Basingstoke & North Hants are back in with a chance of becoming the Southern Premier Division 1 champions after their 17-run win at Rowledge coincided with leaders Totton & Eling crashing to a seven-wicket defeat at Andover.
It means that, with two rounds of matches remaining, Basingstoke have a 13-point leeway to make up on Totton and six on second placed Calmore Sports.
Interestingly, the top two meet head-on at Totton’s Southern Gardens on Saturday, while Basingstoke entertain relegation threatened Andover at May’s Bounty.
The ideal scenario (for Basingstoke) would be a Calmore victory at Totton and for the Bountymen to win their last two games, the final one (on August 28) being at Calmore.
A fascinating final two rounds of cricket lay ahead.
But first it appears Basingstoke have player behavioural issues to address following alleged on-field disciplinary breaches during the victory at Rowledge.
It is believed several Basingstoke cricketers have been formally reported to the Southern Premier League, with the Bountymen slapped with a five-run penalty, the first of its kind in the SPL, during the second innings of the match at Church Road.
It is understood lead Basingstoke & North Hants officials will be holding an emergency meeting once the umpire reports have been received from the Premier League.
Basingstoke posted 173 (George Metzger 37) with late middle-order trio Brad Neal (28), Dean Nurse (22) and Greg Donaldson (22) raising the score from 118-6.
Dave Lloyd and Will Ryman shared six Basingstoke wickets before Rowledge dipped to 11-3, Neal (3-30) making two early breakthroughs.
Ricky Yates (36) halted any immediate Basingstoke progress, but tensions grew in the field before his dismissal (at 71-4) triggered a mini-collapse with Rowledge sinking deeper into the mire at 78-6.
Durham University bound Zac le Roux (44) responded, as did Lloyd (20) later, but with Greg Donaldson taking 3-17, Rowledge were eventually dismissed for 156 in the final over.
* Zac Le Roux is pictured after receiving the Rowledge Man of the Match award.
Below is how the Farnham Herald sports desk has reported the match -
CONTROVERSY marred the match between Rowledge and Basingstoke & North Hants in Division 1 of the Southern Premier League.
Cricket is stereotypically seen as a tranquil quintessentially English summer pastime, often set on idyllic backdrops such as village greens.
People often refer to the spirit of cricket, such is the high esteem the sport is held in for its morals and standards. But there was a distinct lack of peace and tranquillity at Rowledge’s Church Road recreation ground on August 14.
Rowledge had bowled out their visitors for 173, and were well placed in their run chase at 71 for three when opening batsman Ricky Yates was dismissed for 36.
However, what happened next came as a shock as it is claimed Yates was on the receiving end of physical contact from a Basingstoke & North Hants player after being dismissed.
Law 42 in the Laws of Cricket states “making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player” is a Level 2 offence.
“Physically assaulting a player or any other person” is a Level 4 offence under Law 42.
Hostile
There were reports the match had been played in a hostile atmosphere with the umpires constantly having to intervene. Rowledge captain Ben Wish said he was proud of his team’s behaviour in difficult circumstances.
He said: “I am incredibly proud of my team, and the way they conducted themselves. The feedback from the league and the umpires on Saturday has been positive, and appreciative of our behaviour as a side, stating the team were a credit to the club. We are aware the league is in the process of completing their investigations and given the impact this will have on certain opposition players, I am unable to say any more.”
The league umpires deemed Basingstoke & North Hants’ transgressions to be serious enough for Rowledge to be awarded five penalty runs.
Rowledge were eventually bowled out for 156 as the visitors, who are pushing for promotion back to the Premier Division, won the match by 17 runs.
The Southern Premier Cricket League (SPCL) has confirmed it is aware of Saturday’s events, and is currently awaiting the results of an internal Basingstoke & North Hants club investigation.
SPCL chairman Steve Vear MBE said: “The league were given a heads-up of what happened on Saturday. We have received the formal written report from the umpires and a complaint from Rowledge. Basingstoke have been made aware of the umpires’ report and given a few days to investigate.
“Basingstoke will do their investigation internally and present to the league. The club have been given to the end of Thursday evening. The league will then decide if we need to have a full disciplinary hearing. This is a live investigation.
Investigate
“We always hope the clubs will take appropriate action. If they do, we endorse their actions. If we don’t endorse their actions then we will investigate.”
Vear insisted Saturday’s events weren’t reflective of the league as a whole, and praised the umpires for their handling of the situation.
“It’s important to say I don’t think this incident is reflective of what we see in the Southern League,” said Vear. “Player behaviour always needs to be a sharp focus, and we don’t take it for granted. The game on Saturday was handled expertly by the officials. The umpires invoked Law 42 and awarded five penalty runs, which is the first time I’ve seen that happen in the league. They handled the situation perfectly.”
There have been calls for anyone found guilty of improper behaviour on the pitch to be banned from playing for a year.
