Waterlooville remain on course for an instant return to the second tier of the Southern Premier League.
Relegated last year, Ville have won eight out of 10 Division 2 matches in 2026. Their latest victory was a 116-run drubbing of Hook & Newnham Basics that also boosted Portsmouth & Southsea’s promotion hopes.
With the top two going up, P & S are now above Hook following a 62-run success against Andover.
Kiwi Luke Anderson hit his highest score of the year for Ville, hitting 84 off 70 balls – with six sixes - and sharing a fifth wicket stand of 97 with Matty Hayward, who eventually fell for 55, the second highest score of the former Havant player’s career.
Ville closed on 294-9 with Joe Mitchell having helped Jon Hudson (49*) add 40 for the ninth wicket.
In reply, Hook crashed to 43-7 with Ashan Silva pictured (4-45) and Dylan Youngs (3-17) wreaking havoc between them.
Rupert Armstrong (41) and Will Gardner (34) rallied with 75 for the eighth wicket. The tail continued to wag as Josh Balcombe (40) and last man Lewis Watts (15*) put on a further 56 for the last wicket before the former fell with the score on  178.
Jake Peach ran through Andover’s top order at St James Park as P & S took full advantage of Hook’s defeat.
Asked to chase 206 for victory, Peach took all the wickets as the visitors nosedived to 57-5. Teenage prospect Cam Mitchinson made 33. 
Ben Saunders (3-27) took the next three before Jono Willey returned to wrap up the innings on 143 with two wickets in the space of three balls.
Sanka Purna (61) and Ned Rockett (45) earlier top scored for P & S after they had been inserted.
All games are crucial, of course, but P & S’ next two are particularly big – facing fourth-placed Sway and third-placed Hook – as they bid for second tier cricket for the first time in their history.
What they need now is some consistency !
As many as five clubs are the frame to contest the probable second promotion spot out of Southern Premier Division 2 behind title favourites Waterlooville.
Portsmouth & Southsea and Sway have each won six of their ten matches, while Hook & Newnham Basics, New Milton and Sparsholt have all lost five times.
Sway lie fourth, five points off a promotion place, with a 23-run win over New Milton - Dan Bailey (80) and Keegan Fortune (72) top scored in Sway's 248-8, the Green & Golds replying with 225. 
Liphook & Ripsley and Parley, the two bottom clubs, both lost - Liphook by a thumping 209 runs at home to Fawley, where Bailey Parratt (65), Raminder Singh (56) and Sufian Munir (50) led the visitors to 291-8.  Adam Freeman's 5-31 mowed Liphook down for a paltry 82.
The jury remains out on 2025 SPL3 winners Parley, who by five wickets to Sparsholt and are rock bottom.

​Two centuries, more than 600 runs and a chase completed in the final over combined to produce one of the matches of the season as promotion outsiders Rowledge held their nerve to overhaul Old Tauntonians & Romsey's formidable total of 303.
For much of the Southern Premier Division 1 match at the Romsey Sports Centre it appeared OTR had done enough. A magnificent 192-run partnership between Joe  Vaughan and Rob Newman transformed their innings after the early loss of Charlie King, with Vaughan providing the foundation before Newman launched a breath taking assault on the Rowledge attack.
Vaughan's 93 from 127 balls was an innings of patience and control, allowing Newman to play with increasing freedom. The right-hander struck 17 fours and a six in a superb 118 from just 81 deliveries, dominating the bowling and propelling Old Tauntonians & Romsey beyond the 300-mark.
Late cameos from Alex Mills (30*) and Spaniard Alec Davidson-Soler (33*) ensured the innings finished with momentum, adding an unbeaten 61 for the sixth wicket.

​Despite conceding 303, Rowledge's bowlers had moments of encouragement. Ollie Baker was outstanding, conceding just 43 runs from his ten overs while claiming the key wickets of King and Vaughan. Archie Redfern's figures of 3-90 reflected a difficult afternoon, but his three wickets prevented the innings from becoming even more imposing.
If Old Tauntonians & Romsey believed they had posted a winning score, Rowledge had other ideas.
After Zac Le Roux (36) provided a brisk start, New Zealander Redfern took command of the chase. Calm rather than flamboyant, he accumulated confidently, rotating the strike and punishing loose deliveries as he compiled a superb 111 from 123 balls. His innings, which took his season's run haul to 958, provided the platform Rowledge needed, but when he departed with 86 runs still required, the contest hung delicately in the balance.

