Still recovering from the shock of losing two wickets to Rob Snell's opening five balls of the match, Hartley Wintney saw their entire middle-order collapse as they plunged from 81-2 to 92-8 before conceding a heavy defeat to Southern Premier Division 2 hosts Ventnor at Steephill.
They rallied to reach 138, but a forceful 88-run opening stand between Ross Whyte and Rob Snell pointed Ventnor to a convincing nine-wicket win.
They rallied to reach 138, but a forceful 88-run opening stand between Ross Whyte and Rob Snell pointed Ventnor to a convincing nine-wicket win.
Ventnor opener Ross Whyte blasted 51 off 34 balls [DAVE REYNOLDS]
Bowling at the St Boniface Down end, Snell nipped out Jonathon Kerr with his third ball and had skipper James Mulvey caught behind off his fifth. The Hartley Wintney pair got got up at 7.30am for their day out on the Isle of Wight ...
Will Ross (41) and Roy Cockram (27) repaired the damage, but when the reached 81, Hartley Wintney simply fell apart with Charlie Calloway (3-5) having both the third-wicket pair caught and joining the rampaging Chris Russell (3-29) in ripping the heart out of the visitors' batting.
Will Ross (41) and Roy Cockram (27) repaired the damage, but when the reached 81, Hartley Wintney simply fell apart with Charlie Calloway (3-5) having both the third-wicket pair caught and joining the rampaging Chris Russell (3-29) in ripping the heart out of the visitors' batting.
 Will Ross hit a battling 41 for Hartley |  Three-wicket Chris Russell tears in |
Battered and bruised at 92-8, Hartley Wintney added a further 46 runs, largely on account of Anthony Parson (33) and a liberal sprinkling of 25 extras before being dismissed for 138 off the first ball of the final over.
If Hartley Wintney had booked any early car ferry back to the mainland, Whyte and self acclaimed man-of-the-match Snell ensured they made it in good time. Whyte blasted a six and nine fours in his quick-fire 51, while left-hander Snell plundered 14 boundaries in his unbeaten 72. Ventnor were home and dry with 21 overs to spare.
So, that's two wins from four matches for Ventnor, significantly both at Steephill. A victory across the seas has been a long time coming: can they reverse the trend at Paultons on Saturday ?
If Hartley Wintney had booked any early car ferry back to the mainland, Whyte and self acclaimed man-of-the-match Snell ensured they made it in good time. Whyte blasted a six and nine fours in his quick-fire 51, while left-hander Snell plundered 14 boundaries in his unbeaten 72. Ventnor were home and dry with 21 overs to spare.
So, that's two wins from four matches for Ventnor, significantly both at Steephill. A victory across the seas has been a long time coming: can they reverse the trend at Paultons on Saturday ?
With a double wicket maiden opening over and a 14-four 72 not out later, Ventnor's Steve Snell was man of the match.
