Havant and Sarisbury Athletic continue to swap places at the top of Premier 1 - Havant's defeat on a dry, spinning top at Steephill coinciding with Sarisbury's emphatic eight wicket win over third-placed Hook & Newnham Basics.
Sarisbury took full advantage of Havant’s loss to open up a four-point lead by trouncing Hook at Allotment Road.
Left-arm spinner Sam Hill (4-11) starred as Hook slumped from 93-2 - Tom Dyer 44, Oli James 25 - to 142 all out. Tom Morton struck his highest SPL score of 2025 as the hosts motored to an eight-wicket victory. He ended unbeaten on 72, sharing stands of 72 with Ricky Rawlins (30) for the first wicket and an unbeaten 78 for the third with Nathan Feltham (33 not out).
Havant were knocked off top spot after hosts Ventnor had wrestled the initiative off them.
Having been inserted, the Isle of Wight club were allowed to total 181 after being 135-8. Havant then fell 13 runs short, suffering a second loss of the campaign and allowing Sarisbury the chance to take over top spot at the halfway point.
Skipper Chris Morgan (4-36) and Peter Hayward (3-30) had combined to put Ventnor in a spot of bother with Dan Cox (50) continuing his excellent batting form.
But James Cheek (21), taking a rare break from golf, and Charlie Calloway, with 28 off 22 balls, including two sixes, added 43 for the ninth wicket.
Dineth Thimodya has mainly made an impact with the bat in his four years with Ventnor, regularly finishing as one of the second tier’s leading run scorers. On this occasion, however, he shone with the spinning ball.
Aussie Kieran Abrams (18) was in a real spin. Unaware he needed a passport to see Checkpoint Charlie or scale the infamous Berlin Wall, he missed a straight one from Dinny, who then accounted for Havant top scorer Chris Stone (28). In his second spell he dismissed Richard Hindley before wrapping up Havant’s innings on 168 by trapping Simon Barnard leg before – ending with 4-22 off 9.2 overs.
Sarisbury took full advantage of Havant’s loss to open up a four-point lead by trouncing Hook at Allotment Road.
Left-arm spinner Sam Hill (4-11) starred as Hook slumped from 93-2 - Tom Dyer 44, Oli James 25 - to 142 all out. Tom Morton struck his highest SPL score of 2025 as the hosts motored to an eight-wicket victory. He ended unbeaten on 72, sharing stands of 72 with Ricky Rawlins (30) for the first wicket and an unbeaten 78 for the third with Nathan Feltham (33 not out).
Havant were knocked off top spot after hosts Ventnor had wrestled the initiative off them.
Having been inserted, the Isle of Wight club were allowed to total 181 after being 135-8. Havant then fell 13 runs short, suffering a second loss of the campaign and allowing Sarisbury the chance to take over top spot at the halfway point.
Skipper Chris Morgan (4-36) and Peter Hayward (3-30) had combined to put Ventnor in a spot of bother with Dan Cox (50) continuing his excellent batting form.
But James Cheek (21), taking a rare break from golf, and Charlie Calloway, with 28 off 22 balls, including two sixes, added 43 for the ninth wicket.
Dineth Thimodya has mainly made an impact with the bat in his four years with Ventnor, regularly finishing as one of the second tier’s leading run scorers. On this occasion, however, he shone with the spinning ball.
Aussie Kieran Abrams (18) was in a real spin. Unaware he needed a passport to see Checkpoint Charlie or scale the infamous Berlin Wall, he missed a straight one from Dinny, who then accounted for Havant top scorer Chris Stone (28). In his second spell he dismissed Richard Hindley before wrapping up Havant’s innings on 168 by trapping Simon Barnard leg before – ending with 4-22 off 9.2 overs.
Dan Cox top scored for Ventnor : Dave Reynolds
