
It’s crunch time for Calmore Sports, whose lead at the top of British Gas Southern League Division 1 has been trimmed to five points.
Last week’s two-wicket defeat by Portsmouth, which coincided with Basingstoke’s annihilation of Hook & Newnham Basics, has tightened the screw at the summit.
Calmore go to third placed Hook and in eight days time host Basingstoke in what could be a summer defining Loperwood Park meet-up.
“It’s a big couple of weeks, but either way we’ll enjoy it,” says skipper Mark Lavelle.
“We were supposed to be the whipping boys this season, but we’re top and two more wins I reckon we’ll have enough points to stave off relegation.”
Dan Croft, James Manning and Paul Proudley are all back for the trip to the KGV.
Reflecting on last week’s defeat by Portsmouth, Lavelle said: “There was no excuse for the way we collapsed and should have made 175 from the position we were in (81-2).
“Being bowled out in 43 overs cost us, but we did a great job trying to defend 121 and had Portsmouth eight down for 106.”
Calmore Sports: Lavelle, Cook, Perry, Johns, Manning, Rutter, Proudley, Rose, West, Newton, Croft.
Basingstoke & North Hants look to push their promotion claims on the Isle of Wight, but are without Will Phillips for the match against Ventnor at Newclose.
Chris Froud is expected to take the gloves from little George Metzger and Brad Neal comes in for Phillips.
Ventnor, struggling just above the drop zone but encouraged by last week’s win at Tichborne Park, are boosted by the return of former Academy left-hand opener Ben Duggan, pictured left, who has been released from his Hampshire scholarship contract.
Ventnor: Duggan, Woodhouse, Van Greunen, Miller, Westhorpe, Corbin, Cheek, Snell, Calloway, Wilson, Willis.
Basingstoke & North Hants: Belcher, Harsham, Stokes, Froud, Neal, Griffiths, Nurse, Oates, James, Thankachan, Connor.
Allotment Road is the setting for a crucial relegation ‘six pointer’ between the bottom side Tichborne Park and Sarisbury Athletic, who clambered off the basement with a shock win over Bournemouth last week.
Matt Journeaux hit a century when Sarisbury edged a 500-run thriller in Alresford on the opening day of the season and he will need to reproduce that form in the return leg.
With Rowledge beating Liphook & Ripsley last week, Tichborne are 17 points adrift at the bottom.
Sarisbury Athletic: Journeaux, Rawlins, Floyd, Hill, Dunn, Sanders, Lovett, Mills, Sampson, Wright, Jewell.
Last week’s two-wicket defeat by Portsmouth, which coincided with Basingstoke’s annihilation of Hook & Newnham Basics, has tightened the screw at the summit.
Calmore go to third placed Hook and in eight days time host Basingstoke in what could be a summer defining Loperwood Park meet-up.
“It’s a big couple of weeks, but either way we’ll enjoy it,” says skipper Mark Lavelle.
“We were supposed to be the whipping boys this season, but we’re top and two more wins I reckon we’ll have enough points to stave off relegation.”
Dan Croft, James Manning and Paul Proudley are all back for the trip to the KGV.
Reflecting on last week’s defeat by Portsmouth, Lavelle said: “There was no excuse for the way we collapsed and should have made 175 from the position we were in (81-2).
“Being bowled out in 43 overs cost us, but we did a great job trying to defend 121 and had Portsmouth eight down for 106.”
Calmore Sports: Lavelle, Cook, Perry, Johns, Manning, Rutter, Proudley, Rose, West, Newton, Croft.
Basingstoke & North Hants look to push their promotion claims on the Isle of Wight, but are without Will Phillips for the match against Ventnor at Newclose.
Chris Froud is expected to take the gloves from little George Metzger and Brad Neal comes in for Phillips.
Ventnor, struggling just above the drop zone but encouraged by last week’s win at Tichborne Park, are boosted by the return of former Academy left-hand opener Ben Duggan, pictured left, who has been released from his Hampshire scholarship contract.
Ventnor: Duggan, Woodhouse, Van Greunen, Miller, Westhorpe, Corbin, Cheek, Snell, Calloway, Wilson, Willis.
Basingstoke & North Hants: Belcher, Harsham, Stokes, Froud, Neal, Griffiths, Nurse, Oates, James, Thankachan, Connor.
Allotment Road is the setting for a crucial relegation ‘six pointer’ between the bottom side Tichborne Park and Sarisbury Athletic, who clambered off the basement with a shock win over Bournemouth last week.
Matt Journeaux hit a century when Sarisbury edged a 500-run thriller in Alresford on the opening day of the season and he will need to reproduce that form in the return leg.
With Rowledge beating Liphook & Ripsley last week, Tichborne are 17 points adrift at the bottom.
Sarisbury Athletic: Journeaux, Rawlins, Floyd, Hill, Dunn, Sanders, Lovett, Mills, Sampson, Wright, Jewell.