The Hampshire League's AGM - again by zoom - takes place on Thursday 20 January 2025 at 7pm.  Attendance is mandatory.

                                                     CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

As last year, I would like to start my Annual Report to the members of the Hampshire Cricket League (“HCL”) by thanking all the Committee members for the hard work, dedication and skill in making sure that over 300 sides are able to play competitive, recreational cricket in a structured and organised format every weekend. There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, we should all be very grateful to the committee and it continues to be a privilege to be a part of the team.
For the second season running, the weather wasn’t brilliant last summer, and it was a slow start for some clubs, as the grounds recovered from the wet spring. Congratulations to all the winners and a particular mention to Odiham & Greywell CC and Alton 2nd team who gained promotion to the Southern Premier Cricket League. As always, there were some amazing matches, none more so than Kerala 1st team chasing down 367 to win a match against Shrewton; never before has there been 735 runs scored in a Hampshire Cricket League match.
I am delighted to report that we have a number of new entrants to HCL in both the Saturday and Sunday leagues, and both days have more sides in 2025 than we had in 2024. Welcome and I trust that you will enjoy playing cricket in our wonderful league. 
                                                                                           Structure
As you will be aware and following the vote at the Extraordinary General Meeting in June 2024, the structure of the Saturday divisions will change significantly in 2025. All the detail was included in the EGM papers but in summary the divisions are smaller in size, to facilitate playing opponents home and away, and for most clubs reduced travel. 
One disappointing feature of the 2024 season was the increase in disciplinary incidents. I wrote to all clubs last August in this regard and request that all will take individual and collective responsibility for making improvements in this area. I believe leadership from club chairs and captains is an important ingredient and hope that this can reduce some of the unpleasantness that appeared to have occurred in some matches.
In general terms, our approach to ground standards remains unchanged in that we require certain minimum standards to be maintained, and those standards are more onerous the higher up the leagues a team progresses. We are looking to simplify those standards once there is output from the county wide ground and facilities review and will also look to work flexibly and constructively with clubs to develop action plans should ground marks be on the low side. Should you need any help or guidance, please do not hesitate to contact Tony Oxley our Grounds sub-committee lead in the first instance.
During 2024, we were able to organise funding to reduce the cost of travel to the Isle of Wight. We are working on a similar plan for 2025 and will add an announcement to the news section of the website, when more details are available. We thank Hampshire Cricket Board and Isle of Wight Cricket Board for their support on this.
                                                                                                Sponsors
As previously reported, from January 2024 we had new sponsors, Howden Group, insurance brokers and this arrangement continues into 2025. Howdens are the broker for the ECB and some of you will already be familiar with Howdens through the ECB insurance scheme, where clubs can access public liability insurance for no charge through the safe hand’s portal. I would like to thank Howdens for their support to the League and the clubs in the League.
You will see from the Treasurers’ Report that the financial position of HCL continues to be satisfactory and benefitted from the sponsorship income from Howdens.
We have a number of vacancies on the committee and are always on the look-out for additional help. The league can only run in it’s current form with volunteers to carry out the various functions and so I would encourage anyone who has an interest in helping us to make contact with me or another committee member, since we have a number of tasks where assistance would be gratefully received. 
Thank you all and enjoy the coming season.

Ken Morrison, Chairman.

Unbeaten leaders Odiham & Greywell will be crowned Hampshire League champions if they win for a twelfth time and beat Hayling Island at King Street on Saturday.
The battle for second place features a head-to-head between Alton II and 2023 champions Ferndown Wayfarers. Only one point separates the pair after 14 rounds of matches.

​Hampshire League leaders Odiham & Greywell have teed up a Guy Jewell T20 Cup semi-final date with holders Basingstoke & North Hants at May's Bounty next Tuesday evening (July 30) at 5.30pm.
They have won all eight HL Division 1 matches and currently enjoy a healthy lead over defending champions Ferndown Wayfarers, who they play in the final match of the season on August 31.
Odiham ran up a hefty 205-4 against Andover, with Kyran Munt (89) and Gareth Sharp (59) top scoring.  Andover made 110-7 in reply.
Hook & Newnham Basics play Rotherfield Park in a much postponed tie at the Bounty this/Tuesday evening.

​Basingstoke & North Hants opening pair Callum Coombs (left) and Laurence Benge, right, shared a double-century partnership before the Hampshire League Division 1 match against Ryde was abandoned through rain.
​Coombs hit 128 and Benge 103 in a 211-run partnership as Basingstoke posted a massive 291-4.  Ryde were 20-0 when rain halted play.
Coombs's hundred has earned a Southern Premier League call-up against Alton at the Bounty on Saturday, 11am.  A fortnight ago he was playing for the thirds !.

