Five rounds in and Portsmouth & Southsea continue to lead Southern Premier League Cup East 2/3 – despite only having won one match !
That was back on August 1 when they thrashed Purbrook by 202 runs – the only game they’ve managed to complete.
Their first match against main ‘title’ contenders Liphook & Ripsley was abandoned in mid-afternoon, Gosport Borough’s visit to St James’s Park last week was washed out, on top of which (due to Basingstoke & North Hants’ late withdrawal) they’ve endured two blank Saturdays.
P & S collected a maximum 22-point haul after Matt Benfield had destroyed Purbrook with a blistering 136.
But now their bid for a place in the East/West play-off final on September 19 clicks into gear with a tricky visit to Hambledon, after which (weather permitting) P & S will lock horns with Hartley Wintney, Tichborne Park and Waterlooville.
Hambledon beat Gosport Borough in their opening match courtesy of a Henry Glanfield century, but have subsequently come unstuck against Waterlooville and Liphook. Will Bond is back behind the stumps.
Hambledon: Le Clercq, Glanfield, Marshall, Pratt, Chakrabarti, Bond, Willoughby, Parvin, Pearce, Hardman, Khan
Portsmouth & Southsea: Davies, M Benfield, Kanavan, Bollom, T Benfield, Davidson, Saunders , Peach, Wiley, Turrell, Dunstan.
Second placed Liphook & Ripsley are without a game, enabling them to send a full strength squad to Huntingdonshire for Sunday’s Village Cup round of 16 match against Eaton Socon, near St Neots.
Waterlooville will have their inspirational captain Sam Hillman at the helm for the tasty derby with Purbrook, their near neighbours from little more than two miles down the A3.
School teacher Hillman’s return, after being in quarantine for a fortnight following a well-earned break in Spain, will allow stand-in Alex Shephard to concentrate on scoring runs. Wicketkeeper Dan Birch sits out the remainder of the season after having a badly broken finger pinned.
Waterlooville: Cook, Goddard, Hillman, Hudson, Knight, McBride, Reynolds, Shaw, Shephard, Silva, Verma.
Mark Toogood, who would have missed last week’s postponed visit to P & S, is back in the Gosport Borough line up for the long haul to Hartley Wintney, where teenager Jacob Harris will be looking to make his mark on proceedings.
Gosport Borough: L Harrop, O Creal, J Harris, C Creal, M Toogood, T Larner, G Kitchin, J Richards, S Creal, S Prathapasinghe, M Johnson.
That was back on August 1 when they thrashed Purbrook by 202 runs – the only game they’ve managed to complete.
Their first match against main ‘title’ contenders Liphook & Ripsley was abandoned in mid-afternoon, Gosport Borough’s visit to St James’s Park last week was washed out, on top of which (due to Basingstoke & North Hants’ late withdrawal) they’ve endured two blank Saturdays.
P & S collected a maximum 22-point haul after Matt Benfield had destroyed Purbrook with a blistering 136.
But now their bid for a place in the East/West play-off final on September 19 clicks into gear with a tricky visit to Hambledon, after which (weather permitting) P & S will lock horns with Hartley Wintney, Tichborne Park and Waterlooville.
Hambledon beat Gosport Borough in their opening match courtesy of a Henry Glanfield century, but have subsequently come unstuck against Waterlooville and Liphook. Will Bond is back behind the stumps.
Hambledon: Le Clercq, Glanfield, Marshall, Pratt, Chakrabarti, Bond, Willoughby, Parvin, Pearce, Hardman, Khan
Portsmouth & Southsea: Davies, M Benfield, Kanavan, Bollom, T Benfield, Davidson, Saunders , Peach, Wiley, Turrell, Dunstan.
Second placed Liphook & Ripsley are without a game, enabling them to send a full strength squad to Huntingdonshire for Sunday’s Village Cup round of 16 match against Eaton Socon, near St Neots.
Waterlooville will have their inspirational captain Sam Hillman at the helm for the tasty derby with Purbrook, their near neighbours from little more than two miles down the A3.
School teacher Hillman’s return, after being in quarantine for a fortnight following a well-earned break in Spain, will allow stand-in Alex Shephard to concentrate on scoring runs. Wicketkeeper Dan Birch sits out the remainder of the season after having a badly broken finger pinned.
Waterlooville: Cook, Goddard, Hillman, Hudson, Knight, McBride, Reynolds, Shaw, Shephard, Silva, Verma.
Mark Toogood, who would have missed last week’s postponed visit to P & S, is back in the Gosport Borough line up for the long haul to Hartley Wintney, where teenager Jacob Harris will be looking to make his mark on proceedings.
Gosport Borough: L Harrop, O Creal, J Harris, C Creal, M Toogood, T Larner, G Kitchin, J Richards, S Creal, S Prathapasinghe, M Johnson.