​Basingstoke & North Hants fell to a five-wicket defeat by Burridge, who have gone to the ECB Southern Premier League summit for the first time since they were crowned champions in 2023.
Matt Deadman must feel as though he's skippering Basingstoke with one hand tied behind his back at the moment, with the influential Neal brothers Ash and Brad absent from the loss at Burridge, alongside university pair Alex Boxall and Harry Morragh, who are unlikely to return from the north-east for a few weeks yet.
Teenager Abdullah Abid [pictured] took advantage of being able to open against a Burridge attack, arguably the best in the Premier Division, and batted virtually the entire innings for 78, eventually being dismissed two balls from the end of his side's 179 all out.  He hit only five fours off the 140 balls he faced.
Abid added 62 with New Zealander Eathan O'Donoghue (27) before Stoke lost three wickets for 16 runs and never really recovered.
Matt Donaldson (23) chipped in with some late runs, but Dan Stancliffe (4-27) and Oli Southon (3-47) held the whip hand, with the former eventually dismissing Abid and then winding up the innings two balls later. It was Stancliffe's second consecutive four-wicket haul.
Burridge lost two wickets at 23, but former Australia U19 cricketer Toby Snell was never likely to give his wicket away, hitting ten boundaries in a match winning 75 not out. 
Snell, who celebrated his 22nd birthday this week, helped Australia reach the under-19 World Cup semi-finals in 2022, losing to India, who went on to beat Tom Prest's England in the final.
Queenslander Snell followed up 54 in the previous week’s win over Alton with an unbeaten 75 at Botley Road. The wicket-keeper added 92 for the third wicket with Sachin Suresh (33) and 58 for the fifth with Ephrain Royle (24) as Burridge won with almost eight overs in hand.
Suresh joined Burridge over the winter from promoted Trojans, where he ended an award winning  2024 SPL Division 3 campaign with scores of 75 (v Fawley) and 88 (v Fareham & Crofton), while Royle had been playing at Gosport Borough, also in the fourth tier, for several years.

Neighbours Hambledon and Waterlooville are off the mark at the third attempt in Southern Premier Division 1, their respective wins leaving Totton & Eling bottom of the pile and awaiting some joy.
Hambledon owed much to teen Tony Restell [left] for their narrow 12-run win at Southern Gardens, where the Churcher's College student held things together after three wickets had fallen for six runs and the Dons were wobbling at 85-5. Restell hit 60 and pointed Hambledon to 185 all out.
Raj Parmar (35) and Joe Baker (34) eased Totton's reply to 72-1 after which wickets fell all too regularly, four of them to little left-armer spinner Ollie Bembridge (4-40). His spell left Jimmy Taylor (36) holding the pieces together,  A late rally saw Totton reach 173 all out.
Middle-order pair Dan Birch (48*) and Sam Robinson (30) eased Waterlooville's concerns' lifting them from an uncertain 57-4 and to within sight of a below par Rowledge total of 148 at Rowlands Avenue.
Of the early batsmen, only Jonty Seeborn (24) progressed beyond 20 and after a mid-innings collapse, it was left to tenth wicket pair Ferdy Marshall (32*) and skipper Ben Wish to lift the final score to 148 (Charlie Whitfield (3-9)). 
The visitors attacked the Waterlooville openers early on and the loss of opener Whitfield first ball to Max Martin gave them the lift needed. Tight bowling and fielding did pressurise the batters and when David Lloyd got Jon Hudson (caught by Ethan Martin) the Ville were tottering on collapse at 57-4. 
Wicketkeeper Dan Birch (48*)joined Sam Robinson (30) at the crease to take the game away from Rowledge. 

Unbeaten Sarisbury Athletic remain Southern Premier League Division 1 leaders, but Allotment Road visitors Fair Oak put up a decent showing after losing by 68 runs.  
Sarisbury complied 71 for the first wicket thanks largely to the efforts of Tom Morton, with a run-a-ball 57, but Sri Yegnasubramanian (3-43) dismissed both openers. Middle-order runs from Ricky Rawlins (60), South African Matthew Fourie (33) and Josh Williams (40) propelled the home side to an impressive 265-9.  Sam Reed did well with the ball for Oaks, taking 4-45.
With Harry Reed [left] making 50 and Henry Nicholls 39, Fair Oak reached 109-1 and were poised to launch an assault on the Sarisbury total.  But Rob Franklin, with 4-29, and Connor Clark (2-34) engineered a collapse with six Oaks wickets falling for just 21 runs.
It was left to Tom Clark (21) and Matt White (23) to salvage some pride as Oaks improved from 130-7 to 197 all out.