Sparsholt seamer Rob Foy produced staggering bowling figures of nine wickets for 18 runs against Hampshire League Division 4 North rivals East Woodhay - all of them clean bowled !
The dead-eyed Lancastrian rattled through the East Woodhay batting, taking the first nine wickets to fall. 
He was denied all ten wickets as he finished his nine-over stint before the Berkshire side was all out for 51. Seven batsmen bagged ducks.
Ironically, whilst they were career-best figures, it wasn't the first time Foy had taken nine wickets in an innings. He did it previously in his home town, Preston.
Sparsholt earlier hit 258-8 with Josh Stanbrook-Tompkins making 64. They won by 207 runs.
Foy is pictured with the match ball in front of Sparsholt's electronic scoreboard.

​Tom Morton added another century to his increasingly large collection as Sarisbury Athletic maintained the pressure on Portsmouth at the top of the Southern Premier League’s second tier.
The record breaking former South Wilts opener struck 102 off 132 balls as Sarisbury posted 250-6 off 50 overs against Rowledge, who made a rain trimmed 136-9 in reply.
It was Morton’s fifth SPL century for Sarisbury in 16 innings, and his third in nine outings in 2024.  Those hundreds go alongside the 29 he plundered in 16 run-filled seasons with Salisbury-based South Wilts.
And there were also four centuries scored across two seasons playing for Ealing in the Middlesex County League, one of which took the west London club to the championship.
Morton’s latest ton followed his 109 against Rowledge on the opening day of this season. 
He was just five runs short of sharing a 200-run opening stand with Fremantle's Kaiden Cookson (76) when he was dismissed by 18-year old Loughborough University biology student Ollie Ryman (5-46), refreshed after holiday in Nigel Farage's Clacton.
Rowledge were set a rain revised target of 203 from 33 overs, but never looked like getting near it once Archie Pascoe (3-21) had helped reduce them from 43-0 to 49-5. Ollie Baker (30) and Ryman (25) top scored as Rowledge finished  on 136-9 to lose by 68 runs.
Sarisbury’s seventh win in nine completed games has given them a points-per-match average of 18.11 - but Portsmouth, whose game at OTs & Romsey was rained off, still lead on 19.44. The top two meet at Allotment Road on July 27.
Four Portsmouth first teamers ensured their Saturday wasn't rain wasted by turning out in a Hampshire League match against Hythe & Dibden.  Harry Gadd made 174 of Portsmouth's 368-3.   ​The News

Teenager Will Welsh celebrated a career-best return of 7-46 with the ball and later top scored for South Wilts III in the 79-run defeat by unbeaten Hampshire League Division 3 North leaders Basingstoke & North Hants.
The talented Millfield all-rounder, who also plays off scratch at golf, took four wickets in his final over as Basingstoke were dismissed for 232.
Welsh (37) then shared a half-century opening stand with fellow teen Adam Cutler (26) before the young South Wilts side slipped to 157 all out.
Millfield's Director of Cricket Mark Garaway explained: "Will's in our 2nd tier team, who bats in the top four, bowls a bit and catches pigeons.  
"His catching prowess earned him a call up into the Meyer’s XI during the recent cup run which took the side to Lords for the National Final. Will took four magnificent catches in the final four matches of the competition. 
"I really like his bowling action, very fluid and we have been giving him more and more overs in the second half of the season, so it’s great to hear that he has taken that confidence into his club cricket."

​Hythe & Dibden copped a 368-run blast from a strengthened Portsmouth side when they visited Southsea seafront for a one-sided Hampshire League Division 1 match.
Their match at OTs & Romsey cancelled, Portsmouth loaded four of their table topping Southern Premier Division 1 team into their seconds, with Harry Gadd, the former Havant skipper, hitting 174.
Dan Wimble hit 73, Sujeeth Danni 31and Hampshire U18 spinner Charlie Collins 59.
First team opening bowler Joe Kooner-Evans took two wickets as Hythe were dismissed for 98 to lose by 270 runs.

​BASINGSTOKE CRICKET SUPER EIGHTS

Basingstoke & North Hants III
Standing (from left): Ali Pearson, Josh Weir, Vikram Singh, AK Sankaranarayanan, Pete Whitfield, Jake Fincken. Front: Scott Dyer, Callum Coombs, Alex Yeates, Ashish Mathew, Joe Belcher, Luthando Mndi.