​Oli Southon (31) and Sam Marshall (24) chipped in as Ollie Ryman ​left produced an explosive finish.
He smacked two sixes and eight fours in a blistering 74 off 46 ball, unsettling the OTR fielders with darting singles.
A fitness road running freak, Ryman hit Vaughan's penultimate delivery for a straight six and struck the final ball of a memorable match for four to give Rowledge a five-wicket win.
The victory has put Rowledge back in promotion contention ahead of Fair Oak's visit to School Lane on Saturday (12.30), but dropped OTs & Romsey into third from bottom place, seven points ahead of Havant.  Next up is Calmore Sports at home.

Langley Manor's immediate Southern Premier Division 1 future may be decided at Havant on Saturday (12.30) in another relegation 'six pointer' which has massive implications for both clubs.
Promoted as runners-up behind Division 2 champions Calmore Sports last season, the Manor have struggled for runs all summer and only once, when they beat OTs & Romsey, have they scored more than 200. Ironically, beating Havant has been one of their three wins - whey they successfully defended 110.
They travel to Havant Park  aiming to half a four-match losing run which continued with near neighbours Calmore Sports beating them by three wickets at Loperwood Park.
Langley struggled early as Josh Metcalfe removed Jack Budd and Aussie Tejas Gill without either scoring, while Evan Allaway also struck to leave the hosts reeling at 20-3.
Nick Doubell (37) counter-attacked before Elliot Ponting produced the innings’ standout knock. His composed 58 from 93 balls, including 10 fours, helped rebuild alongside Steve Harris, who added 30 as the pair guided Langley towards a competitive 181 total.
Calmore never allowed the innings to gather real momentum, though. Oliver Hibberd claimed two wickets - he now has a half-century of SPL victims - while Allaway returned figures of 3-32 and Ben Perry also picked up two as Langley were bowled out for 181 in 48.3 overs. 31 extras, including 24 wides, aided the hosts.
Calmore’s chase began nervously when Budd dismissed Calmore’s star man Ben Johns and Ryan Lomax to reduce the visitors to 11-2. Will Brewster responded with 26 before Matt Taylor’s fluent 41, featuring eight boundaries, steadied the innings.
Allaway then added a valuable 34, including a six, to swing the momentum back Calmore’s way before Tom Spencer sparked hopes of a Langley comeback. Spencer removed Brewster, Taylor, Allaway and Freddy Williams to finish with impressive figures of 4-36 as the visitors slipped to 125-6.
The game remained in the balance until Liam Longland dug in for a patient 15 before Mark Lavelle guided Calmore home. Lavelle finished unbeaten on 25 and shared an unbroken eighth-wicket stand with Hibberd, whose unbeaten eight included two boundaries, as Calmore reached 183-7 with more than three overs to spare.
Budd’s 3-28 and Spencer’s four-wicket haul kept Langley in contention throughout, but Calmore held their nerve in the closing stages to secure an important derby victory.       Lymington Times