​Hook & Newnham Basics posted a towering 308-6 - only to have their total overhauled by visitors Havant who won by three wickets, with a six off the last ball of the match !
Rookie Tom Dyer’s fateful final ball disappeared into the branches of the trees overhanging the KGV outfield, tailender Arun Tubman’s six-hit giving Havant an improbable victory.
Havant’s 310-7 was the fourth highest successful run chase in the Premier League’s 25-year history and maintained their three-match unbeaten start.
The match, played on a superb surface, produced a glut of 618 runs, 78 boundaries and eight sixes
Half-centuries by in-form Charlie Neville (63) and Sam Lockwood (58) got Hook off to a flier, which Josh Buckingham (49) enhanced.  Unbeaten pair Will Wyatt (48) and Oli Jones (41) added 86 off the last 12 overs.
Havant gave chase, with Harrison Barnard (52) and Kieran Abrams (30) prominent before Pete Hopson (47) added further runs.
Typically, Richard Hindley (67 not out) played the key innings as the match reached its climax, but critically lost the strike at the very end.  No worries, Tubman had everything under control …. 

​Harry Gadd struck his second ECB Southern Premier League top flight century as Portsmouth won by 50 runs at Alton, their second consecutive victory. 
Gadd, who controversially joined the St Helen's set at the start of last season having previously accepted the Havant captaincy, hit a run-a-ball 119 balls to help the city side 307-6 after they were surprisingly inserted at the Jubilee Ground.
Gadd hit 17 fours and a six in his 138-minute stay in the middle, putting on 139 for the third wicket with Mohammad Ashraful.  The former Bangladesh skipper hit 10 fours in his 73-ball 69, his second half-century of the season after an opening day 71 when they lost to the Hampshire Academy.
That was after evergreen South African Bash Walters (2-42) had reduced the visitors to 36-2, removing opening pair Ben Duggan and Carlin Joy.
Sujeeth Daini (25*) and Joe Kooner-Evans helped add an unbroken 35 for the seventh wicket in just 16 balls. They were helped by Jude Wright sending down five wides in an 11-bowl 48th over, with extras (41) ending as Portsmouth’s third highest score, including 25 wides.
It helped Portsmouth post a target that was far too good for Alton to reach, the Brewers bowled out for 237. Joe Kooner-Evans (2-32) emulated Walters by dismissing both openers cheaply, in his case Dan Harris (13) and Abhay Gonella (5).
Alton also boasted a centurion, Ben Rolfs scoring 14 boundaries in a maiden 114 and sharing a useful stand with Sam Ruffell (40). Portsmouth spinner Rakshith Rao took 3-32.

Bashley (Rydal) dispatched winless South Wilts and did so in style, racing to a seven-wicket win at the BCG Fagan Ground to climb to second place in ECB Southern Premier League leaders Burridge.
It was a team display, with four bowlers – Louis Prichard, Jacob Stevenson, George Wilson, and Jacob Gordon – all taking two wickets, while Ethan Baker, Jack Stearman and Gordon all made 50-plus scores.
“It was a flat deck at Bashley, as it always is,” said Bashley (Rydal) ’s Jacob Gordon. “South Wilts off to a flyer, but we bowled pretty tidily, and some soft dismissals from South Wilts gave away what should have been a score of at least 250!
“Then Ethan Baker and Jack Stearman were setting the base again, allowing me and others to come in and get the game finished. Our all-round strong performance, all while missing some crucial players, really shows the club has depth.
“It’s great to move to second, but we’re not thinking about it too much as we were first for the majority of last summer and missed out on the title.  As long as we are at the top at crucial parts of the summer, that’s all that matters.”
South Wilts won the toss and elected to bat, which proved to be a good choice despite the loss of Matthew Falconer (2), who was caught behind by wicketkeeper Patrick Lewis off the bowling of Dan Goodey (1-27), with 28 runs on the board. Wicketkeeper Lewis would finish the afternoon with four catches - a handy return in his comeback match.
James Degg (57) top-scored for the visitors, but once he was dismissed thanks to a catch by Jack Stearman off Gordon’s (2-34) delivery, wickets proved easier to come by.
The Bashley wickets came from Stevenson (2-11), Prichard (2-34), Wilson (2-35), and Baker (1-32), and the visitors finished on 210 after 39.3 overs.
Bashley opener Alex Turner scored a quickfire 22 runs off 19 balls before he lost his wicket to Henry Dunlop (1-38) at 32-1.
However, from there, the hosts took control, with Baker (67) and Jack Stearman – 63 off 61 balls against his old club – adding 100 runs for the second wicket before Stearman departed at 200-3.
That left the New Forest side 11 runs shy of victory, which Gordon (50 not out) and Will Tripcony  wasted no time delivering with seven wickets remaining after 42.1 overs played.
It was a third successive defeat for South Wilts, who lie bottom of the table, 11 points adrift of safety.

