Guy Layman produced career-best figures of 6-43 as Lymington seconds pulled off the biggest escape act since Hoodini to save themselves from relegation to the Hampshire League.
He bowled Lymington to a totally unexpected 115-run win over newly crowned Southern Premier League Division 3 champions Fair Oak - a victory that spared Oli Kelly's side the drop by a mere three points.
The result left Havant II and Gosport Borough in the bottom two places and contemplating the 2019 season spent in County Division 1.
But a Lymington victory over Fair Oak hardly looked probable at 116-8 when Isle of Wight pair Andy Woodward (43) and Dan Cox (22) came together for a match changing 74-run unbroken ninth-wicket stand which saw the visitors to 190-8.  They were among seven island-based players in the Lymington line-up.
Layman, a mainlander, blasted out Fair Oak's top five for 41 (Will Hughes 26). With Ventnor-raised teen Ben Attrill (3-13) taking three of the last four wickets, Oaks crumbled to 75 all out and their heaviest defeat for some time.

It was a Peach of a spell if there ever was one !
Portsmouth & Southsea all-rounder Jake Peach took career-best figures of 8-28 as Fawley were bundled out for a meagre 58 at St James’ Park, where the mid-table hosts celebrated a thumping 187-run victory.
The Swansea university economics graduate more than made up for a second ball duck (he was among Wayne Smith’s threesome) by gunning down Fawley’s first eight batsmen and, but for the ten-over restriction on bowlers, might well have got all ten wickets !
Bowling straight – he clean bowled three batsmen, had three more trapped leg before and had another caught behind – Peach went on to claim a hat-trick, with first ball pair Rob Leach and Ali Bryers contributing to the Fawley fine box after teenage top scorer Bailey Parratt (22) had been the first of the three to go.
Earlier, Jack Davies (58) and Shaun Briggs (56) made half-centuries for P & S after earlier contributions from Matt Benfield (34) and Oli Kanavan (32).   P & S were dismissed for 245 (Bryers 3-28) with the last four wickets falling for two runs.
Portsmouth & Southsea, 2017 County Division 1 winners, finished sixth, one place above Fawley, who were spared one of the potential relegations spots by four points.  A mere four points separated Fawley, Lymington II and Havant seconds.

South Wilts seconds have regained the Southern Premier League Division 2 slot they lost at the end of last season.
Their 26-run victory in the 'winner take all' showdown against Purbrook ensured they took the runners-up spot behind runaway champions Fair Oak.
South Wilts took second place by only three points. They have been promoted despite losing seven of their 17 completed matches, the other ten of which they won.
But for all-rounder Aaron Dean, who took 4-33 and later hit an unbeaten 56, the margin of defeat might have been greater for Purbrook, who finished third.
Tom Pearce was South Wilts' batting hero, scoring an unbeaten 73 with Purbrook having worked themselves back into it after a prosperous start by Owain Phillips (40) and Joe Cranch (28).
Pearce found a reliable partner in Rob Franklin (23) and steered South Wilts towards a match winning 225-9.
Purbrook had begun the final round of matches with a healthy 11-point lead over South Wilts.
But the prospect of them winning at Wilton Road effectively disappeared by the time spin duo Rob Pittman (3-43) and Franklin, with a tidy 2-25, had reduced them to 126-8.
Dean went down fighting, however, hitting 56 not out to lift his side to an eventual 199-9.

Liphook & Ripsley take the field at Lord's on Sunday week (September 16) having won only one Southern Premier League match in the last ten outings – at Calmore Sports and also tied with Sarisbury Athletic – and not at all since beating Sussex League Division 2 champions Mayfield in the Village Cup semi-finals.
Their recent losing streak continued on Southsea seafront, where Portsmouth's 243-5 (James Christian 84) proved a 79-run winner. Rob Nicklin made 67 of Liphook's 174, Vickram Dawson (4-46) and Andy Marston (3-20) doing the damage.
Sarisbury Athletic and OTs & Romsey will both be satisfied with their mid-Southern Premier League Division 1 table finishes.
Sarisbury ended a creditable runners-up to runaway champions Bournemouth, while promoted OTs, full of promising young cricketers, finished in mid-table with eight wins from all 18 matches actually played.
Sarisbury's ten-run win at Romsey owed much to top order trio Ricky Rawlins (77), Toby Mills (55) and Sam Floyd (46) who got a lion's share of their 229-5.
Harry Tulk (55), Rob Newman (39) and Steve Smith (33) responded for OTs, Josh Hill and Joran Wright taking three wickets each. They were dismissed for 219.

