-off, so the point deduction was incremental.
“The main committee did not make any directions to the disciplinary committee about any potential penalties.”
Kudmany, who was free to play in the Dorset Cricket League, has had previous disciplinary issues, including a lengthy 2015 ban imposed after being involved in an on-field incident playing for Old Bournemouthians  against Hordle Village.
When contacted by Echosport, Kudmany said he used a different name to avoid harassment from other clubs and players relating to those past matters. He also offered his sympathy to Weymouth for their punishment.
Seasiders’ captain Harry Mitchell has been given a two-game ban for knowingly submitting a team sheet to officials containing a false name.
His ban is suspended until September 2022, owing to his outstanding work as a coach, volunteer and excellent previous behaviour.
Under the ruling, the DCL have established a precedent of penalties for an identical offence.
In the first instance, a club will sustain a 20-point penalty plus a deduction of points earned during the match in question.
This rises to 25 points plus deduction of points won in a second match and 30 plus deduction of points earned in a third match.
Article reproduced by kind permission of the Dorset Echo.

​TRIBUTES have been pouring in for one of the Island’s true cricketing legends, Keith Mitchell, who died recently at his home in Binstead, aged 80, and whose will visit the crease for one last time on Friday morning.
His 11.15am funeral at the IW Crematorium at East Cowes is expected to be attended by scores of his sporting contempories, who will toast his memory in the Fighting Cocks PH at Arreton later.   
Keith, a ‘run machine’ who skippered the Island and a highly successful Newport Cricket Club team, also coached cricket at the club and was a highly respected umpire in a life devoted to the sport on the Island, which spanned more than five decades.
He also played football to a high standard on the Island, and golf, as a member at Osborne. 
His working life started at Saunders Roe and continued at British Hovercraft Corporation, Westlands and GKN Aerospace as a troubleshooter on their supply chains, visiting suppliers around the country. He had stints working away in Yeovil and Canada during the late 70s and early 80s.
Sports and entertainment journalist, the late John Hannam, chatted to Keith last year, sharing a fascinating account of his sporting life in a feature the County Press ran. 
                                                                               Talented
Keith told John that in the local football scene, Keith played for a talented East Cowes Vics side and, despite suffering extensive knee injuries, he continued to play for Barton Sports, who famously defied the odds to win the Division One Cup against a strong Brading Town side, as well as Parkhurst Old Boys and Saro Sports.
After a season or two with Saro, Keith, a lifelong Spurs fan, finally retired from football to focus on his cricket.
When Keith was just 15, he played his first game for Newport seconds, then, a game later, he went straight into the first team.
Newport became unbeatable and won the first-ever Whitbread Knock-Out Cup against Ryde in 1966 — scoring 107 not out.
As a teenager, Keith played for the Island against Hampshire’s club and ground team, who were so impressed after he made 70 not out, he was invited to play a match for them.
Keith, nicknamed ‘Mitch’, plundered thousands of runs for Newport in a 40-year career, which saw him score century after century and win a special Colin Cowdrey Award in one particular season.
In his feature, John described Keith as the most complete home-grown batsman he have ever seen on the Island.
“Anyone who scores 1,603 runs in an Island cricket season, at an average of 84.30, just has to be rather special,” said John, who died last month.
One of Keith’s greatest personal moments was when he captained the Island against the MCC, skippered by his idol, Godfrey Evans.
                                                                                Legend
He told John he was also a big fan of England and Gloucestershire wicketkeeper, Jack Russell, who he met on a few occasions.
In his first match as Island skipper, after another legend, Bill Jenkins, stood down from the role, Keith hit a century.
In his first game for the Island, against the Pakistan Eaglets, he played against a very young Mushtaq Mohammad, who went on to become a great all-rounder at test level.
He coached young Newport players and, after retiring from the game, became a highly respected umpire.
Countless tributes — many of which have been posted on the IW Football and Cricket Nostalgia Facebook page — have been paid to Keith from former team-mates, those he played against and those who simply appreciated his skill.
Robert Buckett said: “Keith was a legend, on and off the pitch, as a player and umpire.”
Former Newport cricketer Mark Sherwood, said: “It was an honour to have played with him. He was a great role model as a player.”
Echoing those sentiments was Peter Buckley, who said: “Mitch was the captain of a very talented and successful Newport side. A true gent who always had time for a chat.”
Brian Porter said: “A really nice guy. Great captain. I can count myself fortunate to have played both with and against him.”