If you’re looking for your Voneus Village Cup campaign to take off, it’s probably handy to have a Royal Air Force cricketer in your ranks.
Sparsholt captain Tom Berzins, pictured, who also plays for the RAF, is off to a flyer as the leading run-scorer in this year’s Hampshire group, with 201 runs across his first two games in this year’s tournament.
The opening batter, or Flight Lieutenant Berzins (as he’s known at work), hit 116 against Titchborne Park in round one, putting on 192 with Robbie Skeates (63) as his side chased down 237 in just 27.3 overs to complete a nine-wicket win.
He followed that century up with 85 from 76 balls when Sparsholt set a winning total of 252 for 6 away at Cadnam, who managed 206 for 9 in their reply.
Berzins will unfortunately miss this year’s inter-services T20 tournament at Lord’s due to work commitments, but Sparsholt will still be represented in the by Jack Fuller, who is a corporal in the RAF.
Bramshaw’s Tom Arnold is currently second in the Hampshire run charts, just two runs behind Berzins on 199 after two games played, but will be unable to add further runs to his tally this year.
Arnold hit an unbeaten 108 against Overton in the first round before hitting 91 when Bramshaw fell to a seven-wicket defeat against Easton & Martyr Worthy.
The county semi-finals take place on Sunday (1pm) with Sarisbury Athletic hosting Hambledon at Allotment Road, and Sparsholt playing Easton & Martyr Worthy at Locks Lane.

​Dom Kelly struck his maiden ECB Southern Premier League century before St Cross Symondians clung on to beat Lymington, the overnight leaders,  by one run in a dramatic last ball finish at the Green Jackets Ground.
The 18-year old Hampshire left-hander hit 124, including 18 fours, as St Cross posted 254-8.   
Lymington took their run chase the wire, with former Hampshire and Northants all-rounder Gareth Berg driving the New Forest side to within sight of a third successive victory.  
They held the initiative for a long while but, having needed five to win off Michael Howarth’s final over and two off the last ball, suffered a run out and were all out for 253. 
Kelly featured in three separate half-century stands with Charlie Harden (21), Charlie Gwynn (42) and Haworth (24) before St Cross lost the initiative, five wickets tumbling for ten runs, Gareth Berg finishing with a 3-41 return. 
Lymington’s run chase was based around a 123-run fourth-wicket stand between Robbie Hemmings (76) and Berg, whose aggressive 97 included 70 in boundaries.
Spin duo Gwynn (3-42) and Felix Organ (2-48) slowed the Lymington advance, leaving the visitors’ five to win off the last over with the last pair at the crease.  They scored three before suffering a fateful last ball run out.

Hampshire prospect Joe Eckland hit an undefeated 109 to dash any prospect Bournemouth had of defending a modest 211-9 against the county's Academy side at Chapel Gate.
Sharing a century partnership with teenage Dorset left-hander Finn Gordon (44), Eckland hit a six and 13 fours and fired the Academy to a seven-wicket ECB Southern Premier League victory with five overs to spare.
Oli Breckon achieved an early breakthrough for the Lions, having Sam Ashman caught, but it was a long time before Simon Woodruff (2-33) achieved any further success.
Aided by Conor Lamsdale (26 not out), Eckland guided the 2024 Premier League champions to a comfortable win.
Earlier, James van Gool (50) caught the eye before Shaun Fouche (42) and Woodruff (29) eased Bournemouth to 152-3 before three wickets fell for eight runs and the innings lost its impetus.

ECB SOUTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE
RESULTS: ROUND 3 - 17 MAY 2025

ECB PREMIER DIVISION

Basingstoke & Hants 197 (Abid 78, O’Donoghue 27, Stancliffe 4-27, Southon 3-47) Burridge 201-5 (Snell 75*, Suresh 33, Royle 24). Burridge won by five wickets.

Bournemouth 211-9 (Van Gool 50, Fouche 42, Woodruff 29) 
Hampshire Academy 212-3 (Eckland 109*, Gordon 44, Lamsdale 26*) Hampshire Academy won by seven wickets.

