Luke Cornish - man for all seasons An unbeaten 77 from Luke Cornish set the platform for Fareham & Crofton's 20-run win against fellow Southern Premier League Division 3 relegation battlers Portsmouth & Southsea at St James's Park
Vice-captain James Heiniger lauded the performance of his middle-order batsman on a far from easy pitch.
"It was a great knock,' said Heiniger. "The wicket wasn't unplayable but it was a bit tricky and the sort where you had to take your time at the start. Luke did that brilliantly before exploding towards the end. He is in great form at the moment and holding together our middle to lower order batting.'
After being put into bat, Fareham lost Dan Wimble and Heiniger to Jack Peach (2-18) with only 18 runs on the board. Steve Berryman (44) started the recovery along with Sam Stoddart (19).
Cornish, who hit eight fours in his 77 not out, batted through to the end, adding useful runs with his Fareham hockey team-mate Chris Davey (30) helping his side finish on 215-8.
With Matt Benfield (78) going well P & S looked in a good position at 98-3, but
Cornish was determined not to see his earlier effort wasted and he had the danger man caught off his bowling. Man of the moment Ben White (4-31) made sure of the win by removing the final four home batsmen.
"It was a great death bowling spell from Ben,' said Heiniger. "He is excellent at cleaning up the tail. Morgan Frost and James Headen also bowled tight spells. All in all it was a great team performance.'
The win saw Fareham & Crofton leapfrog their opponents and out of the relegation zone.
Australian Heiniger is encouraged by the momentum being picked up by his team as they head into the second half of the season.
"That is two wins from our last three games," said Heiniger. "It is nice to move out of the danger zone. We are under no illusions though and know there is still a lot of hard work to be done. Two or three more wins will give us a little bit more breathing space."
Fareham timely win was not good news for Lymington II, whose 204 (Henry Edwards 42) at Holbury owed much to teenager Harrison Gorny (46) who relieved a trying 137-7.
Keiron Earl's unbeaten 82 won it for Fawley, who enjoyed the platform of a 124-run start with newcomer Nikhil Kadyan (40), who earlier took 3-30. Gorny took 3-17 but was unable to prevent a five-wicket Fawley win.
Purbrook returned to winning ways with a narrow two-wicket win over Trojans at Stoneham Lane, where the hosts fell apart after half-centuries by Nigel le Bas (57) and Oli Kelly (54).
Brad Mengham (4-39) grabbed a four wicket haul before Martin Lee (37) and Clark Harding (32) ensured the visitors chased down their 168 run target.
Vice-captain James Heiniger lauded the performance of his middle-order batsman on a far from easy pitch.
"It was a great knock,' said Heiniger. "The wicket wasn't unplayable but it was a bit tricky and the sort where you had to take your time at the start. Luke did that brilliantly before exploding towards the end. He is in great form at the moment and holding together our middle to lower order batting.'
After being put into bat, Fareham lost Dan Wimble and Heiniger to Jack Peach (2-18) with only 18 runs on the board. Steve Berryman (44) started the recovery along with Sam Stoddart (19).
Cornish, who hit eight fours in his 77 not out, batted through to the end, adding useful runs with his Fareham hockey team-mate Chris Davey (30) helping his side finish on 215-8.
With Matt Benfield (78) going well P & S looked in a good position at 98-3, but
Cornish was determined not to see his earlier effort wasted and he had the danger man caught off his bowling. Man of the moment Ben White (4-31) made sure of the win by removing the final four home batsmen.
"It was a great death bowling spell from Ben,' said Heiniger. "He is excellent at cleaning up the tail. Morgan Frost and James Headen also bowled tight spells. All in all it was a great team performance.'
The win saw Fareham & Crofton leapfrog their opponents and out of the relegation zone.
Australian Heiniger is encouraged by the momentum being picked up by his team as they head into the second half of the season.
"That is two wins from our last three games," said Heiniger. "It is nice to move out of the danger zone. We are under no illusions though and know there is still a lot of hard work to be done. Two or three more wins will give us a little bit more breathing space."
Fareham timely win was not good news for Lymington II, whose 204 (Henry Edwards 42) at Holbury owed much to teenager Harrison Gorny (46) who relieved a trying 137-7.
Keiron Earl's unbeaten 82 won it for Fawley, who enjoyed the platform of a 124-run start with newcomer Nikhil Kadyan (40), who earlier took 3-30. Gorny took 3-17 but was unable to prevent a five-wicket Fawley win.
Purbrook returned to winning ways with a narrow two-wicket win over Trojans at Stoneham Lane, where the hosts fell apart after half-centuries by Nigel le Bas (57) and Oli Kelly (54).
Brad Mengham (4-39) grabbed a four wicket haul before Martin Lee (37) and Clark Harding (32) ensured the visitors chased down their 168 run target.
