Ben Thane - tough decisions [Dave Vokes]
Arch local rivals Basingstoke & North Hants and Hook & Newnham Basics go head-to-head in a key British Gas Southern League Division 1 promotion clash at May’s Bounty, 1pm.
And no where will be outcome be more keenly sought than at Calmore Sports, who have eked out a 19-point lead at the top of the log.
Basingstoke swap Joe Oates for Holland bound Brad Neal in an otherwise unchanged side into the North Hampshire derby, anxious to wipe away the memory of last season’s humiliation when Hook came to the Bounty and beat them by 81 runs on their own soil.
“That result still haunts us and it’s one we must redress tomorrow,” warns in-form Basingstoke skipper Mitch Stokes.
Hook name a squad of 13, including returning pair Matt Buckingham and Richard Willcock added to the side which thrashed Portsmouth last weekend.
Skipper Ben Thane must decide whether to toss teenage trio Rupert Armstrong, Liam Doran and Jack Robson into the derby caldron.
Basingstoke: Stokes, Belcher, Harsham, Phillips, Oates, Nurse, Griffiths, Metzger, James, Thankachan, Connor.
Hook & Newnham Basics: from Thane, Love, J Buckingham, Robson, N Willcock, Doran, Franklin, Brewer, Armstrong, Divecha, Poulter, R Willcock, M Buckingham.
Calmore skipper Mark Lavelle would love to pick a consistent side but once again he is forced to tweak the line up for a potentially awkward visit to Portsmouth’s Southsea seafront base.
All-rounder Paul Proudley and James Manning are absent, so in-form second teamer Matt Taylor and seasoned performer Tom Pegler are included.
Calmore Sports: Lavelle, Cook, Perry, Johns, Taylor, Rutter, Rose, Pegler, West, Newton, Croft.
Will Allam is demanding a much improved batting performance from his Tichborne Park side against erratic Ventnor, the visitors to Alresford.
“We’ve not been batting at all well of late and that’s been the reason for our run of poor results,” he reflected.
Their task is unlikely to be made easier by the return to the island team’s ranks of Adam Wilson and Matt Holmes, although batsman James Cheek is moving house and is absent.
Tichborne Park: Will Allam, Tom Allam, Cheyney, Berry, Long, Ayling, Pond, Gunaratne, Henry Don, Hector Don. Ventnor: Snell, Woodhouse, Van Greunen, Miller, Westhorpe, Corbin, A Horton, Wilson, Holmes, Cox, Willis.
Liphook & Ripsley and Rowledge meet at Ripsley Park and be able to discuss their respective exits from last weekend’s Watson’s Village Cup first national round.
Rowledge: Morant, Gleave, J Wish, Treble, Metcalfe, Lloyd, S Martin, B Wish, Randall, Keeley, Yates snr.
Sarisbury Athletic are just as desperate for a win, but Bournemouth’s visit to Allotment Road poses a problem, with the Dorset side pressing in the promotion positions.
Sarisbury Athletic: Journeaux, Rawlins, Hammond, Dunn, Hill, Sanders, Mills, Sampson, Wright, Jewell, Miller, Bolton.
And no where will be outcome be more keenly sought than at Calmore Sports, who have eked out a 19-point lead at the top of the log.
Basingstoke swap Joe Oates for Holland bound Brad Neal in an otherwise unchanged side into the North Hampshire derby, anxious to wipe away the memory of last season’s humiliation when Hook came to the Bounty and beat them by 81 runs on their own soil.
“That result still haunts us and it’s one we must redress tomorrow,” warns in-form Basingstoke skipper Mitch Stokes.
Hook name a squad of 13, including returning pair Matt Buckingham and Richard Willcock added to the side which thrashed Portsmouth last weekend.
Skipper Ben Thane must decide whether to toss teenage trio Rupert Armstrong, Liam Doran and Jack Robson into the derby caldron.
Basingstoke: Stokes, Belcher, Harsham, Phillips, Oates, Nurse, Griffiths, Metzger, James, Thankachan, Connor.
Hook & Newnham Basics: from Thane, Love, J Buckingham, Robson, N Willcock, Doran, Franklin, Brewer, Armstrong, Divecha, Poulter, R Willcock, M Buckingham.
Calmore skipper Mark Lavelle would love to pick a consistent side but once again he is forced to tweak the line up for a potentially awkward visit to Portsmouth’s Southsea seafront base.
All-rounder Paul Proudley and James Manning are absent, so in-form second teamer Matt Taylor and seasoned performer Tom Pegler are included.
Calmore Sports: Lavelle, Cook, Perry, Johns, Taylor, Rutter, Rose, Pegler, West, Newton, Croft.
Will Allam is demanding a much improved batting performance from his Tichborne Park side against erratic Ventnor, the visitors to Alresford.
“We’ve not been batting at all well of late and that’s been the reason for our run of poor results,” he reflected.
Their task is unlikely to be made easier by the return to the island team’s ranks of Adam Wilson and Matt Holmes, although batsman James Cheek is moving house and is absent.
Tichborne Park: Will Allam, Tom Allam, Cheyney, Berry, Long, Ayling, Pond, Gunaratne, Henry Don, Hector Don. Ventnor: Snell, Woodhouse, Van Greunen, Miller, Westhorpe, Corbin, A Horton, Wilson, Holmes, Cox, Willis.
Liphook & Ripsley and Rowledge meet at Ripsley Park and be able to discuss their respective exits from last weekend’s Watson’s Village Cup first national round.
Rowledge: Morant, Gleave, J Wish, Treble, Metcalfe, Lloyd, S Martin, B Wish, Randall, Keeley, Yates snr.
Sarisbury Athletic are just as desperate for a win, but Bournemouth’s visit to Allotment Road poses a problem, with the Dorset side pressing in the promotion positions.
Sarisbury Athletic: Journeaux, Rawlins, Hammond, Dunn, Hill, Sanders, Mills, Sampson, Wright, Jewell, Miller, Bolton.