Portsmouth 307-6 (H Gadd 118, Ashrafal 69) Alton 257 (Rolfe 114, Ruffell 40, Rao 3-32). Portsmouth won by 50 runs.

South Wilts 210 (Degg 57, Broderick 40, Draper 27, Rowe 26) Bashley (Rydal) 211-3 (Baker 67, Stearman 63, Gordon 50*). Bashley (Rydal) won by seven wickets.

St Cross Symondians 254-8 (Kelly 124, Gwynn 42, Berg 3-41) Lymington 253 (Berg 97, Hemmings 70, Gwynn 3-42). St Cross Symondians won by one run.

DIVISION 1

Hambledon 185 (T Restall 64, Berrill 25) Totton & Eling 173 (J Taylor 36, Parmar 35, Baker 34, Bembridge 4-40). Hambledon won by 12 runs.

Hook & Newnham Basics 308-6 (Neville 63, Lockwood 58, JBuckingham 49, Wyatt 48*, Jones 41*)  Havant 310-7 (Hindley 67*, Barnard 52, Jones 49, Hopson 47, Abrams 30, Armstrong 3-61). Havant won by three wickets.

Old Tauntonians & Romsey 41 (Russell 6-15, Watts 4-18) Ventnor 43-5 (Thimodya 30, Bampton 3-7). Ventnor won by five wickets.

Rowledge 148 (Marshall 32*, Sebborn 24, Whitfield 3-9) Waterlooville 152-6 (Birch 48*, Robinson 30, A Reynolds 26). Waterlooville won by four wickets.

Sarisbury Athletic 265-9 (Rawlins 60, Morton 57, Williams 40, Fourie 33, Feltham 26, Yegnasubramian 3-43) Fair Oak 197 (H Reed 50, Nicholls 39, Franklin 4-29). Sarisbury Athletic won by 68 runs.

DIVISION 2

Andover 161 (Waduge 40, Nyumbu 27, Bennett 3-33, Golding 3-45) New Milton 164-5 (Davids 52, Shrubsole 36, Adams 30). New Milton won by five wickets

Calmore Sports 221 (Brewster 104*, Butcher 36, O’Connor 32) Langley Manor 225-6 (Budd 86, Campbell 54*). Langley Manor won by four wickets.

Hartley Wintney 195 (Wheeler 69, M Teale 25, Barnard 25, Newcombe 3-25, B Parratt 3-34) Fawley 197-5 (Munir 48, B Streather 38, Earl 33*, Singh 31*). Fawley won by three wickets.

Liphook & Ripsley 192 (Rich Covey 63, Harvey 39, Dimmick 5-19) Trojans 196-3 (Agha 100*, Boyd 61).  Trojans won by seven wickets.

Sway 210 (Harradine 60, Young 37, Crossley 25, Steadman 25, Peach 4-35) Portsmouth & Southsea 211-5 (Rockett 82*, Stanley 58, Grasham 3-52). Portsmouth & Southsea won by five wickets.

DIVISION 3

Odiham & Greywell 173 (Malden 40, Ikin 37, Headen 3-31, Eades 3-37, Reader 3-38) Fareham & Crofton 175-5 (Bulled 78*, Kent 27). Fareham & Crofton won by five wickets.

Parley 273-6 (Laird 118, Bragginton 40, Rose 37, Collins 30, Solaki 3-51)  Hursley Park 203 (Sharma 31, Solaki 30, Blakeley 3-33, Powell 3-43). Parley won by 70 runs.

Paultons 175-9 (Drake 38, W Bridger 4-27, Crane 3-29) Alton II 179-4 (Van Der Linde 58, Heffernan 31, Paul 31*, Dawes 3-44). Alton II won by six wickets.

Sparsholt 403-8 (Merlino 108, Gurney 52, Southgate 45, Davies 44*, Balcombe 4-79) Hook & Newnham Basics II 136 (Watterson 59, Balcombe 42, Ley 3-20, Doran 3-35).  Sparsholt won by 267 runs.

St Cross Symondians II 227-7 (Rosehead 77) Gosport Borough 219 (Harris 114, Creal 31, Bursand 4-28, Orchard 3-32). St Cross Symondians II won by eight runs.

