Brad Mengham pictured by The News in his Waterlooville playing days.
The final tables show Purbrook avoiding relegation to the Hampshire League by what, on the face of it, was a comfortable ten points from Hythe & Dibden.
Yet had it not been for Brad Mengham, Purbrook would in all probability been demoted alongside season long Southern Premier Division 3 cellar dwellers Tichborne Park.
Shortly after the innings break in their respective last matches, Hythe were odds-on to avoid the drop. They had rattled up a handsome 258-5 at Jones Lane and were on course to inflict Tichborne’s 11th defeat of the summer.
At Privett Park, meanwhile, the outlook wasn’t promising at all for Purbrook, who had dropped to 20-5 in response to Gosport Borough’s paltry 99 all out. Defeat was unthinkable.
Enter Brad Mengham to turn the match on its head with an unbeaten 64 and win the last of this season’s Cricketer of the Week awards, promoted by this website.
Mengham, with ten fours, and sixth-wicket partner James Barber (whose 16 all came in fours) added an unbroken a math winning 83 – and Purbrook were home and dry.
Spinner Ollie Creal (4-28) did the damage with the ball for Gosport, who earlier lurched to 9-3 (Tom Amis 2-14) and later lost three wickets at 43 before evergreen former Royal Navy cricketer Mark Toogood (30) hauled them out of the mire before Mengham (2-4) took two of the last three wickets to fall with the score at 90.
Thanks to the excellent live score ‘play cricket’ network, Hythe & Dibden were fully aware of the events that unfolded at Gosport, but it didn’t deter them from completing a 98-run win over Tichborne Park.
Given a sound start by Tom Gates (57) and Matt Young (20), Hythe posted a formidable total, with Will McKay (68) scoring his second recent fifty and Jono Stovell clouting a quick-fire 46.
Four of the five wickets Tichborne took were down to catches by Ed Berry, who has been with the Alresford club since his teenage days. Sadly, few of the guys he’s played with over the years – and Tichborne enjoyed some significant successes before falling on hard times – still turn out in their idyllic Watership Down location a mile or so away from the preserved Watercress steam railway.
Toby Barnett (73) went down fighting with a flurry of sixes and fours, but only Jacob Bristow (45) gave him much support. Barnett’s dismissal at 148 sparked a calamitous collapse with Tichborne losing their last seven wickets for 12 runs. They were 160 all out, with young spinner Ben Holbrook taking 3-42 to finish the season with 12 wickets.
It is believed Tichborne Park have asked Hampshire League to allow them to play in Division 2 in 2022 as they may not be of sufficient strength to play any higher.
Yet had it not been for Brad Mengham, Purbrook would in all probability been demoted alongside season long Southern Premier Division 3 cellar dwellers Tichborne Park.
Shortly after the innings break in their respective last matches, Hythe were odds-on to avoid the drop. They had rattled up a handsome 258-5 at Jones Lane and were on course to inflict Tichborne’s 11th defeat of the summer.
At Privett Park, meanwhile, the outlook wasn’t promising at all for Purbrook, who had dropped to 20-5 in response to Gosport Borough’s paltry 99 all out. Defeat was unthinkable.
Enter Brad Mengham to turn the match on its head with an unbeaten 64 and win the last of this season’s Cricketer of the Week awards, promoted by this website.
Mengham, with ten fours, and sixth-wicket partner James Barber (whose 16 all came in fours) added an unbroken a math winning 83 – and Purbrook were home and dry.
Spinner Ollie Creal (4-28) did the damage with the ball for Gosport, who earlier lurched to 9-3 (Tom Amis 2-14) and later lost three wickets at 43 before evergreen former Royal Navy cricketer Mark Toogood (30) hauled them out of the mire before Mengham (2-4) took two of the last three wickets to fall with the score at 90.
Thanks to the excellent live score ‘play cricket’ network, Hythe & Dibden were fully aware of the events that unfolded at Gosport, but it didn’t deter them from completing a 98-run win over Tichborne Park.
Given a sound start by Tom Gates (57) and Matt Young (20), Hythe posted a formidable total, with Will McKay (68) scoring his second recent fifty and Jono Stovell clouting a quick-fire 46.
Four of the five wickets Tichborne took were down to catches by Ed Berry, who has been with the Alresford club since his teenage days. Sadly, few of the guys he’s played with over the years – and Tichborne enjoyed some significant successes before falling on hard times – still turn out in their idyllic Watership Down location a mile or so away from the preserved Watercress steam railway.
Toby Barnett (73) went down fighting with a flurry of sixes and fours, but only Jacob Bristow (45) gave him much support. Barnett’s dismissal at 148 sparked a calamitous collapse with Tichborne losing their last seven wickets for 12 runs. They were 160 all out, with young spinner Ben Holbrook taking 3-42 to finish the season with 12 wickets.
It is believed Tichborne Park have asked Hampshire League to allow them to play in Division 2 in 2022 as they may not be of sufficient strength to play any higher.
