 Gareth Schreuder, maiden Premier Division century. |  Matt Metcalfe Premier wicket taker - once again [Roy Honeybone] |
Matt Metcalfe has topped the ECB Southern Premier Division bowling charts for the sixth time in ten seasons.
He finished with a personal best haul of 47 wickets – three more than Bashley (Rydal) left-armer Bradley Currie, who will probably have the consolation of being named Young Cricketer of the Year.
Metcalfe played a low key role with a 2-28 return as Lymington brought the curtain down on an unexpectedly high fourth placed finish with a comfortable 113-run victory over Basingstoke & North Hants, whose two-year stay in the Premier Division will end if Hook & Newnham Basics’ KVG outfield gets the nod from the league’s accreditation gurus.
Instead, pride of place went to 19-year old South African Gareth Schreuder, who celebrated his maiden competitive century with an unbeaten 102 off 74 balls, an innings which largely underpinned Lymington's 270-5.
Batting in his preferred five slot, Schreuder, a product of Hilton College, had the infrequent benefit of arriving at the crease with some runs on the board, Lymington being 95-3 on the back of a handy second-wicket stand between Dan Cox (46) and Ryan Scott (39).
Schreuder added half the runs in an 82-run partnership with Dom Hand (30) and went on to strike 14 boundaries, bringing up his hundred in the penultimate over during a pre-tea assault with Harry Fisher (28), which yielded another 95 runs and put Basingstoke out of the contest.
Two strikes by Guy Layman either side of Metcalfe removing David Griffiths had Basingstoke – chasing a rain adjusted 266 to win off 48 overs - rocking at 15-3.
Only Chris Froud (32) and Joe Oates (29) made any form of mark after a five-boundary spree by Jordan Hobday (22), while Schreuder, promised a rare bowl after scoring his hundred, completed a memorable day by bowling Ash Neal with a waspish off-break. Basingstoke were 152 all out.