One player took to Twitter and said: “I came away from the game really worrying about the future of club cricket. Players should respect the game, respect the club and respect each other.”
It means that, with two rounds of matches remaining, Basingstoke have a 13-point leeway to make up on Totton and six on second placed Calmore Sports.
Interestingly, the top two meet head-on at Totton’s Southern Gardens on Saturday, while Basingstoke entertain relegation threatened Andover at May’s Bounty.
The ideal scenario (for Basingstoke) would be a Calmore victory at Totton and for the Bountymen to win their last two games, the final one (on August 28) being at Calmore.
A fascinating final two rounds of cricket lay ahead.
But first it appears Basingstoke have player behavioural issues to address following alleged on-field disciplinary breaches during the victory at Rowledge.
It is believed several Basingstoke cricketers have been formally reported to the Southern Premier League, with the Bountymen slapped with a five-run penalty, the first of its kind in the SPL, during the second innings of the match at Church Road.
It is understood lead Basingstoke & North Hants officials will be holding an emergency meeting once the umpire reports have been received from the Premier League.
Basingstoke posted 173 (George Metzger 37) with late middle-order trio Brad Neal (28), Dean Nurse (22) and Greg Donaldson (22) raising the score from 118-6.
Dave Lloyd and Will Ryman shared six Basingstoke wickets before Rowledge dipped to 11-3, Neal (3-30) making two early breakthroughs.
Ricky Yates (36) halted any immediate Basingstoke progress, but tensions grew in the field before his dismissal (at 71-4) triggered a mini-collapse with Rowledge sinking deeper into the mire at 78-6.
Durham University bound Zac le Roux (44) responded, as did Lloyd (20) later, but with Greg Donaldson taking 3-17, Rowledge were eventually dismissed for 156 in the final over.
* Zac Le Roux is pictured after receiving the Rowledge Man of the Match award.
Below is how the Farnham Herald sports desk has reported the match -
CONTROVERSY marred the match between Rowledge and Basingstoke & North Hants in Division 1 of the Southern Premier League.
Cricket is stereotypically seen as a tranquil quintessentially English summer pastime, often set on idyllic backdrops such as village greens.
People often refer to the spirit of cricket, such is the high esteem the sport is held in for its morals and standards. But there was a distinct lack of peace and tranquillity at Rowledge’s Church Road recreation ground on August 14.
Rowledge had bowled out their visitors for 173, and were well placed in their run chase at 71 for three when opening batsman Ricky Yates was dismissed for 36.
However, what happened next came as a shock as it is claimed Yates was on the receiving end of physical contact from a Basingstoke & North Hants player after being dismissed.
Law 42 in the Laws of Cricket states “making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player” is a Level 2 offence.
“Physically assaulting a player or any other person” is a Level 4 offence under Law 42.
Hostile
There were reports the match had been played in a hostile atmosphere with the umpires constantly having to intervene. Rowledge captain Ben Wish said he was proud of his team’s behaviour in difficult circumstances.
He said: “I am incredibly proud of my team, and the way they conducted themselves. The feedback from the league and the umpires on Saturday has been positive, and appreciative of our behaviour as a side, stating the team were a credit to the club. We are aware the league is in the process of completing their investigations and given the impact this will have on certain opposition players, I am unable to say any more.”
The league umpires deemed Basingstoke & North Hants’ transgressions to be serious enough for Rowledge to be awarded five penalty runs.
Rowledge were eventually bowled out for 156 as the visitors, who are pushing for promotion back to the Premier Division, won the match by 17 runs.
The Southern Premier Cricket League (SPCL) has confirmed it is aware of Saturday’s events, and is currently awaiting the results of an internal Basingstoke & North Hants club investigation.
SPCL chairman Steve Vear MBE said: “The league were given a heads-up of what happened on Saturday. We have received the formal written report from the umpires and a complaint from Rowledge. Basingstoke have been made aware of the umpires’ report and given a few days to investigate.
“Basingstoke will do their investigation internally and present to the league. The club have been given to the end of Thursday evening. The league will then decide if we need to have a full disciplinary hearing. This is a live investigation.
Investigate
“We always hope the clubs will take appropriate action. If they do, we endorse their actions. If we don’t endorse their actions then we will investigate.”
Vear insisted Saturday’s events weren’t reflective of the league as a whole, and praised the umpires for their handling of the situation.
“It’s important to say I don’t think this incident is reflective of what we see in the Southern League,” said Vear. “Player behaviour always needs to be a sharp focus, and we don’t take it for granted. The game on Saturday was handled expertly by the officials. The umpires invoked Law 42 and awarded five penalty runs, which is the first time I’ve seen that happen in the league. They handled the situation perfectly.”
There have been calls for anyone found guilty of improper behaviour on the pitch to be banned from playing for a year.
One player took to Twitter and said: “I came away from the game really worrying about the future of club cricket. Players should respect the game, respect the club and respect each other.”
