A crushing eight-wicket win over Hartley Wintney has lifted Old Tauntonians & Romsey out of the Southern Premier League Division 1 danger zone – and left their North Hampshire opponents staring relegation in the face.
Whereas OTs now lie in fifth place, Hartley are anchored to the basement, effectively 56 points adrift with only 66 points (three games) left to play for.
Ironically, the pair fought out a thrilling SPL2 championship battle last season, OTs taking the bounty by virtue of a one-run win in the very last game of the season. Now Hartley Wintney are set for an immediate return to Division 2 cricket in 2019.
They never recovered after losing teenage captain Will Kerr to Danny Mogg (2-33) for an early duck and were soon reeling at 36-4 after a three-wicket blast from emerging left-armer James Trodd (3-20).
Jamie Teale got them up to 61 before Jodey Brown (3-16) and Matt Bampton (2-6) sent six wickets tumbling for 16 runs and Hartley Wintney to 77-9.
Hampshire Under-15 all-rounder Harry Broderick got Hartley up to 97 all out, but such a meagre total was never likely to test OTs, who polished off the target inside 17 overs.
Elliott Mitchell-Lee led the way with 47 not out and completed the formalities alongside Harry Tulk (20).
OTs win has got local rivals Calmore Sports looking anxiously over their shoulders – last year’s Division 1 winners being only 20 points ahead of second-from-bottom Liphook & Ripsley after losing by 55 runs to the Lord’s Village Cup finalists.
Whereas OTs now lie in fifth place, Hartley are anchored to the basement, effectively 56 points adrift with only 66 points (three games) left to play for.
Ironically, the pair fought out a thrilling SPL2 championship battle last season, OTs taking the bounty by virtue of a one-run win in the very last game of the season. Now Hartley Wintney are set for an immediate return to Division 2 cricket in 2019.
They never recovered after losing teenage captain Will Kerr to Danny Mogg (2-33) for an early duck and were soon reeling at 36-4 after a three-wicket blast from emerging left-armer James Trodd (3-20).
Jamie Teale got them up to 61 before Jodey Brown (3-16) and Matt Bampton (2-6) sent six wickets tumbling for 16 runs and Hartley Wintney to 77-9.
Hampshire Under-15 all-rounder Harry Broderick got Hartley up to 97 all out, but such a meagre total was never likely to test OTs, who polished off the target inside 17 overs.
Elliott Mitchell-Lee led the way with 47 not out and completed the formalities alongside Harry Tulk (20).
OTs win has got local rivals Calmore Sports looking anxiously over their shoulders – last year’s Division 1 winners being only 20 points ahead of second-from-bottom Liphook & Ripsley after losing by 55 runs to the Lord’s Village Cup finalists.
- Dave Vokes has snapped a plethora of quality action photographs of this match which can be viewed on his website www.lmiphotography.co.uk/Cricket