Basingstoke & North Hants' thirds are riding high in Hampshire League Division 3 North after eight successive wins, the latest of which came by 75 runs at South Wilts.
Scott Dyer (72) and Vikram Singh (58) hit half-centuries as Basingstoke posted 232 (Callum Coombs 42), four wickets falling in the final over bowled by South Wilts' teenager Will Welch, who finished with career best figures of 7-46.
Singh later took 3-12 as South Wilts were dismissed for 157. Alongside Coombs, with 314 runs, Singh is also a lead batsman with 296 runs.

Rikki Clarke, for former England ODI, Surrey and Warwickshire all-rounder, hit a double century for Shrewton - only finish in the losing dressing room as Portsmouth-based Kerala knocked off an astonishing 367-7 to win a run strewn Hampshire League match by five wickets.
Clarke hit 221, including 21 sixes, but was upstaged by Kerala opening batsman Presh Prasad, who made 185 as his side chased down the target to win with nine balls to spare.

​South Wilts third team batsman Connor Bain struck a remarkable 170 as his side went on a 326-run spree against Hampshire League Division 3 North rivals Old Basing II at Bemerton
Arriving sat the crease after South Wilts had lost two cheap wickets, Bain hit three sixes and 25 boundaries in his career-best knock.
He shared in two century partnerships, the first with Tom Baines (43) and later Kevin Chidwarl, whose hit an explosive 68 which included a six and ten fours.
South Wilts amassed 326-9 off 45 overs before dismissing Old Basing for 158 to win by 168 runs.

Longparish cricketers will need to bring their sub-aqua kit along to their  picturesque village ground alongside the River Test if Saturday's scheduled friendly match against Oakley is to go ahead.
The outfield was totally flooded by the weekend's torrential rain and in need of a dramatic change in the weather if any cricket is to be played there in the coming weeks.  Picture credit Alfie Smith

​Scott McGaughrin took three wickets in four balls to turn Odiham & Greywell's ECB National Club Championship preliminary round tie against Berkhamsted on its head.
With their reply at 130-4, the Hertfordshire League hosts looked odds on to overhaul Odiham's 158-9.
But McGaughrin, pictured, ripped out Berkhamsted's middle-order with a spell of 4-26 which culminated in the last six wickets falling for 25 runs.  Berkhamsted collapsed to 155 all out (Ryan Friend 41) and a surprise three-run defeat.
Earlier, Ed Ikin (28) eased Odiham to 64-1 before three quick wickets fell, leaving Liam Doran (22), Will Kettle (20) and Jack Malden pick up the pieces and steer the visitors to a competitive score.
Odiham's reward is an away tie against powerful ECB Middlesex County League side Richmond at Old Deer Park on Sunday, 1pm - a busy day for the club, with a National Village Cup tie at Hursley Park also on the agenda.

Totton & Eling carried off the Hampshire Under-19 Cup by beating Sparsholt by seven wickets, then Ferndown Wayfarers by 42 runs in the final at Southern Gardens.
Totton trio Ben Mayes (4-34)l, Billy Lightfoot (3-19) and Yanis Dibden (2-10) did the damage as Sparsholt were dismissed for 123 (Nas Alon 39) before Tom Cheater hit an unbeaten 52 and Mayes 34 not out.   Fred Gurney took 2-16.
Ferndown had benefitted from semi-final walkover - Portsmouth conceding - and in the final were beaten by 42 runs, Mayes (36) and Lightfoot (33) top scoring in Totton's 156-6.
​Ferndown made 112 all out, opener James Stephenson hitting two sixes and five fours in a hard hit 42 and Cam Golding 24. They were undone by Lightfoot's spell of 5-20 and Jake Mills 3-13.

Bramshaw stalwart Ken Webb sadly passed away earlier in September at the age of 79. He was previously a vice president of the New Forest club and played for many years from the early 1970s through to 1990s. 
He took up many roles during his time, including groundsman, secretary, club captain, colts coach and umpire for the first team before going onto officiate in the Southern League. He was Bramshaw secretary for many years, creating the club's centenary handbook along with John Loose in 1977 and seeing through the extension of the current pavilion in 1986. He will always be remembered for forming and coaching the first junior cricket team in 1984 for getting the second team running in the late 1980s.
Kev loved his cricket, bowling his slow spinners, always convinced he was going to get a wicket every ball. He loved batting as well, and opened the batting for the seconds when he was captain. He was a strong fielder too, always keeping the opposition on their toes. The "Ken Web Fielding award" is presented every year. 
He also had trials as a footballer for Manchester City, before becoming a referee for the Hampshire FA. Latterly, Ken would always be up at the Bramshaw club with his wife Jan to help offer advice to junior players whilst also enjoying the cricket on display.