Havant seconds have regained their Southern Premier League Division 3 berth after powering to a thumping 173-run victory over Easton & Martyr Worthy - a result whch secured the Division 1 title.
But Fareham & Crofton blew their outside chances of finishing second after losing by seven wickets to St Cross Symondians III - Sway benefitting accordingly.  Subject to accreditation, they will go up with Havant.
The champions designate posted a powerful 250-5 at Cockets Mead, where Andrew Galliers (69) hit a half-century and left-arm spinner Graham Burns (5-9) enjoyed his second cheap five-wicket haul of a shortened summer as EMW plunged to 77 all out.
Anything  less than a maximum-point haul from their visit to the Royal Green Jackets Ground would effectively deny Fareham the second promotion place ahead of Sway.
Their innings was a bit of a curate's egg. A promising 106-1 (half-centuries from Tom Kent and Virat Sahu) became 136-6, when skipper James Headen smacked a quick-fire 65, including six maximums. Fareham took tea at 227-8.
For most of the season that would have been a winning total against St Cross IIIs, but the Winchester club enjoyed a rare full availability across the board and fifty-plus scores from James Burridge, Raj Niak and Paul Hawkins swept them to a seven-wicket win.  
That left Fareham fifth behind Parley and Bournemouth II, who both ended their summers on a winning note.

​Roshan Embalanga (pictured above) hit 106 and Sam Rook 56 in Parley's 282-8 against Alton II, who came back with 219, despite Ben Blackford's 5-47 return.  Bournemouth made 165-8 to trim Hursley Park by 14 runs.
Tom Wallis (89) top scored as Portsmouth posted 185 against Compton & Chandler's Ford, whose three-wicket win owed much to Ethan Sharpe (62) and Andy Gorty (42 not out).
Oli Southon's unbeaten 30 was hugely significant as Burridge saved their necks with a four-wicket win at Old Basing (115), where the hosts batsmen found Sampath Prathapisinghe and Srujith Wickramasinge as hard to face as spell !
Lymington II said their CD1 farewells with a five-wicket defeat by Winton, while Longparish pair Chris Clarke (5-15) and teen Zach Allen (3-13) sent relegated Andover II tumbling to 106 all out and a 92-run defeat.   Parish made 198-7.

Havant seconds took an emphatic step towards being crowned Hampshire League Division 1 champions - without even playing their penultimate match !
Their scheduled home match with Longparish was called off late on Saturday morning, enabling them to maintain a healthy 21 points per match average which none of their challengers  will be able to match if Havant win their final match at Easton & Martyr Worthy.
Parley's five-wicket defeat by Sway has kept the promotion door ajar for Fareham & Crofton, who could snatch an unlikely second place if they score a big win at St Cross Symondians III.
Fareham have been worse hit than Havant II in terms of cancellations. Havant were weather hit seven times; Fareham also on seven occasions, with two more games called off due to covid issues in the opposition camp.  
Nine 'no resuts' in a 17 match summer represents over half the scheduled matches - and a serious loss of income.
Fareham vent their frustrations on Burridge II, Dan Wimble (pictured above) smashing 93 as the Bath Lane club chased down 169-8 (Jack Paskins 56) to win by eight wickets.
Sarang Urankar hit a century as Bournemouth II posted 219-7 (Freddie Oldfield 44) against Compton & Chandler's Ford, who fell from 95-2 to 175-7 once Ethan Sharpe (51) and Liam Palmer (47) wer parted. 
Jonny Coombs also looked set for a treble figure score, but was dismissed for 27, agonisingly 73 runs short of a century.
Nicky Wyatt (48) and Ish Ahmad (47) came close to fifties in Portsmouth's 187-9, which proved too many for Easton & Martyr Worthy (153 all out).
Tom Doherty's 5-20 return put Hursley Park in the driving seat against St Cross Symondians (139), but the outcome was in the balance as HP slipped to 62-5.  Jai Solanki (30) and Oli Green (27)  restored parity.
Lymington lurched closer to relegation with a four-wicket defeat by Old Basing.  They looked set for the drop alongside already demoted Andover II.