,Here's a few tit bits ahead of Saturday's round 3 Southern Premier League -

• Dan Goodey will captain Bashley (Rydal) against South Wilts in the absence of Michael Porter (indisposed) and Ben Walker;
• Hampshire Academy are without Ben Mayes and Eddie Jack, both playing against Zimbabwe;
• Tom South misses Alton v Portsmouth.  Alton: Gonella, Harris, Rolfs, Myers, Ruffell, Wright, Egleston, Heffernan, Walters, Sumner, Appavoo;
• Pete Hopson, Stu Ransley and Aussie all-rounder Kieran Abrams are all set to return for Havant at Hook & Newnham Basics, whose line-up is: Lockwood, Neville, Dyer, M Buckingham, Armstrong, J Buckingham, James, Wyatt, C Hall, Brewer, Divecha .
• Zac Le Roux is absent for Rowledge at Waterlooville, where David Lloyd, having just chalked up his 350th SPL wicket, needs two more to make it 450 in all divisions.
• Rowledge: Ben Wish, David Lloyd, Justin Felsch, Ethan Martin, Max Martin, Ollie Baker, Olly Ryman, Ferdy Marshall , Jonty Sebborn, Ryan Littlewood, Hayden Ewing.
• Hosting Portsmouth & Southsea, Sway chase a third straight win. P & S bounced back from heir Andover mauling to beat Fawley last week.
• Sway: Bernard, Young, Crossley, Hall, Harradine, Walter, Steadman, Richards, Burton, Grasham, Thomas.  Portsmouth & Southsea: Stanley, M Benfield, Rocket, Davies, Davidson, T Benfield, Peach, Wheeler, Prentice, Goddard, Willey.
• Ben Johns aims for a third successive SPL century when Calmore Sports make the short trip to Langley Manor, while KES head boy Charlie Aspinal comes into the basement duel with Liphook & Ripsley. Trojans: Le Bas, Boyd, Perera, Khan, Aspinal, Khaneja, Sibu, Inam Syed Agha, Wadhwani, Dimmick, Felstead.
  
• Sparsholt are minus their captain Tom Berins for the next thee matches, but Fareham & Crofton have a double boost with Morgan Frost and Dan Reader returning at Odiham & Greywell.
  

Winchester College talent Sebastian Morgan starred for the First Class Counties Select XI against Zimbabwe at Leicester on Thursday, making 66 and featuring in a century-plus ninth-wicket partnership, which lifted the score from 208-8 to 330 all out.  He hit a six and 11 fours.  Morgan [17] plays his club cricket for Ealing in the ECB Middlesex Premier League.

Sparsholt maintained their winning start in Southern Premier Division 3 by chasing down Fareham & Crofton's 262-3 at Bath Lane to record a four-wicket victory.
Aussie Joe Merlino (72) and Tom Berzins (54) paved the way with an opening stand of 111, which provided the platform for Callum Doran to smack a quick-fire 55 and ease Sparsholt home with an over to spare.
Earlier, Jez Bulled (92*) came within eight runs of a century, sharing a hefty stand with Craig Jeffery (70) .  Teen left hander Robbie Brightwell (41) caught the eye, as did young inswing bowler Toby Rayner. 
Callum's brother Liam was also in the runs, scoring 77 as Odiham & Greywell nicked a one-wicket win off the first ball of the final over against Hursley Park, who posted 253-6 at King Street, mainly on the back of half-centuries by Paul Davies and Will Flynn and Oli Green's 41 not out.
Doran hit four maximums and six fours and was supported in the run chase by Aussie Gary Sharp (43), Scott McGaughrin (28) and Darren Turner (31). 
Tom Saunders produced a timely spell of 5-26 to thwart Alton IIs bid for victory over Parley at The Jubilee, where Oli Green, with a well timed 58, strengthened the visitors' middle-order.  Alex Nippard and Kieron Laird each made 44 as Parley totalled 236.  Alton progressed to 102-2 (Mike Heffernan 33) and were odds-on later at 201-5 when Matt Crane (31) fell to Saunders.  The last four Alton wickets fell for 18 runs and the side to 219 all out.
Boris Johnson look-a-like Charlie Harden cracked 113 and Jason Laney 64 as St Cross Symondians II posted a formidable 253-6 before bowling Paultons out for 198

Harry Warner’s century ensured Gosport Borough’s losing start to the new Southern Premier League season continued.
The Hook & Newnham Basics IIs opener thumped 145 as his side rattled up 297-4 in a Division 3 fixture at the KGV
That probably wasn’t what Boro skipper Craig Stares had been imagining when he won the toss and chose to field!
Warner struck 21 boundaries in his career best score before he was run out.  
By then, though, the damage had already been done – Warner sharing a 93-run opening stand with Jaiden Hall (22) and a 147-run second wicket partnership with James Watterson (75*). 
Boro dipped to 73-4 in reply, before Max Martin took the fight back to Hook with a 74-ball 75.
Jack Richards (27) and Stares (26) also provided lower order runs, but both of them – along with Martin – fell to man of the match Warner.
Introduced into the attack as his side’s sixth and final bowler, Warner ended with 3-40 off 8.1 overs as Boro' were bowled out for 241 to lose by 56 runs.