​Hursley Park have finished runners-up in Hampshire League Division 1 - despite losing three of their last five matches !
They looked set to lift the title with some ease after winning their first nine games, but a controversial, rain affected defeat by Hythe & Dibden in mid-July, coupled with several untimely washouts, knocked their challenge off course.
They got things back on track by beating Ryde and Old Basing, but consecutive defeats by Odiham & Greywell (who finished third) and Shrewton torpedoed any prospects they had of winning the championship.
Fortunately, Hursley banked enough points in the first two months to ensure a second placed finish behind Wimborne-based Ferndown Wayfarers, who took the title at the first attempt.
Tom Flynn hit 120 in Hursley's final game - bringing up his 1,000 runs for the season in the process - but by then Shrewton (minus former England ODI all-rounder Rikki Clarke) had blazed 284-8.  Hursley replied with 250, Flynn scoring almost half of them.
Compton & Chandler's Ford's season petered out in almost identical fashion, with the 2022 HL champions losing four of their last six matches, the final two against Basingstoke & North Hants II (76 all out) and Ferndown Wayfarers (90 all out) when, on both occasions, they were dismissed for less than 100.
CCF had to make do with a fourth place finish, with Easton & Martyr Worthy among the three clubs relegated from Division 1, alongside Purbrook and Winton.

​Wimborne have won the Wessex Internet Dorset League championship for the first time since 2018, losing only one of their 13 matches.   
They clinched the title with a five-wicket win over Blandford to finish 22 points above Poole Town, whose final match against Bere Regis was abandoned in mid-afternoon.
But beating Blandford wasn't straightforward as Wimborne lurched to 73-5 (Mike Shepherd 3-13) chasing 149 before Colin Randall (64) and stand-in skipper Simon Watkins (39) shared an unbroken 70-run sixth-wicket partnership to ease them home without further loss.

Wimborne captain Ben Bridgen wasn't able to play against Blandford and admitted: "I was watching the game on YouTube and was getting pretty nervous when we were 73-5 but the experienced heads of Colin (Randall) and Watto (Steve Watkins) saw us home nicely in the end.
"I’m very proud of the lads this season. The youngsters need to take a lot of credit. Each week we’ve been playing six or seven lads at the age of 16 years and under which shows the strength in our youth set up. 
"Connor Houldsworth only turned 15 years of age midway through the season and his 27-wicket haul put him second in the Dorset League averages.   He was playing 3rd and 4th team cricket in 2022."
Brigden himself made 705 runs and Colin Randall 535, while 17-year old Joseph Kelly, from the Western Australia Grade club Melville, scored 597 runs, including an unbeaten 112 in a decisive early June win over Poole Town.
"The young lads have really looked up to Joe. He’s been exceptional having come back from a pretty bad injury that ruled him out of the last WACA season in Perth.
"He is a super focused lad dedicated to making it as a professional and we wish him all the best in the future," Brigden added.
Wimborne's Under-15 side reached the ECB national championship semi-finals and most of the team were involved in Dorset League action during the season.  
"We haven’t been afraid of selecting them and giving them important roles in the team. Obviously, you need good strong senior players around them to support their development and that's happened," he concluded. 

Chawton cushioned he disappointment of relegation from Hampshire League Division 2 by beating Hook & Newnham Basics B by 10 runs at May's Bounty to lift the Cyril Thompson Trophy.
Chawton looked to be heading for a modest total until Toby Charlton (42) and Mason Taylor (33 not out) put on a late run blitz, which saw them add 80 in the last seven overs and take the score to 159-6, Hampshire U15 Oli Webster taking 3-15.
Hook’s reply saw Kevin Light (34) and top batsman award winner Tom May (40) put on 65 for the first wicket.  Thomas Dyer (11) hit the only six of the innings before being brilliantly caught by Cameron Hamer with a one-handed diving catch to his left, which won the award for the 'magic moment' of the game.
Alex Corbett, another of Hook's county age group prospects, chipped in with 20 and Billy Wyatt was 15 not out at the end as Hook came up just short ending on 148-9.   Chawton’s Hamer (second left, front row) was the star with the ball as he finished with 5-12.