​A CAPTAIN’S knock from Tim Noble (41 not out) and a swashbuckling cameo from Hugh Bernard ensured Sway won their crunch game against fellow high-flyers Parley, opening up the possibility of promotion into the Southern Premier League for the first time in the club’s history.
Noble led his side home with a patient and assured knock against a very decent and disciplined Parley attack, before Bernard came to the crease and launched 24 off just 12 balls to ensure Sway chased down 154 with 15 balls to win by five wickets with 15 balls to spare.
Will Crossley (27) and Alex Hall (15) had done sterling work to lay the platform for the win, with help from Dan Bailey and David Steadman, before Bernard walked to the crease like a man on a mission smacking his first ball to the boundary, and a towering six soon after.
Noble finished the job alongside Jon Grasham, smacking a lovely cover drive to the boundary to set off wild celebrations.
The batting backed up an assured bowling display, with Jon Waller (2-29) and Steadman (2-31) making some early inroads, Steadman producing a breathtaking catch off his own bowling to dismiss the dangerous Roshan Embalagama.
Marcus Braggington battled hard for the visitors and struck a well-made 47 before hitting the impressive Bernard to Waller in the covers; Bernard took 2-21 to finish with a terrific 27 wickets overall, a total likely to make him the league’s most successful bowler in his debut season.
Grasham (1-21) continued his fine form with an assured spell – including dismissing Ollie Green for 35 – while the excellent Dan Bailey (3-27), mopped up some late wickets to reach 25 scalps for the season.
Sway usurped Parley into second place with the win but do not play again this year . They can however, be caught by Fareham – who now lie third, despite playing only seven games so far this season – and due to Bedhampton's pre-season withdrawal to St Cross Symondians III next week needing a 23-point win or more.

Andover, Burridge and Lymington second teams, along with Easton & Martyr Worthy, are all struggling to stay afloat in the Division 1 relegation zone.
The quartet all lost their round 15 matches, with Andover going down by 92 runs at promotion chasing Parley, where Shane Green (49) and Tom Saunders (52) top scored in the hosts 203-6. Andover rolled over for 111, with teenage spinner Spencer Savage taking 4-21.
Burridge lost by five wickets to Hursley Park after collapsing from a healthy 112-2 to 160 all out – a total Hursley polished off with Matt Branford (71 not out) improving on opener Tom Flynn’s 44.
Lymington suffered a 50-run home defeat by Fareham & Crofton, who boast a very healthy points per match average, even though through rain and covid call-offs they are no where near playing half their scheduled number of games.
Dan Wheble, with 32 and a 4-36 return with the ball, had a decent game for Fareham, who comfortably defended 191 (Tom Kent 44) by bowling Lymington out for 141, Jack Morris (38) and Tom Sykes (30) doing their best for the losers.
Table topping Havant, like Fareham & Crofton, have suffered only one defeat in their truncated summer. They were without a round 15 game due to Bedhampton’s prep-season withdrawal.
Sway warmed up for their meeting with Parley next week with a 33-run win at Alton, who chasing the visitors’ 239-8 were going nicely at 110-2 on the back of Ryan Hale’s 96 and an unbeaten 38 from Ellis Ballinger, teenage son of Julian.   But the last seven wickets fell for 94 and Alton closed 206-9.
Earlier, Alex Hall (69) and Tim Noble (35) provided a sound start for Sway, who benefitted from an unbeaten 43 from Neil Prince to get them to 239-8.
An unbroken 86-run partnership between Sarang Urankar (79) and Freddie Oldfield (47) cemented Bournemouth’s 225 against Easton & Martyr Worthy, dismissed for 146.
Charlie Preston was the star of St Cross Symondians’ five-wicket win over near neighbours Compton & Chandler’s Ford.  He took 6-28 with the ball as CCF were bowled out for 170 (Liam Palmer 38) and then made an unbeaten 30 to help Blair Brown (41) chase down the runs.
Longparish were well placed at 131-2 (Scott Sturt 45) and later 172-4, but lost heir last six wickets for 25 runs and were 197 all out against Portsmouth II, who won by five wickets.  
The ever promIsing Matt Shaw and Indie Chakrabarti made half-centuries for Portsmouth, while the exciting Matt Walton took 4-25 for the city slickers.