It’s neck and neck between Hambledon and Fair Oak going into this weekend’s round 14 Southern Premier Division 1 fixtures.
The pair has each got 186 points from 11 completed matches, eight won and three lost.
Hambledon host relegation battlers Basingstoke & North Hants, while Oaks face a potentially tougher visit to third-placed Rowledge, who lie 19 points behind the lead pair.
They both won for an eighth time last weekend, Fair Oak by seven runs against Ventnor and Hambledon by a 75-run margin at Totton & Eling.
Scores -
Fair Oak 223 (Sriram 34, Oxley 34*, Ramanan 33, Gibson 32, Clark 31, Short 3-42) Ventnor 216-7 (Edwards 77, Cox 61, Hailes 36, Oxley 3-34). Fair Oak won by seven runs.
Hambledon 224 (Behrens 92, J Restall 25*, Lightfoot 4-30) Totton & Eling 149 (Lightfoot 25, Holbrook 25, Lewis 4-41, Behrens 3-29). Hambledon won by 75 runs.
Fair Oak enjoy conjuring up tense finishes : the seven run win over Ventnor was another of them. Death bowlers Rhys Oxley, Sriram Yegnasubramanian and Andy Mash held their nerve to restrict the visitors to 216 for 7, seven runs short of their hosts’ total.
The game started with young Oaks opener Ayinen Ramanan, promoted from the 2nd XI, confidently hitting 33 of the first 53 runs.  He became one of Oli Morgan’s two scalps, but Connor Gibson hit 32 and Tom Clark 31 to boost the middle order.
Ethan Short (3-42) was prominent as Ventnor reduced Fair Oak to a perilous 147-7.  But Oxley and Sriram rode to the rescue, both making 34 – the former not out – to propel their side to a competitive 223 all out.
Ventnor responded well and for a long time looked likely winners.  At one point they stood at 195-3 thanks to 36 from young Ian Hailes and Dan Cox 61.  Wickets then started to tumble and boundaries dried up, but with Henry Edwards at the crease Ventnor still looked favourites.  He was eventually caught for 77 off Sriram (2-43), and with Oxley taking 3-34 and Mash 2-22, Fair Oak ramped up the pressure.
In the end the bowlers and fielders served up consistent quality. Ventnor were unable to break the shackles, and Fair Oak maintained their spot in the promotion places, level on points with Hambledon.
South African Justin Behrens was caught eight runs shy of a maiden SPL century, but consoled himself with three wickets which helped Hambledon beat Totton & Eling by 75 runs at Southern Gardens.
The Western Province CC spin all-rounder hit 13 fours in his 92, but Elliott Lewis (21) and James Restell (25) apart, got little support.  Simon Lightfoot took 4-30.
A sixth-former at Churchers College in Petersfield, Lewis made inroads into Totton's batting, his 4-41 return including joint top scorer Ben Holbrook (25). With Behrens taking 3-29, Totton fell to 149 all out.​

The Clickgate scandal has thrust Saltburn Cricket Club into the spotlight with global condemnation.
It revolves around a live steamed Division Two fixture in the North Yorkshire and South Durham League. Saltburn’s second XI beat Norton by 159 runs but the dismissal of Noman Shabir sparked the controversy, writes John Fox.
There is a case to answer as the slip fielder in question, Brian Devine, was caught on video clicking his fingers to mimic the sound of an edge as ball passed bat. The batsman was given out after a collective appeal.
As it happens, I have watched Saltburn’s second team at their place but all I heard that day was the seagulls and sound of the North Sea.
Beyond the howls of derision bouncing online and litany of Instagram Reels, what does this say about club cricket?
Beaming your cricket match around the world is now mainstream. It is not uncommon for batters to trudge off the field, lob their willow aside in disgust then fire YouTube up to check the dismissal for errors.
I’ve long been an advocate of live streaming that has many benefits for the grassroots game but it comes with plenty of safeguarding, privacy and admin considerations for clubs and leagues.
This season in Yorkshire, we’ve now seen two high-profile examples where players have been identified on video for their poor behaviour. A cricketer in another league was banned for three games for ball tampering after footage emerged on social media.
How leagues respond ?
Interestingly, the individual who posted that ball tampering clip was banned for a game too.
Leagues now have an extraordinary volume of admin to manage and disciplinary matters hoover up a load of time through emails, conversations, meetings and external communication.
That reference to a previous one-match ban (for sharing the incident) is a warning to others to follow the correct reporting process but there are ways to navigate this so the genie gets out of that bottle with frightening speed.
We must remember that those involved with clubs and leagues are volunteers. It’s got to the point where a single moment like this, with massive media interest, ratchets up the pressure on everyone.
There’s a duty of care to all involved – including Saltburn and ‘Clicky Ponting’ as the culprit has been cannily named. It’s a nickname that’s likely to haunt him for years.
It will be intriguing how the NYSD reacts. There is a disciplinary framework but this goes way beyond the player or players involved. At the time of writing, they are currently investigating after receiving a formal complaint.
The league will want to be diligent, fair, respond as quickly as it can and has its own reputation to think about.
Questions to answer
Do umpires have better hearing in the NYSD ?! Someone clicking from the slip cordon would often go unnoticed by many officials – though a compelling, collective appeal added persuasion.
How do leagues manage this kind of thing going forwards? It is the age of both live streaming but also any spectator whipping out their phone to record.
The ripple effect
Actions like the Saltburn example don’t happen in a vacuum. I imagine the whole club is in shock and not getting the warmest of attention right now. It could affect membership, sponsorship and has already encouraged a spate of negative Google reviews.
It’s natural that cricket clubs, in the middle of a storm, will want to hunker down but need to think about communication and perception.
It brings to mind York Cricket Club back in 2023 when they responded to a controversial run-out with a swift, public apology: ‘The captain, the whole team, and club, are mortified by the error of judgement that was made.’
So, how do cricket clubs manage a crisis like this?
Saltburn have taken robust action themselves. In a public statement, the club said: “The player at the centre of the complaint has been suspended and will not play again for the Club this season, or in the foreseeable future, pending the outcome of this investigation.”
Life can get complicated for any cricket club at the click of a finger.

