The sun is out at last and, eventually and almost one month later than scheduled, the Southern Premier League season is about to begin for real.
The abysmally set May has seen three-quarters of the league programme washed out, either in the form of cancellations or abandonments, with several sides not playing for the past three.
Worst affected of all are Portsmouth & Southsea, who have faced only 12 overs since the start of the season. They visit Trojans.
Bashley (Rydal), with a maximum 44-point haul from wins over South Wilts and Lymington, host arch rivals Bournemouth in arguably the Premier Division’s top match at the BCG, 1130. It’s the last of the five rounds of the initial set of white ball games.
Still without Bradley Currie (hamstring), Bashley make a slight tweak with Ben Fletcher getting the nod over teenage seamer Sam Crisp.
Bashley skipper Michael Porter explained: “Crispy has done well for us this year and is unlucky not to be playing, but we just feel as though the left arm option of Fletcher with two off spinner would be better suited for us.
“It also allows Sam to bowl his full allocation of overs for the second team at Waterlooville which is always good for a youngster.”
Bournemouth expect to field the side that beat Burridge, which means batsman/keeper Adam Davies remaining in Jonny Coombs’s formidable looking second team against Burridge.
Bashley (Rydal): Digby, Gordon, Porter, Friend, Fisher, Turner, Jacques, Franklin, M. Wilson, Stroud, Fletcher.
Bournemouth: C Park, Collins, N Park, Webb, Matthews, Hurley, Pack, Woodruff, Denham, Breckon, Conway.
Ed Ellis will be back behind the stumps for St Cross Symondians against Lymington at the Sports Ground, leaving Tom Foyle to concentrate on his aggressive batting style at the top of the order.
St Cross have won both their matches so far, by one wicket off the penultimate ball against Bournemouth and more comfortably over the Hampshire Academy.
Narrowly beaten by the Academy and with some easy by Bashley (Rydal), Lymington are minus pinch hitting opener Ben Rogers and wicketkeeper Luke Mortimore, in addition to skipper Matt Metcalfe, who has yet to play this season.
St Cross Symondians: Organ, T Foyle, Came, Taylor, Ellis, H Foyle, Bransgrove, Mike Haworth, Beetham, Matt Haworth, Woolvine.
Lymington: Crabb, Scott, Du Plooy, Cox, Attrill, Proctor, Layman, Royan, Wade, J Tollerfield, Smith or McCurdy.
Havant have played and won their only match so far – that a successful run chase, albeit with seven wickets down, against Hook & Newnham Basics in round one – four weekends ago.
They have left-hand opener Ben Walker back for the trip to South Wilts, whose only completed game so far was the nine-wicket defeat by Bashley (Rydal) on May 1.
Havant are also involved in ECB Royal London Cup action against Weybridge at the Park on Monday, while South Wilts’ interest in an early autumn visit to Lord’s was snuffed yesterday by a coin toss which gave Bashley a free ride into round two and a trip to Bath on June 6.
Havant: Ben Walker, Pete Hopson, George Metzger, Harry Gadd, Simon Loat, Chris Morgan, Jez Bulled, Richard Hindley, Fred Gadd, Alf Taw, Richard Jerry.
The abysmally set May has seen three-quarters of the league programme washed out, either in the form of cancellations or abandonments, with several sides not playing for the past three.
Worst affected of all are Portsmouth & Southsea, who have faced only 12 overs since the start of the season. They visit Trojans.
Bashley (Rydal), with a maximum 44-point haul from wins over South Wilts and Lymington, host arch rivals Bournemouth in arguably the Premier Division’s top match at the BCG, 1130. It’s the last of the five rounds of the initial set of white ball games.
Still without Bradley Currie (hamstring), Bashley make a slight tweak with Ben Fletcher getting the nod over teenage seamer Sam Crisp.
Bashley skipper Michael Porter explained: “Crispy has done well for us this year and is unlucky not to be playing, but we just feel as though the left arm option of Fletcher with two off spinner would be better suited for us.
“It also allows Sam to bowl his full allocation of overs for the second team at Waterlooville which is always good for a youngster.”
Bournemouth expect to field the side that beat Burridge, which means batsman/keeper Adam Davies remaining in Jonny Coombs’s formidable looking second team against Burridge.
Bashley (Rydal): Digby, Gordon, Porter, Friend, Fisher, Turner, Jacques, Franklin, M. Wilson, Stroud, Fletcher.
Bournemouth: C Park, Collins, N Park, Webb, Matthews, Hurley, Pack, Woodruff, Denham, Breckon, Conway.
Ed Ellis will be back behind the stumps for St Cross Symondians against Lymington at the Sports Ground, leaving Tom Foyle to concentrate on his aggressive batting style at the top of the order.