SWAY’S unbeaten season – and probably their Division One title hopes - went up in smoke at Winton – as the top of the table visitors were upset in challenging conditions.  
Having been put into bat, Sway made slow progress with openers Tim Noble (48) and Alex Hall (22) batting valiantly against some accurate bowling and putting on 45.
From then on Sway struggled to a disappointing 98 amid a combination of indifferent batting, decent bowling and the tricky surface. 
Sam Thomson, the former Bashley (Rydal) and Dorset offie, with 3-6 off six overs and Charlie May (3-20) excelled with the ball.
When Winton were reduced to 24-3 – that’s one more than the entire team scored at & Crofton the previous week - through Hugh Bernard and Jon Waller, the visitors had a sniff; however, despite an excellent showing from Dan Bailey, with two wickets, and smart catches from Noble and Neil Prince, it ended up being a dispiriting away day for the deposed HL leaders. 
Joe May (27) stepped in before John Duke (21) and Nick Nineham (26) got Winton across the line.
Sway’s first defeat enabled Havant II to climb to top place – a position they could easily hold on to with only Longparish and Easton & Martyr Worthy left to play.

The cancellation of their key match with second placed Parley – no surprise after the deluge that hit PO-land in the early hours of Saturday – meant both clubs held their respective 20.88 and 20 points per match averages, compared with Sway’s now reduced 19.58.
Fareham might well have complicated matters further had their home match with Old Basing gone the distance.  They were flying at 232-7 at Bath Lane when play was abandoned an over before the tea break.
A Wimble, run out with 91, and Sam Stoddart (78) shared a 154-run stand.
So, after 14 rounds of fixtures, Fareham & Crofton have still only managed to complete FOUR matches.  If they win their last three games against Lymington II, Burridge II and St Cross Symondians III they could feature in the promotion race !
Sam Collins struck a timely and back to form 83 not out as a strengthened Bournemouth chased down Longparish’s 196 to win by seven wickets.
Mike Taplin hit 80 for Parish, with Tom Robinson taking 4-37 for Bournemouth, who included Dorset left-hand all-rounder Simon Woodruff in their ranks and struck a boundary strewn 78.
Have kit, will play Jonny Coombs (24) opened. His ambition this season is to play in all five of Bournemouth’s Hampshire League sides.  Only the fourth team have so far gone without his charismatic input.
Lymington II also called up Southern Premier Division personnel for the trip to soggy Hursley Park, where Dan Cox made the most of his trip from the Isle of Wight to make 69 before the rains came.
St Cross Symondians III found themselves in the drop zone for the first time ​when Easton & Martyr Worthy beat them by seven wickets.
Wobbling at 46-6, St Cross reached 142 through James Burridge (35) and Brad Aldridge, but saw their reduced target score of 122 blown away as Nick Boulton (48*) and Ben Stanbrook (37) swept EMW home with stacks of time to spare.
Desperate for win points, Andover seconds were denied at Alton, where the Brewers were 67-5 when play was abandoned.
Compton & Chandler's Ford were washed out completely against Burridge II. 