Havant remain in the Southern Premier League’s second tier relegation area after Stuart Ransley’s superb century in vain during a May’s Bounty run-fest.
The 14-times SPL champions are seven points adrift of OTs & Romsey after a third successive loss, a 14-run reverse at fellow strugglers Basingstoke & North Hants.
Defeat was particularly tough on Ransley, who equalled his career best with an unbeaten 143 as Havant failed to overhaul their hosts’ 305 all out target.
Facing 144 balls, Ransley hit 14 fours and four sixes in what was his 15th century for the club – coming 22 years after his maiden ton.
It equalled his career best, made against New Milton eight years ago in a top flight fixture.
Ransley shared three decent stands, 98 for the third wicket with Harrison Barnard (32), 51 for the fifth with Chris Morgan (25) and 56 for the sixth, in just 4.3 overs, with Warren Turner (14).
The clock was always against them, though, and by the time Brad Neal (4-65) ran in to deliver the final over Havant required an unlikely 28 to win.

​They managed 13 of them, second team captain Thomas Wragg hitting the final ball of an absorbing contest to the boundary as his side finished on 291-7.
Havant, who took the field without key players Richard Hindley, Pete Hopson, Chris Stone and Ron Woolley, would earlier have been happy no doubt to reduce Basingstoke to 157-6, having lost the toss.
Guernsey raised Matthew Philip, a student at Winchester university, helped them recover from 61-3, slamming 73 off 56 balls with eight fours and four sixes.
That was just the warm-up for Neal’s onslaught, though.
Coming in at 157-6, Neal thrashed his way to 80 off 45 balls with eight fours and five sixes, dominating a stand of 106 for the seventh wicket with Neil Shelar (37) in just 11 overs. His innings was a match changer - and winner !

Basingstoke & North Hants 305 (B Neal 80, Phillip 73, Shelar 37, Morgan 3-42, Zaloumis 3-97) Havant 291-7 (S Ransley 143*, Prentice 34, Barnard 32, Morgan 25, B Neal 4-65). Basingstoke & North Hants won by 14 runs. 

These are anxious times at Lymington as the New Forest club searches for a win to end a barren four-match ECB Southern Premier League run. Three defeats and a 'losing' draw have narrowed the gap between Lymington and Bashley (Rydal) in bottom place. And not in Lymington's favour. 
Terry Crabb apart, Lymington aren't scoring enough runs. After the evergreen Kiwi had made 41 and fellow countryman Charlie Wilson 31, Lymo collapsed.  Dan Stancliffe (5-31) saw to that. Only Ryan Scott (31) responded. Lymington's last five wickets fell for 11 runs.
They looked as though they might defend a modest 140 when Burridge slipped to 21-3, but Sachin Suresh (45) and Alex Brewer (34) steadied the ship. Burridge lost seven men in total before achieving their goal. 

Hampshire Under-18s were knocked out of the ECB Cup, Somerset beating them by 41 runs in the quarter-finals at Wells Cathedral School.
Bournemouth's Alfie Appleby Ingram, Felix Stanley (Portsmouth & Southsea) and the Academy's Tom Wellings each took three wickets as Somerset were dismissed for 241.
But Hampshire's batting failed with only Hook & Newnham Basics teen Ollie Webster (83) and Abilash Nanthakumar (42*) shining in the team's 200 all out.

A reminder that National Highways has confirmed a series of overnight and full-weekend closures as work continues on the M3 Junction 9 improvement scheme, ie the A34 junction headed for Andover and North Hampshire.
The most significant change is the closure of the M3 Junction 9 northbound entry slip road from 9pm on Friday 31 July 2026 until winter 2027.

