Mark Lavelle’s remarkable run of consecutive appearances for Calmore Sports ends today – one short of 100 league games in a row !
His match sequence includes leading Calmore to successive Southern Premier League titles, Division 2 in 2016 and Division 1 last year.
Effectively out of the running for a third successive title after suffering a fourth defeat of the season at Portsmouth last week, Calmore are still third and face an important derby against Old Tauntonians & Romsey at Loperwood Park.
OTs are back in the bottom two and face a six-week battle to avoid an immediate return to Division 2, which they won in such dramatic style at Hartley Wintney at the end of last season.
OTs & Romsey: Mitchell-Lee, Vaughan, Dhariwal, Tulk, R Newman, Tognarelli, Brown, Mogg, Bampton, King, Folkestone.
The bottom most side Hartley Wintney gave their survival prospects a boost with a surprise two-wicket win against Hook & Newnham Basics last week.
But repeating the dose at runaway leaders Bournemouth will be tough – the Chapel Gate side, without opener Tom West tomorrow, being 31 points clear at the top. Teenage keeper Will Kerr leads HW into the Lion’s den.
Lions skipper Chris Park insisted the “friendly competition” between star batsmen Luke Webb and Nick Park could only be beneficial.
Opener Park had been leading Lions’ first-team run-scoring charts by a hefty margin before Webb last month signed for the Chapel Gate outfit.
He has been in sparkling form for Bournemouth, scoring 341 runs in five innings at an average of just more than 113.
He had closed to three runs the gap on Park before Lions’ nine-wicket win over Liphook & Ripsley last time out.
With the opener guiding his side home thanks to an unbeaten 70, Nick Park created some breathing room on middle order batsman Webb, who did not get the chance to add to his total.
Captain Chris Park said: “Going into last week’s game, Nick was only a few runs ahead of Webby. Nick is an accountant for a reason and he definitely knows about it!
“He pretends not to but it’s good that he cares. The friendly competition between Nick and Webby is good for our side.
“Webby says it’s one-sided competition because Nick is a very determined batsman. His 70 not out on Saturday is what we want from our opener.
“Whoever finishes top of the run-scoring in the team doesn’t bother me at all, as long as the team is doing well.”
Nick Park’s runs tally of 414 is the second highest in the division. Only Liphook’s Harry Munt (441) has scored more than the 33-year-old.
All-rounder Ed Denham (225) rounds off the top three of Lions’ run-scorers with skipper Chris Park just one behind him.
A superb display with the ball earned Bournemouth a six-wicket win over Hartley Wintney in the reverse fixture in May.
Dave Kidner starred with five wickets for 28 runs to help Lions bowl out the strugglers for just 67 on their own patch. But the league’s bottom club secured a two-wicket triumph over Hook & Newnham Basics last time out and the captain refused to take them for granted.
“They are probably a little more full of confidence. We had a good win up at their place but this Saturday is a different game,” he added.
“It will be on a good pitch and we have to keep respecting the game of cricket. I am more worried about our own game and ticking another victory of the list.
“We need to focus for the next three or four weeks and see if we can drive home this advantage at the top of the league.”
Martin Miller replaces the unavailable Tom West at the top of the order for Lions.
Beaten in a dramatic last over finish at Ventnor last week, second placed Sarisbury Athletic host Portsmouth, who have rocketed up the table after five straight wins.
Ricky Rawlins returns, but all-rounder Chris Sanders is nursing a broken finger.
Sarisbury Athletic: Rawlins, Floyd, Clouting, Nightingale, J Hill, Journeaux, Wright, Dunn, Kitcher, S Hill, Jewell.
Andover entertain Liphook & Ripsley, who have fallen on to the lip of the SPL2 danger zone alongside reaching the semi-finals of the National Village Cup.
Andover: M Hooper, A Hooper, Hart, Treagus, Duckworth, Ballantine-Dykes, Ayers, Knight, Adams, Graham, Jansen.
His match sequence includes leading Calmore to successive Southern Premier League titles, Division 2 in 2016 and Division 1 last year.
Effectively out of the running for a third successive title after suffering a fourth defeat of the season at Portsmouth last week, Calmore are still third and face an important derby against Old Tauntonians & Romsey at Loperwood Park.
OTs are back in the bottom two and face a six-week battle to avoid an immediate return to Division 2, which they won in such dramatic style at Hartley Wintney at the end of last season.
OTs & Romsey: Mitchell-Lee, Vaughan, Dhariwal, Tulk, R Newman, Tognarelli, Brown, Mogg, Bampton, King, Folkestone.
The bottom most side Hartley Wintney gave their survival prospects a boost with a surprise two-wicket win against Hook & Newnham Basics last week.
But repeating the dose at runaway leaders Bournemouth will be tough – the Chapel Gate side, without opener Tom West tomorrow, being 31 points clear at the top. Teenage keeper Will Kerr leads HW into the Lion’s den.
Lions skipper Chris Park insisted the “friendly competition” between star batsmen Luke Webb and Nick Park could only be beneficial.
Opener Park had been leading Lions’ first-team run-scoring charts by a hefty margin before Webb last month signed for the Chapel Gate outfit.
He has been in sparkling form for Bournemouth, scoring 341 runs in five innings at an average of just more than 113.
He had closed to three runs the gap on Park before Lions’ nine-wicket win over Liphook & Ripsley last time out.
With the opener guiding his side home thanks to an unbeaten 70, Nick Park created some breathing room on middle order batsman Webb, who did not get the chance to add to his total.
Captain Chris Park said: “Going into last week’s game, Nick was only a few runs ahead of Webby. Nick is an accountant for a reason and he definitely knows about it!
“He pretends not to but it’s good that he cares. The friendly competition between Nick and Webby is good for our side.
“Webby says it’s one-sided competition because Nick is a very determined batsman. His 70 not out on Saturday is what we want from our opener.
“Whoever finishes top of the run-scoring in the team doesn’t bother me at all, as long as the team is doing well.”
Nick Park’s runs tally of 414 is the second highest in the division. Only Liphook’s Harry Munt (441) has scored more than the 33-year-old.
All-rounder Ed Denham (225) rounds off the top three of Lions’ run-scorers with skipper Chris Park just one behind him.
A superb display with the ball earned Bournemouth a six-wicket win over Hartley Wintney in the reverse fixture in May.
Dave Kidner starred with five wickets for 28 runs to help Lions bowl out the strugglers for just 67 on their own patch. But the league’s bottom club secured a two-wicket triumph over Hook & Newnham Basics last time out and the captain refused to take them for granted.
“They are probably a little more full of confidence. We had a good win up at their place but this Saturday is a different game,” he added.
“It will be on a good pitch and we have to keep respecting the game of cricket. I am more worried about our own game and ticking another victory of the list.
“We need to focus for the next three or four weeks and see if we can drive home this advantage at the top of the league.”
Martin Miller replaces the unavailable Tom West at the top of the order for Lions.
Beaten in a dramatic last over finish at Ventnor last week, second placed Sarisbury Athletic host Portsmouth, who have rocketed up the table after five straight wins.
Ricky Rawlins returns, but all-rounder Chris Sanders is nursing a broken finger.
Sarisbury Athletic: Rawlins, Floyd, Clouting, Nightingale, J Hill, Journeaux, Wright, Dunn, Kitcher, S Hill, Jewell.
Andover entertain Liphook & Ripsley, who have fallen on to the lip of the SPL2 danger zone alongside reaching the semi-finals of the National Village Cup.
Andover: M Hooper, A Hooper, Hart, Treagus, Duckworth, Ballantine-Dykes, Ayers, Knight, Adams, Graham, Jansen.