Fareham & Crofton waited 41 days to kick start their ill-fated Division 1 campaign - they have suffered seven either weather hit or covid related cancellations, plus a welcome abandonment at Parley - but when they eventually took the field again, their match with Winton was all done and dusted in a mere 16.4 overs !
That's how long it took Fareham to bowl their Bournemouth visitors (who pitched at Bath Lane with only ten men and no umpire or scorer) out for a paltry 23 and knock off the runs to record a ten-wicket victory.
Only five Fareham players were able to make a meaningful contribution.
Skipper James Headen ran Winton's opening batsman out for nought, then Ben White weighed in with a 6-16 return and new signing Conor Clark took 2-8 and caught the last wicket. 
​Six Winton dismissals were bowled. Five batsmen bagged ducks. Their innings was all over in 13.3 overs.  Their 23 ao was the second lowest Division 1 total behind Longparish with 21 in 1996.
It took Fareham 19 balls to complete the formalities - Dan Wimble hitting 19 of the runs they required.

It’s crunch time for champions Parley as – weather permitting - the Hampshire League Division 1 title race reaches its business phase.
Two games in the next three weeks - starting at Havant on Saturday and then Sway on August 21 – will decide if they can make the jump into Southern Premier Division 3 cricket in 2022.
With four rounds of matches remaining, its tight at the top, with Sway – despite having won all 11 games – only three points of Havant, with Parley tucked into third place, ten points behind.
But the weather, which has so far claimed 31 postponements in addition to four rain abandonments, is clearly going to play a key role in who goes up – and who doesn’t.
Havant were hit by the rain at the Jubilee, where they looked a good bet to win after bowling Alton seconds out for 107.  They were 21-1 when the elements struck.
Rain also interfered with Sway’s home game with relegation threatened Andover seconds – D/L calculations creating a closer game than the New Forest club might have envisaged.
A century partnership between Alex Hall (47) and Will Crossley (63) largely set up Sway’s 212-9 – Hugo Chandler (24) giving things a late biff, 20 of his runs coming in boundaries.
Aiden Jansen took a creditable 5-34 for Andover, whose target was reduced to 155 off 27 overs.
With Huw Bernard and Jon Waller absent, Sway’s attack lacked its usual bite and Andover came within 26 runs of the target, finishing with 128-5.
Ever popular left-hand bat/wicketkeeper Roshan Emblagama celebrated his first HCL century since June 2014 – 103 at Verwood in County 4 South – as Parley racked up 249-5 against visiting Portsmouth II.
He shared a century fifth-wicket stand with Oli Green, whose unbeaten 58 included two sixes and seven fours.
Beaten by 107 runs, Portsmouth II mustered a modest 145, with Green swapping bat for ball and taking 3-20.
Hursley Park reached 87-2 before a 4-17 return by Sat Pal sent them stumbling to 111 all out and an eventual five-wicket defeat at Old Basing.
But the Basingstoke club were indebted to Ben Ungaretti, whose unbeaten 54 steered them through choppy waters created when Hursley’s Tom James took 4-12 to reduce them to 16-4.
St Cross Symondians III, having been 21-6, were dismissed for 90 by Longparish, who won by six wickets with Will de Cani making 38 not out.
Easton & Martyr Worthy are easing their way out of relegation trouble – their 44-run victory planting Burridge firmly in the bottom two.
Will Wickham (70) top scored as they made 210-8 (Alex Spearing 36, Adam Kite 33), while former Gosport Borough cricketer Simon Creal (48) made his mark as Burridge made 166 in reply.
Compton & Chandler’s Ford made round 13’s highest score, 257-6 against Lymington II, who used NINE different bowlers – Simon Naylor being the only out-fielder not to be invited to turn his arm over !  
In-form Andy Gorty cashed in with a 13-boundary 94 not out, while Liam McCory (45) was the only Lymington batsman to shine.  He’s the wicketkeeper, so also didn’t bowl …