Ben Johns, with a second consecutive unbeaten century, and Aussie Liam O'Connor starred as Calmore Sports beat New Milton by six wickets at Loperwood Park to chalk up back-to-back Southern Premier Division 2wins.
Johns is on fire, having made a pre-season century against Hythe & Dibden and followed it up with 126 not out at Hartley Wintney and now 115 off the Milton attack.  O'Connor, back for a second Calmore season from Casey South Melbourne, took 7-48 before scoring a handy 41.
Minus South African Thaakier Davids (twisted ankle), New Milton got off to a flier and were 70-0 courtesy of James Adams (68) and Oli Shrubsole (31). But then Calmore turned to their very effective spin.
New Milton skipper Ed Bartlett said: “The runs dried up, and we struggled to rotate strike for a period. When they came off, we looked to rebuild the momentum, and a few batters managed to get going again, particularly Ed Denham with a quickfire 37, but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
“We eventually posted 243 from our 50 overs, a total we felt was competitive, but probably 20 or 30 short of what we were aiming for given our start."
O'Connor, who took 35 wickets for Calmore in 2023, certainly made his presence felt, taking the last seven wickets to finish with his best figures on UK soil.
New Milton made a promising start with the ball by taking two early wickets – Will Brewster (0) and Matt Taylor (5) – to leave them at 0-1 and then 19-2, putting Calmore under some pressure.
But Ben Johns batted superbly for the second week running, notching up back-to-back hundreds and anchoring their chase. He played with great composure and allowed the rest of their batting lineup to play around him while registering a scorching 115 runs.
“Despite our best efforts in the field”, said Bartlett. “They reached the target with six wickets in hand and just under three overs to spar, Johns hitting a six and 15 fours.
He shared important partnerships with Rahim Mangle (41) and later O'Connor, also 41. ​Lymington Times

​Sway skipper Dave Steadman was named round 2 Cricketer of the Week after his stunning individual performance swept the New Forest club to a 66-run win over promoted Trojans at Stoneham Lane.
With Sway reeling at 63-6 against the pace and guile of the promising Tim Felstead (4-42), Steadman hit an innings calming 58 and with Tom Richards (36), the scurrying Tom Burton (33) and John Walter (26) in support, raised the Sway total to 247.
Leading the attack after a full of wholesome Trojans tea, Steadman’s fiery spell of 5-30 was simply devastating, castling Nigel Le bas with first ball of the Trojans’ reply and taking four more successive scalps: the hosts 22-5. 
Full marks nevertheless go to Rahul Bhome’s defiant and often free scoring 73*. However, having lost partner Tom Boyd (46) lbw Tom Richards 2-36, Bhome was left short of effective partners, the Trojans eventually dismissed for 181 in the 49th over.

​Jack Davies was one big hit away from a century as Portsmouth & Southsea defeated Southern Premier Division 2 newcomers Fawley.
Batting at No 4, he struck 12 fours and a six before being dismissed for 94 off the 101st ball he faced. It was Davies’ highest SPL innings since blitzing 133 against Basingstoke & North Hants II in August 2022, and allowed P & S to post 287-6.
Davies shared a 130-run fourth wicket stand with keeper Alex Davidson, who with seven fours in his 52-ball 51 actually scored at a quicker rate than his partner.  No-one was quicker than No 6 Tom Benfield, though, who smacked four fours and three sixes in racing to 40 off just 22 deliveries.
Bailey Parratt (62) and opener Mohammad Saif-Ul Islam (41) top scored as Fawley were restricted to 225-9. Fawley were going well on 176-4 when P & S skipper Ben Saunders had Parratt caught by Tom Benfield.  The hosts then lost skipper Callum Earl (28), run out by Benfield to put P & S firmly in the driving seat.
George Blest hit an unbeaten half-century to snatch a dramatic last ball one-wicket win for Hartley Wintney over Andover - the hosts being dismissed for 186 with 22 overs unused !
No Andover batsman seemed to have any stickability with all looking to attack and play their shots.  Brandon Smith top-scored with 33 for the town side and there were a pair of 29s for Nathan Birks and former Ventnor ace Rob Snell on debut.
The only other batter to get past 20 was skipper John Nyumbu (21), but none were able to convert their start into a match-defining contribution.  With such a low total on the board, Andover knew they had to bowl well. 
Hartley started brightly with all top five batsmen making starts, but Andover fought hard with Nyumbu, the former Zimbabwe spinner, bowling superbly to record figures of 3-12 from his ten overs.  He was ably supported by opening pair Mike Adams (3-44), Babu Veettil and Nathan Birks. 
Blest was still there when it came down to the last over with Hartley needing seven to win and when the first ball of Matt Hooper went for four the writing looked on the wall.  Hartley then needed two from four balls and one off the last ball. Hartley tailender Wajid Ali did his job. 
Liphook & Ripsley are last in the log after successive defeats - even the return of Pompey fan Ryan Covey at Langley Manor was unable to turn their fortunes.
Fratton end bugle and drum stored away for the summer, Covey duly made 51 and alongside Kyle Nelson-Esch (41) and Sean Burton (38*) eased Liphook to 198-8, left-arm spinner Toby Green and Simon Peters sharing six of the scalps.
Promoted to open, little Tommy Spencer (44) produced a muscular knock and with Nick Dobell (44) making handy runs, the Manor were twice in  promising positions. Two untimely wobbles left Langley 135-7 and with plenty to do. Green and Peters combined again with an unbroken 64-run stand and the Manor got home. 