​Ferndown Wayfarers have won the Hampshire League championship at the first attempt, clinching the title with a crucial 35-run victory over defending champions Compton & Chandler's Ford at Dolmans Farm.
Situated several miles east of Wimborne, Ferndown defended 125-9 by bowling CCF out for 90, the visitors finishing fourth in the log.
Hursley Park finished second despite a 284-8 run mauling at Shrewton. Tom Flynn responded with 120 in Hursley's 250 all out.  Odiham & Greywell hit 258-9 (Ikin 102) against Basingstoke & North Hants II (131) to take third place.

Tichborne Park, Hampshire League Division 2 champions.
Standing (from left): Tom Allam, Jake Bristow, Martin Cheyney, Jake Vallance, Edd Berry. Front: Freddie Hodgins, Tom Boyer, Will Allam, Ed Primmer, Seb Newens, George Power.
 
Tichborne Park are on the way back after suffering a double relegation from the Southern Premier Division 3 in 2021 and County Division 1 last year.
They clinched the Division 2 title with a 98-run win over Calmore Sports, their 12th victory of the season.

CRICKET chiefs have awarded the Wessex Internet Dorset League brand-new ECB Premier League status from the 2024 season onwards.
Next summer will see a restructuring of the Dorset League (DCL) following its acceptance as the 32nd ECB Premier League in the country.
Currently, the Dorset League contains eight tiers from the Premier League to County Division Seven.   The structure of Dorset’s new ECB Premier League is yet to be finalised.
Clubs must attain certain levels in a range of criteria focussed on ground facilities and future sustainability in order for their first team to compete in the top divisions.
All clubs will continue to be accommodated in an ‘all-through’ league where teams can gain promotion based on performance, although facilities will once again be taken into account the higher a team progresses.
The new structure will initially see a reduction in the number of teams in the top two divisions because of the criteria set.   It is hoped a return towards ten-team divisions will begin in 2026, when clubs have had more time to attain the necessary standards.
                                                                                                Exciting
The move is aimed at halting the talent drain of Dorset’s best cricketers towards the Hampshire and Southern Leagues, the latter of which is already an approved ECB Premier League.
In the long-term, league chiefs are targeting a greater number of players in the county team to have been picked from the Dorset League.
Cricket Dorset managing director, Ben Skipworth, said: “This is a massively exciting development in the grassroots game and should provide a highly competitive environment for our best club players to thrive.
“It is a testament to the efforts of the committee, especially Alan Graham, to finally realise this level of league being in place in the county.”
DCL chairman, Peter Constable, added: “I’m really pleased that Dorset has finally been accredited with being an ECB Premier League after many years of hard work, not just by members of the management committee but also member clubs in raising the standard of facilities, grounds and playing strength to get to the level required by the ECB.
“We understand there will be some upheaval initially but hope this will soon be behind us as the whole league structure settles down in future seasons.
“It is vital that we don’t forget the smaller clubs with teams in the lower divisions, as they are pivotal to the survival of cricket in the county and gives all players, whatever their age or ability a place to play.”

Chawton will play Hook & Newnham Basics B in the Cyril Thompson T20 Cup final at May's Bounty, Basingstoke, on Monday morning, 11am.
In the semi-finals, Jacob Channon was the star man as Chawton beat Stratfield Turgis by 84 runs, while Charlie Neville starred with bat and ball as Hook defeated Yateley by 96 runs.
Scores -
Chawton 179-5 {Jacob Channon 89, Callum Bachelor 30*, Jana 2-31, Gary Cockcroft 2-28] Stratfield Turgis 95-8 [Chris Butcher 31, Jacob Channon 4-15, Max Williams 3-8]. Chawton won by 84 runs.
​
Hook & Newnham Basics “B” 164-3 [Charlie Neville 63*, Tom Dyer 47, James Harvey 2-16] Yateley 68 [Josh George 17, Luke Burgess 4-10, Ollie May 2-11, Charlie Neville 2-6]. HNBCC “B” won by 96 runs.

​The semi-finals of the Cyril Thompson Cup will be played at May's Bounty next week, with Hook & Newnham Basics B facing Yateley on Monday evening and Chawton squaring up against Statfield Turgis on Tuesday.
Stratfield clinched their semi-final place with a six wicket win over Overton. Scores:  
Overton 140-7 [Charlie Bowden 45, Andy Galvin 27, Grant Jones 2-28, Shashani Argawal 2-19] Stratfield Turgis & HW 141-4 [Gary Cockcroft 49, Raj Das 35*, Andy Galvin 2-21].