There was little love lost between Portsmouth & Southsea and Hambledon after the visitors edged their Southern Premier League Division Three contest by 12 runs at St James Hospital.
But P & S were crying foul, accusing the visitors of claiming a catch 'that never was.'
With 12 runs needed to overhaul Hambledon's target of 138, home batsman Jack Davies, who had been there from the start, flashed a shot down to third man, writes Kevin Ricketts of the News, Portsmouth.
Rhidian Chapman (pictured) fielding on the boundary dived forward to take the catch and win the game for his side.
P & S captain Kieron Dunstan was adamant the catch wasn't taken cleanly
“We were fuming and I let Hambledon know we were not happy.'
Hambledon captain Will Bond felt the hosts had little cause for complaint and backed his fielder.
He said: “I couldn't see because it was right down at third man but Rhidian was in no doubt that he caught it. Most importantly the umpires were happy with it.”
After winning the toss Dunston put Hambledon in to bat and proceeded to take wickets at a regular rate.
Debut-making 17 year old Dan Turner recovered to bowl well after a shaky start and spin skipper Dunston weighed in with three wickets for 19 runs.
“Though we weren't chasing a massive total we knew that in the conditions it wasn't going to be easy,” said Dunston.
“The pitch did dry out a bit and we looked well set when we reached 40 before losing our first wicket. Then their spinners (Ian Turner 3-7 and George Harding 2-20) came on and produced a fantastic spell.
“Ian Turner bowled Matt Benfield through the gate first ball and suddenly we lost four quick wickets for just 12 runs. The game took on a totally different complexion.
“Ben Saunders and Jack Davies regained the initiative for us and at 120-6 it looked as though the game was back in our hands. Unfortunately for us they brought their opening bowlers back and they did the rest of the damage.'
Dunston admitted that after losing three of their opening four games since last season’s HL CD1 title triumph they have a bit of work to do particularly in the batting department.
Hambledon, on the other hand, have put together a run of four successive wins to see them challenging Fair Oak and Bashley (Rydal) II at the top.
When they batted, they had to grind out the runs with Bond (26) and Spencer Le Clerq (25) the pick of the batsmen.
Bond again pointed to the important influence of his spinners Ian Turner and George Harding.
“Our opponents got off to a bit of a flyer but then our two spinners pinned them down,' said Bond. “First they slowed the scoring rate and then wickets began to fall.'
Purbrook trimmed Havant II by six wickets – but the game was a fair bit closer than the scores might suggest.
Andrew Galliers (47) and Gareth Ransley (39) both looked well set for big scores before holing out and dragging on respectively and it was left to Ollie Jones (38) to get Havant up to 200-9 (Martin Lee 3-37).
The Purbrook reply was getting a little behind the rate until Josh McCoy hit a rapid 53 (seven fours), but just as he looked to be taking the game away from Havant he was superbly caught and bowled by Andrew Ransley – the wicket putting the match back in the melting pot.
Purbrook were guided home with four balls to spare by a well-judged 54 not out) by Sean Figgins, who kept his nerve to see his side home.
But P & S were crying foul, accusing the visitors of claiming a catch 'that never was.'
With 12 runs needed to overhaul Hambledon's target of 138, home batsman Jack Davies, who had been there from the start, flashed a shot down to third man, writes Kevin Ricketts of the News, Portsmouth.
Rhidian Chapman (pictured) fielding on the boundary dived forward to take the catch and win the game for his side.
P & S captain Kieron Dunstan was adamant the catch wasn't taken cleanly
“We were fuming and I let Hambledon know we were not happy.'
Hambledon captain Will Bond felt the hosts had little cause for complaint and backed his fielder.
He said: “I couldn't see because it was right down at third man but Rhidian was in no doubt that he caught it. Most importantly the umpires were happy with it.”
After winning the toss Dunston put Hambledon in to bat and proceeded to take wickets at a regular rate.
Debut-making 17 year old Dan Turner recovered to bowl well after a shaky start and spin skipper Dunston weighed in with three wickets for 19 runs.
“Though we weren't chasing a massive total we knew that in the conditions it wasn't going to be easy,” said Dunston.
“The pitch did dry out a bit and we looked well set when we reached 40 before losing our first wicket. Then their spinners (Ian Turner 3-7 and George Harding 2-20) came on and produced a fantastic spell.
“Ian Turner bowled Matt Benfield through the gate first ball and suddenly we lost four quick wickets for just 12 runs. The game took on a totally different complexion.
“Ben Saunders and Jack Davies regained the initiative for us and at 120-6 it looked as though the game was back in our hands. Unfortunately for us they brought their opening bowlers back and they did the rest of the damage.'
Dunston admitted that after losing three of their opening four games since last season’s HL CD1 title triumph they have a bit of work to do particularly in the batting department.
Hambledon, on the other hand, have put together a run of four successive wins to see them challenging Fair Oak and Bashley (Rydal) II at the top.
When they batted, they had to grind out the runs with Bond (26) and Spencer Le Clerq (25) the pick of the batsmen.
Bond again pointed to the important influence of his spinners Ian Turner and George Harding.
“Our opponents got off to a bit of a flyer but then our two spinners pinned them down,' said Bond. “First they slowed the scoring rate and then wickets began to fall.'
Purbrook trimmed Havant II by six wickets – but the game was a fair bit closer than the scores might suggest.
Andrew Galliers (47) and Gareth Ransley (39) both looked well set for big scores before holing out and dragging on respectively and it was left to Ollie Jones (38) to get Havant up to 200-9 (Martin Lee 3-37).
The Purbrook reply was getting a little behind the rate until Josh McCoy hit a rapid 53 (seven fours), but just as he looked to be taking the game away from Havant he was superbly caught and bowled by Andrew Ransley – the wicket putting the match back in the melting pot.
Purbrook were guided home with four balls to spare by a well-judged 54 not out) by Sean Figgins, who kept his nerve to see his side home.