Bournemouth seconds have put a significant dent in Parley’s Division 1 championship defence - and the prospects of their near neighbours playing in the Southern Premier League next summer.
They beat the 2019 winners by 56 runs and so pile the pressure on Parley, who will probably have to win at both Havant (August 7) and at leaders Sway a fortnight later to fulfil their double dreams.
Bournemouth, now fourth in the log, batted consistently up top with fit-again Tom Robinson (39) building on the solid start by Sam Collins (35) and Martin Miller (24), and Sarang Urankar (42) chipping in later to ease Jonny Coombs’s lions to 180-5.
Turning out against his old Parley club, where he enjoyed a lot of past success, Collins was playing his first match since dislocating a finger.
Teenager Marcus Bragginton (29) caught the eye for Parley, but the evergreen Paul Garlick (3-20) and spinner Conor Smith (4-36) proved too much for the visitors, who slipped to 124 all out and a first defeat in eight.

Parley’s loss was compounded by Sway’s visit to Havant being called off, leaving the New Forest club with an unblemished ten-match winning record and a five-point lead at the top.
The remaining games for the top three, separated by 14 points, are –
Sway: Andover II (h), Winton (a), Alton II (a), Parley (h).
Havant II: Alton II (a), Parley (h), Longparish (h), Easton & Martyr Worthy (a).
Parley: Portsmouth II (h), Havant (a), Sway (a), Alton II (a).
Early season pace setters Old Basing continue to slide down the table, Compton & Chandlers Ford chasing down a reduced target to win by four wickets at the Memorial Ground.
Andy Gorty was MVP for CCF, following up his 4-25 return with the ball by making a key 34 with the willow.
Old Basing fell from 65-1 to 129 all out but then had Compton in a pickle.  Chasing a rain reduced target they plunged to 47-5 before Gorty and Scott Spearing got CCF home with 16 balls to spare.
Alton's Mike Salmon, with a miserly 3-8 off eight overs, and Nathan Vincent (3-22) shared six Portsmouth II wickets to leave the Southsea club wobbling at 110-7 before Paul Hungerford (36) gave the bowlers some defence.
Alton lost three for 21, but Michael Heffernan hit an unbeaten 74 and, aided by Ben Weatherall (25) and Salmon (25), secured the 21 point that lifted the Brewers to eighth place.
Lymington strengthened their second team with leading Premier League bowler Matt Metcalfe and left-hand opener Terry Crabb at bottom side Easton & Martyr Worthy.
The visitors made 162 – Liam McCrory (33 and Ollie Elliott (26) top scored – and dismissed Easton for 138 (Will Wickham 46), Crabb’s spin earning a 3-26 reward and Metcalfe 2-29.
The win inched Lymington out of the immediate danger zone, but Andover II are deep in it despite Thanura Watta Wadnge’s 70 against Winton, who chased down 187-7, with Joe May (46) adding the icing to earlier knocks by Sean Wienand (41) and former Bashley (Rydal) and Dorset spinner Sam Thomson (32), who earlier took 3-20. 
So, going into tomorrow’s round 13 matches, Andover and Easton & MW occupy the bottom two places, with Burridge II sitting precariously above them.
With Bedhampton’s place to be filled, three will go up from Division 2, where Bramshaw are currently undefeated, but (Ryde apart) still have Bishop’s Waltham, Ferndown Wayfarers and second placed Odiham & Greywell still to play.   Ryde are third with a posse of clubs in heir wake.