Fair Oak claimed their maiden Southern Premier League Division 1 victory, celebrating their success on the newly laid square at Lapstone Park, where they beat Totton & Eling by one wicket off the last ball, courtesy of Rhys Oxley and James Gradwell.
Gradwell and Ben Smith had given Oaks the ideal start, sending both Totton openers back to the pavilion for ducks.  The visitors recovered steadily, but none of their batsmen could go on to the major contribution they needed.  The next seven batters all scored 15 or more, but Fair Oak kept chipping away.  Smith took 2-27 and Oxley 2-21, while Billy Lightfoot (45) and Josh May (28*) responded to boost their side from 103-7 to a competitive 183-9.
Oaks, in turn ,started uncertainly, and were in trouble at 21-3 with all three wickets falling to Matthew Simms (3-26).  Sam Reed (20), Monty McKenzie (36) and Tom Clark (41) then made important runs before Brighton Mugochi (3-35) swung the match back in the visitors’ favour.
When Smith was caught by Jimmy Taylor off Lightfoot from the last ball of the penultimate over, Totton were definitely favourites.  But Oxley relieved some of the pressure by smiting the first ball of Kegan Holzmann’s final over for six over mid-wicket.  With three balls gone Oaks still needed five, but Gradwell crafted two 2s and a single from the final ball of the match to send his team-mates into dreamland. 

​Richard Logan possibly thought he had played for the last time when he helped Berkshire to one of their numerous NCCA Knockout Cup successes back in 2013 but, now living locally in Park Gate on the outskirts of Fareham, he's back playing regularly again with Southern Premier Division 1 leaders Sarisbury Athletic.
A former pro with Northants and Hampshire, Logan is the NCCA's Operations Director. His son's involvement in Sarisbury's ever expanding youth set-up persuaded the former county seamer to dust off his kit and start playing again.
He has played in both of Sarisbury's wins, removing both Waterlooville openers at Allotment Road before former South Wilts off-spinner Rob Franklin took 4-22 to dismiss the visitors for 147.  Unbeaten knocks by Ricky Rawlins (43) and Nathan Feltham (36) swept Sarisbury to an eight-wicket win, Village Cup centurion Tom Morton having made 36.

​Opener Max Martin and evergreen spin all-rounder David Lloyd starred as Rowledge pulled off a 40-run win over Southern Premier Division 1 rivals Ventnor, which had beaten Waterloovill a week earlier.
Max Martin (88) batted superbly in the Steephill bowl, initially sharing a stand of 90 with sibling brother Ethan (47) and then a century-plus with Lloyd (65), who has turned back the clock with the willow. Batting positively, he created the platform for a sizeable 261-5 before a final flourish from Ollie Ryman (16) and Ollie Baker (14*). 
Sri Lankan left-hander Dineth Thimdoya (42) and Ben Woodhouse (22) started Ventnor reply with a quick fire stand of 72 and things looked good for the hosts. However, the cunning Lloyd took both their wickets in an over and forced Ventnor on the back foot.
Dan Cox (42), who had earlier taken 3-42, and Josh Carpenter (43) successfully put Ventnor in a strong position and at 159-2 hey were well placed with overs to spare. But scrapping for wins is Rowledge's strong point and a superb fielding performance and tight bowling created the pressure and once again the two batsmen fell quickly together and from there on no Ventnor batsman could go on to change the game.
The bowling figures for Rowledge of Ollie Baker 3-38, Dave Lloyd 2-30, Ollie Ryman 2-36 and Max Martin 2-37 showed the intensity of the fielding and tightness of the bowling which squeezed the run rate of the Ventnor innings. An excellent performance from the mainland side with so many positives to take from the game.

