Chris Russell hit a match winning boundary off the penultimate ball to lift Ventnor out of the immediate danger zone and put a serious dent in Sarisbury Athletic’s Southern Premier League Division 1 title hopes.
The former Worcestershire player secured a priceless four-wicket for the islanders, who moved above OTs & Romsey and Village Cup semi-finalists Liphook & Ripsley in the drop zone.
But the defeat leaves Sarisbury Athletic 18 points adrift of Bournemouth, who consolidated their lead at the top with an emphatic nine-wicket win at Liphook.
Sarisbury seemed to have the situation under control for large chunks of the game in the Steephill bowl, but Russell’s knock at the end decided it.
Dan Clouting (64) enjoyed fruitful partnerships with Sam Floyd (25) and Tom Mills (26), but Harry Dye (3-41) created inroads, with only Matt Journeaux (26) able to push things on.
Sarisbury’s hopes of posting a really competitive total faded when Russell (2-41) and Tom Friend (2-32) returned to bowl the latter overs and they were dismissed for 240 in the 47th.
Andrew Ireland (2-39) struck two early blows, including the key wicket of Friend (26), but Sarisbury were reduced to ten men when opening bowler Chris Sanders suffered a suspected broken finger.
Ventnor’s decision to call upon the experience of Mark Fletcher (46) and Neil Westhorpe (31) paid dividends as an all too customary middle-order collapse was averted.
Nonetheless, Sarisbury fancied their chances with Ventnor 165-5, young left-arm spinner Sam Hill having returning an encouraging 3-27.
Russell’s arrival at the crease changed the game quite dramatically.
With teenager Ben Herridge (31) alongside, the former Worcestershire man (who now captains Ventnor) biffed a quick-fire half-century.
Ventnor, needing 11 runs off Tom Nightingale’s last over to halt a run of five successive defeats, made it home with a ball to spare.
The former Worcestershire player secured a priceless four-wicket for the islanders, who moved above OTs & Romsey and Village Cup semi-finalists Liphook & Ripsley in the drop zone.
But the defeat leaves Sarisbury Athletic 18 points adrift of Bournemouth, who consolidated their lead at the top with an emphatic nine-wicket win at Liphook.
Sarisbury seemed to have the situation under control for large chunks of the game in the Steephill bowl, but Russell’s knock at the end decided it.
Dan Clouting (64) enjoyed fruitful partnerships with Sam Floyd (25) and Tom Mills (26), but Harry Dye (3-41) created inroads, with only Matt Journeaux (26) able to push things on.
Sarisbury’s hopes of posting a really competitive total faded when Russell (2-41) and Tom Friend (2-32) returned to bowl the latter overs and they were dismissed for 240 in the 47th.
Andrew Ireland (2-39) struck two early blows, including the key wicket of Friend (26), but Sarisbury were reduced to ten men when opening bowler Chris Sanders suffered a suspected broken finger.
Ventnor’s decision to call upon the experience of Mark Fletcher (46) and Neil Westhorpe (31) paid dividends as an all too customary middle-order collapse was averted.
Nonetheless, Sarisbury fancied their chances with Ventnor 165-5, young left-arm spinner Sam Hill having returning an encouraging 3-27.
Russell’s arrival at the crease changed the game quite dramatically.
With teenager Ben Herridge (31) alongside, the former Worcestershire man (who now captains Ventnor) biffed a quick-fire half-century.
Ventnor, needing 11 runs off Tom Nightingale’s last over to halt a run of five successive defeats, made it home with a ball to spare.