A rare event is scheduled for tomorrow - Fareham & Crofton playing a Hampshire League, Division 1 match .. for only the fourth time this season and only the second at Bath Lane !
That's assuming nothing untoward happens between now and Winton's scheduled visit.
Fareham have had EIGHT of their 11 matches this season wiped out, six through washouts and two others postponed due to covid issues. After two wins and a loss, they lie fifth in the log with a healthy 16.67 points per match average.
​Fareham & Crofton will join the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) celebrating Rainbow Laces alongside Stonewall this weekend. 
It's the fourth year the game has come together to celebrate LGBTQ+ inclusion in cricket, and this year the activity will take in the Royal London One-Day Cup and The Hundred - with The Hundred matches live on Sky Sports and the BBC.
ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: "I'm proud to see our game standing squarely behind inclusion.   We're driven by our desire to open up the game to as many people as possible. We want cricket to be a game for everyone and we want the LGBTQ+ community to both feel welcome and able to be themselves in our sport.
"The rainbow laces (which all Fareham teams will wear tomorrow) and the rainbow stumps are a powerful symbol of support, and it's good to see the players and the wider game reaffirming our desire to be a sport that everyone feels they can be involved in."

In July 2021, St Cross Symondians – and sport in Winchester generally – lost one of its great and much loved characters with the sad passing of Bill Postle, who played a lot of cricket and football in the city. He was 74, having bravely battled illness for some time.
It’s a little known fact that Bill, who joined St Cross in the 1970s, once took all ten opposition wickets in a match, playing a Sunday game for Bartley in the heart of the New Forest.   A rare feat indeed.
He opened the bowling for St Cross, playing alongside Alan Rowe for many summers in the Hampshire League. It was always lively and competitive, without fail ending up in the Queen, where the match would be ‘replayed’ over the odd glass of ale.
Cricketers played on Saturday’s and Sunday’s in Bill’s days and it would often be no surprise to find three Postles, all left-handers, playing in the same St Cross team.  Mum and dad would do the teas, making it a real family outing.
Keen on his soccer – he played for Hyde United in the Winchester & District League – he was an avid Winchester City supporter and followed the club home and away, seldom short of a joke and a smile on the sidelines.
Professionally, he left school to work for the Ordnance Survey, but scaled the heights at the BBC in London, where he worked for 18 years, finishing as a director.  He was responsible for the publication of the Radio Times, along other BBC reading material. St Cross Symondians have lost a much loved character.

Ellingham’s cricket ground alongside the main A31 trunk road at Picket Post, east of Ringwood, has been seriously damaged after a group of travellers set up camp on the square.
The group have since moved off the site but now damage has been caused to the pitch including holes being dug in the turf, litter being dropped, and damage to the ground where it appears “doughnuts” have been done around the square.
A game was planned to be played on the pitch last night, but now the Hampshire League Division 4 West club is being forced to look at other options and depending on the level of damage, may have to play away instead of at home until repairs can be made.  They are due to host near neighbours Burley this Saturday.

​Ellingham chairman Lee Penycate claimed the group broke the padlock on the gate to enter the ground and added: “It’s going to have a massive impact on our club.
“The outfield looks okay but the problem is they’ve moved our railings around the square and they’ve parked on the square. That’s the most important bit of the pitch.
“It’s the bit that we have railings around to protect it from animals in the forest, so we don’t really want hoof prints on there and the last thing we need is a bunch of caravans, quad bikes, kids, holes being dug up.”
“There’s a lot of work for the groundsman to do. It may take a few weeks to repair, it may be that there’s a couple of pitches that are untouched that can be used.”