ECB SOUTHERN PREMIER LEAGUE
ROUND 13 : 25 JULY 2026

ECB PREMIER DIVISION

Alton 268 (Bater 104, Myers 45, Wright 41, Corbett 30, Clark 6-41) Sarisbury Athletic 236-9 (Baker 73, Cooper 38, Feltham 38).  Match drawn.

Hampshire Academy 160 (Webster 37, Iqbal 24*, Langley 5-34, Organ 3-64) St Cross Symondians 161-4 (Kelly 90*, Organ 36). S Cross Symondians won by six wickets.

Lymington 141 (Crabb 41, Wilson 31, Scott 31, Stancliffe 5-31) Burridge 142-7 (Suresh 45 Brewer 31, Wilson 3-44). Burridge won by three wickets.

Portsmouth 299-8 (Gadd 85, Wimble 61*, Metzer 33, Caddy 30, Duggan 27, Brehaut 3-72) Bournemouth 127 (Rogers 31, Smith 27, De Laszio 5-21, Zaidi 3-42). Portsmouth won by 172 runs.

South Wilts 282-9 (Broderick 86, Fairfax-Ross 44, Degg 26, Cheater 26, Basey 3-41) Bashley (Rydal) 193 (Basey 44, Lewis 34, Pardey 29, Pascoe 5-59). South Wilts won by 89 runs.

DIVISION 1

Basingstoke & North Hants 305 (B Neal 80, Philp 73, Shelar 37, Morgan 3-42, Zaloumis 3-97) Havant 291-7 (S Ransley 143*, Prentice 34, Barnard 32, Morgan 25, B Neal 4-65). Basingstoke & North Hants won by 14 runs. 

Fair Oak 223 (Sriram 34, Oxley 34*, Ramanan 33, Gibson 32, Clark 31, Short 3-42) Ventnor 216-7 (Edwards 77, Cox 61, Hailes 36, Oxley 3-34). Fair Oak won by seven runs.

Hambledon 224 (Behrens 92, J Restall 25*, Lightfoot 4-30) Totton & Eling 149 (Lightfoot 25, Holbrook 25, Lewis 4-41, Behrens 3-29). Hambledon won by 75 runs.

Langley Manor 181 (Pointing 58, Doubell 37, Harris 30, Allaway 3-32)   Calmore Sports 187-7 (Taylor 41, Allaway 34, Brewster 26, Lavelle 25*, Spencer 4-36, Budd 3-28). Calmore Sports won by three wickets.

Old Tauntonians & Romsey 303-5 (Newman 118, Vaughan 93, Davidson-Soler 33*, Mills 30*, Redfern 3-90) Rowledge 307-5 (Redfern 111, O Ryman 74*, Le Roux 36, Southon 31, Marshall 24). Rowledge won by five wickets.

DIVISION 2
​
Fawley 291-8 (Parratt 65, Munir 56, Singh 50, Streather 47, Del Mar 4-64) Liphook & Ripsley 82 (Nicklin 22, Freeman 5-31). Fawley won by 209 runs.

Portsmouth & Southsea 205 (Purna 61, Rockett 45, Nyumbu 3-14) Andover 143 (Mitchinson 33, Peach 5-31, Saunders 3-27). Portsmouth & Southsea won by 62 runs.

Parley 159 (Collins 65, Laird 27, Fuller 4-26) Sparsholt 163-5 (Berzins 41, Skeoch 34, Willcox 26*, Morris 3-37). Sparsholt won by five wickets.

Sway 248-8 (D Bailey 80, Fortune 72, Clark 27, Bartlett 3-51) New Milton 225 (T Golding 42, C Golding 37, Bartlett 29, Grasham 3-36, Russell 3-37). Sway won by 23 runs.

Waterlooville 294-9 (Anderson 84, Hayward 55, Hudson 49*, Birch 30, McCarthy 4-30, Gardner 3-32) Hook & Newnham Basics 178 (Armstrong 41, Balcombe 40, Gardner 34, Silva 4-45, Youngs 3-17). Waterlooville won by 116 runs.

DIVISION 3

Fareham & Crofton 207 (Kent 46, R Barnwell 36, Eddie 32, Kajendran 4-25) Trojans 210-4 (Sriram 78, Agha 43, Khan 31*, Headen 3-44). Trojans won by six wickets.

