CHAMPIONS ! Totton & Eling clinched the Southern Premier Division 1 championship with a six-wicket win over near neighbours Calmore Sports at Southern Gardens.
Standing (from left): Owen Morris, Oli Thomas, Harry Stephens, Harrison Clarke, Sam Beer, James Taylor, Hakim Peruzi, Tom Cheater. Seated: Toby Green, Sam Bracey, Brighton Mugochi, Leo Taylor. Picture: Simon Preston.
Standing (from left): Owen Morris, Oli Thomas, Harry Stephens, Harrison Clarke, Sam Beer, James Taylor, Hakim Peruzi, Tom Cheater. Seated: Toby Green, Sam Bracey, Brighton Mugochi, Leo Taylor. Picture: Simon Preston.
Totton & Eling clinched the Southern Premier Division 1 championship with an emphatic six-wicket win over next month’s Lord’s Voneus Village Cup finalists Calmore Sports, who crashed to a dismal 54 all out at Southern Gardens.
It means ECB Premier Division cricket is back at the club for the first time since 2014, soon after which the four-time title winners found themselves languishing in the SPL’s third tier.
Now, two summers after lifting the Division 2 crown, Totton are back in the top flight, giving the town - and the immediate Southampton hinterland – back its Premier Division cricket for the first time in seven years.
They have won ten of their 12 completed matches this season and look likely to have New Milton or Calmore themselves finishing as runners-up, but not promoted in what is a long established one-up/one-down system.
In the aftermath of the previous week’s debacle at Andover, Totton were only seven points ahead of Calmore going into the SO40 postcode derby; indeed, had Mark Lavelle’s side won they might have been creating some space in their own silverware cabinet.
Having been put into bat under an uncertain sky, they began confidently enough, with rookie opener Marcus Bound playing two exquisite shots off his legs off Sam Beer and aiding left-hander Ben Johns take 22 off the new ball.
But immediately Totton took the pace off the ball at the tennis courts end and switched to spin, Calmore fell apart.
Bound nestled a half-tracker from fellow teen Leo Taylor (2-12 off eight overs) into Tom Cheater’s hands at deep mid-wicket and, with the score on 27, Calmore lost Johns (also 11) and Shawn Johnson in the space of four Hakim Peruzi (4-14).
All-time
Johns sloppily edged one to slip (where Totton had twice previously shelled two catches) and Johnson charged at the third ball he received and gifted a catch to Taylor at short extra-cover. Calmore 27-3.
Worse was to follow as Calmore, having edged their way to 33, promptly lost five wickets for four runs to plunge to 37-8. Most of the dismissals were self-inflicted, though some of the batmen were looking to blame the pitch. Granted, it wasn’t easy, but workmen and tools came to mind.
Calmore did at least spare themselves the indignity of sharing Division 1’s all-time low score of 37 (Purbrook v OTs & Romsey in 2008) by making it to 54, Steve Wright (11) becoming the third player to reach double figures.
Ironically, Calmore’s previous lowest total of 53 had also come in 2003 at Southern Gardens, when Dan Goldstraw routed them with an 8-29 return. It was the then BAT’s second championship season, the 1,074-run summer of New Zealander Neal Parlane.
Tom Cheater hit the second ball he faced from Mark Lavelle for six over deep long-on, but perished immediately after. Oli Thomas lasted two balls to leave Totton 10-2.
Lavelle (3-33) and Ben Perry took two more Totton wickets, but the about to be crowned Division 1 champions dealt primarily in boundaries as they chased down the meagre target, with 46 of the 57 they scored crossing the rope.
Harrison Clarke made 25 and was out shortly before Brighton Mugochi hit Lavelle for three successive fours to complete the formalities.
It means ECB Premier Division cricket is back at the club for the first time since 2014, soon after which the four-time title winners found themselves languishing in the SPL’s third tier.
Now, two summers after lifting the Division 2 crown, Totton are back in the top flight, giving the town - and the immediate Southampton hinterland – back its Premier Division cricket for the first time in seven years.
They have won ten of their 12 completed matches this season and look likely to have New Milton or Calmore themselves finishing as runners-up, but not promoted in what is a long established one-up/one-down system.
In the aftermath of the previous week’s debacle at Andover, Totton were only seven points ahead of Calmore going into the SO40 postcode derby; indeed, had Mark Lavelle’s side won they might have been creating some space in their own silverware cabinet.
Having been put into bat under an uncertain sky, they began confidently enough, with rookie opener Marcus Bound playing two exquisite shots off his legs off Sam Beer and aiding left-hander Ben Johns take 22 off the new ball.
But immediately Totton took the pace off the ball at the tennis courts end and switched to spin, Calmore fell apart.
Bound nestled a half-tracker from fellow teen Leo Taylor (2-12 off eight overs) into Tom Cheater’s hands at deep mid-wicket and, with the score on 27, Calmore lost Johns (also 11) and Shawn Johnson in the space of four Hakim Peruzi (4-14).
All-time
Johns sloppily edged one to slip (where Totton had twice previously shelled two catches) and Johnson charged at the third ball he received and gifted a catch to Taylor at short extra-cover. Calmore 27-3.
Worse was to follow as Calmore, having edged their way to 33, promptly lost five wickets for four runs to plunge to 37-8. Most of the dismissals were self-inflicted, though some of the batmen were looking to blame the pitch. Granted, it wasn’t easy, but workmen and tools came to mind.
Calmore did at least spare themselves the indignity of sharing Division 1’s all-time low score of 37 (Purbrook v OTs & Romsey in 2008) by making it to 54, Steve Wright (11) becoming the third player to reach double figures.
Ironically, Calmore’s previous lowest total of 53 had also come in 2003 at Southern Gardens, when Dan Goldstraw routed them with an 8-29 return. It was the then BAT’s second championship season, the 1,074-run summer of New Zealander Neal Parlane.
Tom Cheater hit the second ball he faced from Mark Lavelle for six over deep long-on, but perished immediately after. Oli Thomas lasted two balls to leave Totton 10-2.
Lavelle (3-33) and Ben Perry took two more Totton wickets, but the about to be crowned Division 1 champions dealt primarily in boundaries as they chased down the meagre target, with 46 of the 57 they scored crossing the rope.
Harrison Clarke made 25 and was out shortly before Brighton Mugochi hit Lavelle for three successive fours to complete the formalities.