There was high drama at Havant, where skipper Chris Morgan played the key role in a thrilling five-wicket win over Old Tauntonians & Romsey, achieved off the last ball courtesy of a dropped catch ! 
He made his highest SPL score as Havant collected back-to-back wins, having won their curtain raiser at Rowledge on May 3.
Having first captained the club in 2021, the spin all-rounder has taken on the role for a second time following the club’s shock relegation from the top flight. He is Havant’s third skipper in as many years, following in the footsteps of Bashley (Rydal) all-rounder Ben Walker and Peter Hopson.
More noted for his bowling – 386 league wickets since his Hampshire League debut for the club’s 2nds in 2023 – Morgan is also no mug with the bat, though he has arguably batted lower in the order than he might have done in recent seasons.
Asked to chase 231-9, Havant got home off the last ball – Warren Turner taking the match-winning single off the bowling of Rhys Wathan, who saw a catch spilled at mid-on.
Morgan had been dismissed off the fourth ball of the penultimate over for 85, having shared two crucial partnerships. First, he put on 81 for the fourth wicket with opener Harrison Barnard (53) and then 84 for the fifth wicket with the evergreen Richard Hindley.  Morgan hit nine fours in his 92-ball innings before he was caught and bowled by Harry Tulk, having beaten his previous best league score – made against the Hampshire Academy in 2020 – by one run.
Hindley – who last month celebrated his 50th birthday – was still there at the finish, unbeaten on 43.
Having won the toss, OTs were going well on 178-3 with 12 overs remaining – Charlie King and Hampshire’s T20 specialist Chris Wood having shared an unbroken 77-run stand.  But King departed for 79, leg before to Morgan, before Wood (43) was bowled by Turner (3-43). Oliver Jones, who didn’t bowl at all in league cricket last year, then ran through the OTs tail, bagging 4-21 as the last six wickets fell for 36 runs.

​Charlie Neville continued his rich early season form with the bat by scoring 71 for Hook & Newnham Basics, the embryo Southern Premier Division 1 leaders, who beat promoted Hambledon by 49 runs at Ridge Meadow.
Neville, who has been promoted to open the batting, made an unbeaten 60 in the previous week's win over Fair Oak.
He top scored as Hook posted 200 before Cam Hall took 4-32 as Hambledon, going nicely at one stage through Justin Behrens (52) and Chris Pratt (47), lost their last six wickets for 14 runs and were all out for 151.

​Hampshire's Academy side suffered its first loss since being crowned 2024 ECB Southern Premier League champions when Bashley (Rydal), tipped as one of their title pretenders, beat them by 37 runs in a Nursery Ground batting fest.  
The game produced 547 runs, with Bashley defending 292-5.
A century second-wicket stand between Ethan Baker (71) and Jack Stearman (65) set an ideal platform for Jacob Gordon [pictured] to hit an undefeated 98 (two sixes and ten fours) and so effectively bat the county youngsters out of the game. 
The Academy lost opener Sam Ashman cheaply, but Finn Gordon (64) and Joe Eckland (68) shared a 138-run stand, but timely breakthroughs by Dan Goodey (3-49) and Jacob Stevenson (2-40), who also grabbed a run-out, were invaluable.
Eddie Jack (28) kept he Academy in the hunt and was the tenth wicket to fall with his side 37 runs adrift. 

Inayat Ullah and young Australian Toby Snell hit half-centuries as Burridge celebrated a seven-wicket win after bowling visitors Alton out for 197 at Botley Road.
Ullah, a key player in the club's 2023 Premier Division title win, made an unbeaten 53, with the Queenslander Snell scoring 54.  
Alton began confidently through Dan Harris (46) and Abhay Gonella (33) but Jude Wright (26) apart the middle-order didn't fire.  Tom South (29) and Mark Heffernan (20) rallied before Dan Stancliffe (4-39) produced another fine return.  
​Azim Chowdhury (45) enjoyed a matchg deciding stand with Snell, pictured left.  Photo Howard Gadsby.