Hartley Wintney 205 (Philpott 68, Appavoo 3-29) Alton II 102 (Paul 22, J Teale 4-44). Hartley Wintney won by 103 runs.

Hook & Newnham Basics II 141 (Watterson 31, Vyantheya 31, Hawk 4-30) Odiham & Greywell 144-0 (Sivier 89*, Collins 32*). Odiham & Greywell won by ten wickets.

Hursley Park 190-9 (T Flynn 65, Davies 32*, Hawkesworth 4-39) St Cross Symondians II 104 (Haworth 24, Tennant 4-14). Hursley Park won by 86 runs.

Sarisbury Athletic II 220 (Lovett 70, Rawlins 60, Pittaway 4-41) Ferndown Wayfarers 221-3 (Stephenson 108,  Sansom 46*, Pittaway 31* ) . Ferndown Wayfarers won by seven wickets.

We are sad to report the death last weekend of retired Bournemouth and Dorset 50s left-hand opening batsman Keith Balmer after a long illness. Further details later.

Ben De Laszlo starred on only his second ECB Southern Premier League top flight appearance for Portsmouth.
The youngster – Head Boy and cricket captain at the prestigious Radley College – bagged a five-wicket haul in a thumping win at Bournemouth.
Portsmouth’s 172-run success ended a frustrating run of four successive Time Pennant winning draws, during which they had posted over 300 every game before having their opponents either eight or nine down at stumps.
De Laszlo, ​left whose only previous SPL Premier game was against Basingstoke last August, was introduced into the attack in the 22nd over.
The move paid dividends immediately, with skipper Harry Gadd running out James Van Gool off the first ball.
De Laszlo’s first wicket came off the first ball of his third over, when he bowled George Guirdham for a single.
He ended with 5-21 off six overs as Bournemouth, asked to chase 300 for victory, crashed to 127 all out (Siraj Ali Zaidi 3-42) at Chapel Gate.
Gadd had earlier continued his fine run of form, hitting his fourth half-century in five innings.
He followed up scores of 87 not out (v Hampshire Academy), 66 (v Alton) and 87 (v Bashley) with 85, off 123 balls with nine fours.
Gadd put on 63 for the fifth wicket with George Metzger (33) and 50 for the sixth with Dan Wimble before the innings closed on 299-8 after 64 overs.
Wimble added late impetus, cracking an unbeaten 61 off 62 balls with four fours and two sixes.
Ben Rogers (31) and Connor Smith, with 29 late on, top scored for Bournemouth.

Connor Clark took a stunning four wickets in four balls to finish with career best ECB Southern Premier League figures.
Playing for Sarisbury Athletic, he took centre stage as Alton’s last five wickets clattered for no runs in the space of 10 balls in the top flight encounter.
His golden run started when he castled opener Harry Bater left (104) shortly after the Lord Wandsworth  College teenager had reached his maiden century.
The former Fareham & Crofton seamer then had Tom South caught behind by Nathaniel Hlabangana before bowling Bash Walters.
Fred Egleston was dismissed by Joshua Williams before Clark claimed a fourth wicket in as many deliveries by having Dan Sumner caught by Nathan Feltham.
That left Clark with figures of 6-41 and shell-shocked Alton all out for 268 (Scott Myers 45, Jude Wright 41).
Alton’s total was still good enough for the winning draw points in the penultimate round of Time Pennant fixtures, with Sarisbury replying with  236-7 off 57 overs.
Opener Joe Baker top scored with 73, sharing stands of 83 for the third wicket with Nathan Feltham (38) and 56 for the fourth with Sam Cooper (38).
Sarisbury were in danger of defeat on 193-7, but skipper Rob Franklin (18 not out) and Clark (22 not out) added an unbroken 46 for the eighth wicket.    The News