Fareham & Crofton’s cricket starved players are almost dreading pulling back the curtains on Saturday morning as the threat of yet another postponement looms.
They have only completed THREE matches all season and, if tomorrow’s threatened thunderstorms and heavy rain materialize and Hursley Park is called off, they will chalk up a staggering EIGHTH unplayed Division 1 game.
It feels a long time ago (it was June 12) that Fareham last played and were heavily beaten by Sway. Since then, their visit to Parley was abandoned by rain and the last two games against Longparish and Compton & Chandler’s Ford were called off due to covid self-isolation in the opposition camps.
Fareham won two of the three games they have played, so boasted a healthy 16.67 points per match average since mid-June and lie fifth in the log.
They have trained religiously twice a week since early April, but seldom seem to put their whites on.
Realistically, it’s a three-way shoot-out between top two Parley and Sway and third placed Havant II for the two promotion places – the first of the three matches between the clubs set for the Park and Havant’s duel with Sway tomorrow, 12.30.
Parley recorded their seventh win on the trot when a double century stand between Shane Green (108) and Alex Nippard (72) pointed them towards 244-5 against a seriously weakened St Cross Symondians, who rolled over for 122.
Sway six hitter Dan Bailey smashed Portsmouth II to pieces (see separate story) while Faizan Tahsin (93) top scored in Havant’s 255-6 against Andover, who were dismissed for 183 (Max Souter 77).
If only he could play more regularly, Ollie Shrubsole (pictured above) might be knocking quietly on Chris Park’s door asking for a Bournemouth first team game.
Ollie’s made 62 and 77 in Bournemouth IIs last two HL matches, but has to combine cricket with selling exclusive homes at Sandbanks on the shores of Poole Harbour, which he does once every three weeks.  
Shrubsole, still tip-toeing back from serious knee surgery, and Tom West (69) top scored in lions’ 217 against Alton, who sank to 77-6 before Mike Salmon (39) and Dan Scott (32) added an air of respectability to their 148 all out.
Winton, who copped a 21-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player in a recent match, lost by four wickets to Hursley Park after being bowled out for 130 (Tom James 4-38).
Nick Willcock (89) raised his season’s run tally to 464 with top score in Old Basing’s 237-8, which proved too many for relegation threatened Easton & Martyr Worthy, who went under for 126.
It’s looking very dodgy for Easton and Lymington (beaten by seven wickets by a Will de Cani inspired Longparish) at the bottom, though Andover II have yet to win a game … 

A MAGNIFICENT 137 by Dan Bailey, which included 11 sixes, set up Sway for their 10th Division 1 win on the spin, with his astonishing hitting spree seeing him bludgeon 87 of his runs off his last 34 balls. 
Sway had set a platform at 130-5 when Oscar Marshall was out for 27 in the 31st over, and ‘skipper Tim Noble sent out Hugh Bernard to join Bailey – who by that time had brought up his fifty off 77 balls – with the instruction the two had to ‘get on with it’. 
What happened next was simply awesome as former England U19 international Bernard, who now works for the Hampshire Cricket Board, smacked four massive sixes in blazing his way to 37 off 14 balls before Bailey took apart the visiting Portsmouth attack, hammering 11 sixes – which included him hitting three maximums in a row three times. 
The pair brought up their 100 partnership in just 42 balls and by the end Bailey had players from both sides in awe before being out the last ball of the innings for 137 off 111 balls, as Sway posted an unassailable 267-5 off their 40 overs. That included an excellent early contribution from Will Crossley (24) as he stewarded Sway through an early difficult spell – the home side having been 4-2 at one stage. 
Grilled in the New Forest sunshine, Portsmouth sank to 15-3 – star man Jordan Palmer-Goddard was out for a second ball duck - to Steadman (2-20).  There was stubborn resistance from Dan Wallis and Indy Chakrabati, the pair batting nicely before Josh Bailey (2-35) got the latter and Nicky Wyatt for 25. 
As Sway searched for maximum points, Noble introduced Jon Grasham and his very fiery spell brought instant reward as he shot out Wallis for a good 48 on his way to returning an excellent 3-13, while Bernard (1-14) got a scalp.  
Fittingly, the final word of the day went to teenager Dan Bailey – who produced a terrific direct hit to claim the last wicket.