St Cross have won both their matches so far, by one wicket off the penultimate ball against Bournemouth and more comfortably over the Hampshire Academy.
Narrowly beaten by the Academy and with some easy by Bashley (Rydal), Lymington are minus pinch hitting opener Ben Rogers and wicketkeeper Luke Mortimore, in addition to skipper Matt Metcalfe, who has yet to play this season.
St Cross Symondians: Organ, T Foyle, Came, Taylor, Ellis, H Foyle, Bransgrove, Mike Haworth, Beetham, Matt Haworth, Woolvine.
Lymington: Crabb, Scott, Du Plooy, Cox, Attrill, Proctor, Layman, Royan, Wade, J Tollerfield, Smith or McCurdy.
Havant have played and won their only match so far – that a successful run chase, albeit with seven wickets down, against Hook & Newnham Basics in round one – four weekends ago.
They have left-hand opener Ben Walker back for the trip to South Wilts, whose only completed game so far was the nine-wicket defeat by Bashley (Rydal) on May 1.
Havant are also involved in ECB Royal London Cup action against Weybridge at the Park on Monday, while South Wilts’ interest in an early autumn visit to Lord’s was snuffed yesterday by a coin toss which gave Bashley a free ride into round two and a trip to Bath on June 6.
Havant: Ben Walker, Pete Hopson, George Metzger, Harry Gadd, Simon Loat, Chris Morgan, Jez Bulled, Richard Hindley, Fred Gadd, Alf Taw, Richard Jerry.
Alton, who haven’t been able to start any of their last three matches due to the weather, expect Hampshire prospect Fletcha Middleton to play, ironically, against the Academy, where he has played all his previous Premier Division cricket.
Middleton has been sidelined in recent weeks due to a broken finger, but is back alongside spinner Jack Myers.
Absent for the Brewers, though, is another former Academy starlet Tom South, who is recovering from a toe operation, but expects to play for Southampton Solent University next week.
Chris Wood will skipper the Academy side, bolstered by the return of a batch of promising public schoolboy cricketers. The Young Hawks play a T20 double banker against Kent YCs at Winchester College on Tuesday, 11am.
Alton: Harris, Hale, Middleton, S Myers, Gonella, Wright, MJ Heffernan, Walters, Salmon, J Myers, Ballinger.
Academy: Wood, Prest, Fontaine-Jackson, Albert, Eckland, Broderick, Mumford, Kelly, Trodd, Khanna, Simpson.
Well beaten last week at Bournemouth, Burridge are boosted by the return of top order batting pair Will Donald and Matt Norris for the visit of Hook & Newnham Basics to Botley Road.
Rich Wilcock and Shane Brewer play in an otherwise Hook side that hasn’t taken the field for the past three weeks.
Burridge: Will Donald, Joe Collings-Wells, Matthew Norris, Hilio De Abreu, Chris Blake, Shu Chowdhury, Daniel Stancliffe, Will Candy, Francis Moore, Oli Southon, Sullivan White.
Hook & Newnham Basics: J Buckingham, Lockwood, H Robson, Thomson, M Buckingham, Love, Murrell, Divecha, Thane, Wilcock, Brewer.
Middleton has been sidelined in recent weeks due to a broken finger, but is back alongside spinner Jack Myers.
Absent for the Brewers, though, is another former Academy starlet Tom South, who is recovering from a toe operation, but expects to play for Southampton Solent University next week.
Chris Wood will skipper the Academy side, bolstered by the return of a batch of promising public schoolboy cricketers. The Young Hawks play a T20 double banker against Kent YCs at Winchester College on Tuesday, 11am.
Alton: Harris, Hale, Middleton, S Myers, Gonella, Wright, MJ Heffernan, Walters, Salmon, J Myers, Ballinger.
Academy: Wood, Prest, Fontaine-Jackson, Albert, Eckland, Broderick, Mumford, Kelly, Trodd, Khanna, Simpson.
Well beaten last week at Bournemouth, Burridge are boosted by the return of top order batting pair Will Donald and Matt Norris for the visit of Hook & Newnham Basics to Botley Road.
Rich Wilcock and Shane Brewer play in an otherwise Hook side that hasn’t taken the field for the past three weeks.
Burridge: Will Donald, Joe Collings-Wells, Matthew Norris, Hilio De Abreu, Chris Blake, Shu Chowdhury, Daniel Stancliffe, Will Candy, Francis Moore, Oli Southon, Sullivan White.
Hook & Newnham Basics: J Buckingham, Lockwood, H Robson, Thomson, M Buckingham, Love, Murrell, Divecha, Thane, Wilcock, Brewer.