​South Wilts must win their next two matches if they are to impact the ECB Southern Premier Division championship in the closing month of the season.
Twenty-five points adrift of defending champions St Cross Symondians, they host Bournemouth in the final Time pennant game at Bemerton on Saturday, 11am.
Seven days later, it's St Cross away - a match that could have massive implications for both teams !  
"We had a blip a month or so ago but have won three of our last four matches and currently lie second, so there are plenty of positives," skipper Ben Draper pointed out.
"We've got to win as many games as we can - its seven from ten completed games so far - but the upcoming Bournemouth and St Cross Symondians games are massive."
South Wilts have beaten Alton and Bashley (Rydal) in their last two outings - Harry Broderick and Archie Pascoe starring in the 65-run win at bottom of the pile Bashley.
Broderick's 82 was his third fifty-plus score in five Time matches and cemented a solid South Wilts start, complimented later by Archie Fairfax-Ross (44) who has established himself as the lead all-rounder in the Bemerton side.  South Wilts closed 258-9.
Pascoe celebrated a maiden Premier League five-wicket haul as Bashley were dismissed for 193, Cam Basey (42) and Patrick Lewis (34) top scoring.
Pascoe removed the Bashley middle and lower order with his 5-59 return.
The emerging Cam Basey caught the eye for Bashley, scoring 42 after a 3-41 spin return.

The draw for the quarter-finals of the Southern Premier League T20 Cup to be played on August 9 is

South Wilts v Rowledge
Burridge v Lymington
Bournemouth v OT’s & Romsey
Alton v Portsmouth 
  

Byron Langley struck four times in the initial eight overs to leave the Hampshire Academy innings in tatters and set champions St Cross Symondians firmly on the path to a  second consecutive ECB Southern Premier League championship.
Langley finished with figures of 5-34 while the Academy rallied from a desperate 5-34 to post 160 - a total St Cross took 26 overs to cruise past and win by six wickets, Dom Kelly hitting 90 not out.
A sixth win in seven all-day matches confirmed St Cross as Time pennant winners and left them 25 points clear of second placed South Wilts in the chase for the title itself.
Teenage Bournemouth left-hander Alfie Appleby Ingham and Sam Ashman fell in consecutive overs to Langley, ​left who enjoyed his best SPL return since joining St Cross from Putney early in the season.
Those dismissals left the Academy 12-2. By the ninth over, half the Hampshire team was back in the Green Jackets pavilion with only 31 runs on the board, four of the five wickets having fallen to Langley.
Freddie Gillett (15) fought gamely but it was largely due Charterhouse captain Ollie Webster 37) that he Academy rose, albeit gradually.
Felix Stanley (15) and Dylan Kettle (15) supported Webster until the Hook & Newnham Basics raised youngster became a third victim for Felix Organ (3-64).
The Academy score had just crept over 100 at this point, but thanks to Berkshire spin prospect Abdullah Iqbal (24*) and Poole Grammar School's Barney Overton (28), 160 was reached.
St Cross promptly lost  Gregor McKenzie, but Organ (36) and Kelly took control with an 87-run partnership which Odiham & Greywell schooled Dylan Kettle ended with a double break.  He bowled Organ and soon afterwards pinned Wilf La Fontaine Jackson leg before.
Kelly, who played in the Academy's 2024 SPL title winning side, remained unmoved and, with four sixes an ten fours, hit an unbeaten 90 to win the match.

  

​South African Sergio Rosier (left) and Kumo Sharma hit unbeaten half-centuries during a powerful 136-run partnership which set up Hursley Park's WDCCA Tichborne Trophy final win over Millers at The Quarters.
Rosier hit 51 and Sharma 53 after Tom Flynn had been bowled for two by Chris Tee in the third over.
Tim Bacon later chipped in with 16 as Hursley moved to 166-5 off 19 overs.
Will Flynn (2-17) and Rory Tennant (2-16) shared four wickets as Millers made 102-7 (King 29) in reply.  Hursley won by 64 runs.

Teenage South Wilts talent Max Cordle produced a stunning individual performance as Wiltshire ended Hampshire's four-match winning start in the ECB Under-16 County Championship. 
​Opening the Wiltshire attack, he took 5-47 as Hampshire were restricted to 46 and followed it up by top scoring with 75 in a convincing five-wicket win.
Veer Patel (64), Ronnie Singh (52) and Adam Bourne (38) top scored for Hampshire, who lost first place in the group.

Fourteen year old Andover starlet Cam Mitchinson, ABOVE, showcased his talent by scoring a remarkable 83 off 102 balls in the Lions' 17-run defeat by Southern Premier Division 2 rivals Sway. 
​The youngster, who hit eight boundaries, made his runs as Andover closed with 255 after Sway had made 272.
The evergreen Jon Waller took 4-43 after Tom Richards (66) and Will Millard (62) had top scored for Sway.

​Rupert Armstrong celebrated a maiden Southern Premier League century, leading Hook & Newnham Basics out of early trouble and to a match winning 273 against bottom Division 2 side Fawley at Holbury.
Armstrong [above] hit a six and 14 boundaries having arrived a the crease with Hook in trouble at 183, the first two wickets falling to Raminder Singh (4-61) without a run on the board.  
Sam Lockwood (42) initiated the recovery, but it was Armstrong's century stand with Alex Campbell (54) that put Hook in the driving seat. Will Gardner hit a breezy 33 to get Hook to 273.
Virtually all the Fawley batsmen made starts, but  Gulfaraz Gulfaraz (50) was the only one to threaten as the Waterside club made 246 in reply. 

​New Zealander Brayden Hill rescued Odiham & Greywell with an unbeaten 152 to set up a remarkable 76-run win over Fareham & Crofton and propel the North Hampshire club into the Southern Premier Division 3 promotion frame.
Odiham lie second in log behind Hursley Park after winning for an eighth time in ten outings at Bath Lane - an outcome that looked improbable after 15 balls of the match with the visitors' tottering at nine for three and later 97-7.
But Hill engineered a remarkable turnaround in Odiham's fortunes in a 131-run eighth wicket stand with skipper Darren Turner (56), whose own half-century took  
the score to 228 before he came a fourth victim of teenager Brendan Eddie (4-40).
Barely giving Fareham a chance, Hill hit two sixes and 20 boundaries in his superb run-a-ball 153, his second Odiham hundred.
He went on to add another 66 with Scott McGaughrin (30 not out) as Odiham posted 294-8.
Teenager Oli Wheeler (3-30) celebrated a second consecutive three-wicket haul as Fareham made 218-8 in reply, James Headen scoring a maiden 52.  

​Charlie King carried his bat for 99 and shared a century opening stand with the influential Joe Vaughan as OTs & Romsey gave their Southern Premier Division 1 survival hopes a significant boost with a five-wicket win at Ventnor.
It was their first win in four matches since beating Totton & Eling on June 13 and eased them away from the bottom three places.
King's knock, which included two sixes and eight fours, ended one short of the magical 100 but, after a one hundred start with Vaughan (36) put OTR firmly in control.
Harry Tulk (21) and local Spaniard Alec Davidson-Soler (26) helped King eased OTR past Ventnor's 236-9 with 21 balls to spare.
Vaughan (4-47) earlier shone with the ball by removing Ventnor's entire middle-order after Sri Lankan Dineth Thimodya had scored 80 of the hosts' 236-9.  
Matt Bampton (2-22) also excelled as Ventnor slipped to 169-7 before teen Archie Lucy's 44 not out revived them.

​Back in the Eighties and alongside the Southampton club Deanery, Basingstoke & North Hants and Havant vied for the tag of Hampshire's top recreational side.
They seldom met as Basingstoke successfully plied their trade in the Home Counties and Thames Valley Leagues, while Havant garnered the Southern League silverware, winning 14 titles.
How times have changed !  2026 sees the once proud pair battling for survival in the second tier of Southern Premier League cricket.
They have both suffered recent relegations from the Premier Division and go head-to-head at May's Bounty on Saturday (12.30) in eighth and ninth positions in the table.
Defeat for either club - and the prospect of playing third tier cricket in 2027 - is unthinkable.  
Basingstoke will, at least, take the field with some confidence having ended a three-match losing sequence with a priceless 122-run victory at the bottom club  Langley Manor, where Matt Deadman (68) and Tom Dyer, with a personal best 73, steered them to 250-9. He is pictured by Ian Thacker playing for Hook & Newnham Basics last season.
Langley Manor, promoted as Premier 2 runners-up last season, were dismissed for 128, Ali Brown marking his return from university with a 4-36 return. 
Basingstoke are boosted by the return of Ash and Brad Neal against Havant. Line up is: Matt Deadman, Ali Brown, Tom Dyer, Ash Neal, Brad Neal, Abilash Nanthakumar, Mat Philp, Neil Shelar, Hayden Tipping, Abdullah Abid, Rakitha Perera.