Hugh Calloway produced a remarkable all-round performance as Ventnor squeezed a two-wicket win at Hartley Wintney to finish third in Southern Premier League Division One.
Bowling his medium-pace seamers, he took 5-37as Hartley were dismissed for 138 – a total Ventnor scraped past, almost entirely due to Calloway’s 69 not out.
It was Ventnor’s sixth successive win since mid-July, a sequence which included a comprehensive victory over champions Bournemouth at Steephill.
Chris Russell (2-45) removed both HW openers before Calloway got into his five-wicket act to reduce the North Hampshire side to 47-7 and later 62-7 before Will Ross (38) and Jamie Teale (37) added 75 for the eighth wicket.  But the last three wickets fell without addition.
To stand any chance of winning Hartley needed to take quick wickets and thanks to Dan Wrenn (2-35) and young Australian Ben Earney (2-61), Ventnor dropped to 22-3.
However, Calloway completed a great all round performance as he then hit an unbeaten 69 to steer the island side home inside 25 overs.  But he nearly ran out of partners as Rhys Batcup (3-25) saw Ventnor finish with eight wickets down.

Bournemouth, Southern Premier League Division 1 champions
Standing (from left): Nick Park, Martin Miller, Dan Conway, Robbie Pack, Ed Denham, Jake Hurley.
Front: Dom Clutterbuck, Simon Woodruff, Chris Park (holding trophy), Luke Webb, Tom West.

Bournemouth were crowned Southern Premier League Division 1 champions after securing a 14th win in 17 outings, a 30-run victory over 2017 champions Calmore Sports.
It wasn’t an altogether convincing victory – Bournemouth being stuck in and reduced to 31-4 by Mike West (2-17) and Steve Wright (2-23).
Simon Woodruff (33) and Ed Denham (29) rallied, but Bournemouth were still 97-6 before Nick Park (50 not out) and Dom Clutterbuck (25) added what proved a decisive 73-runs to post a competitive 175-7.
Calmore proceeded to lose their wickets in clusters, but appeared to be in a promising position at 101-3 (George Woodhall 32).
But a three-wicket burst by Jake Hurley (3-20), aided by further strikes from Ed Denham (3-19), saw Calmore collapse to 145 all out.

Glynn Treagus played the pivotal role by scoring a hundred in Andover's 19-run victory over Hook & Newnham Basics at the King George V Ground.
He batted virtually the entire innings, sharing an century partnership with Max Romar-Lee (53) before adding a vital 43 for the ninth wicket with Richard Taylor (25) after Andover had dropped from 119-1 to 187-8 (Aniket Divecha 3-26).
That late rally, which took Andover to 237, saw Treagus (102) notch his 11th century overall in Premier League cricket.
Matt Buckingham (39) and Jordan Hobday (38) moved the Hook reply to 148-4, after which wickets fell at inappropriate times, with the host club falling short at 218 all out (Taylor 3-29).
The result left Andover, relegated from the Premier Division in 2017, in a satisfactory mid-table position, two places higher than Hook & Newnham Basics (seventh), who lost several influential players at the start of the season.

BASINGSTOKE and North Hants snatched fourth place away from South Wilts with a four-wicket victory in a final day clash between the sides at May’s Bounty in the ECB Southern League Premier Division.
South Wilts captain James Hibberd, in his final game for the team, won the toss and decided to bat on a sunny day in Basingstoke, writes the Gazette's Graham Merry.
Luke Evans, who had been in action with Surrey’s second XI during the week, was promoted up the order to open with Tom Morton.
The pair put on 53 for the first wicket, as Basingstoke’s Martyn James and Chris Jolley were unable to find a breakthrough. However, the introduction of David Griffiths (3-24) and Mitch Stokes (2-23) changed things.
Evans was the first man out caught behind by Lawrence Benge, thanks to Griffiths and then last week’s 17-year old century hero (against the Hampshire Academy) Jack Stearman, departed without scoring, trapped leg before by Stokes.
Melbourne-bound Ben Draper then went the same way as Evans and Joe Weld were bowled by Stokes as the visitors found themselves 74-5.
Captain Hibberd would have loved to sign off with a big score, but he perished for 13 after an unfortunate run out, when a straight drive from Stephen Warner was deflected onto the stumps by spinner Matt Thankachan.
It was number eight and Southampton Solent University cricketer Ryan Murray who was to be the unlikely top scorer for South Wilts, as he hit his first ever half century at this level.
Along with Warner (20) they took the score into three figures, before Warner was bowled by spinner Thankachan.
This brought James Hayward to the centre and along with Murray the pair added 63 for the eighth wicket, before Hayward, playing his first game after breaking his hand, was caught by Stokes as Craig Williamson snapped up a rare wicket.
It was left to Murray and young Ben Fisher (19 not out) to see out the final overs and take the score to 224-8.  Murray finished on 59 from 69 balls which included six fours and one six.

The Bountymen’s reply did not get off to the best of starts with opener Ben Thane trapped leg before by Luke Evans in the second over.
However, from there Chris Jolley (61) and Dan Belcher (50) set about building the platform for victory.
The pair put on 87 for the second wicket, before Jolley’s knock ended after 40 balls, which had seen him hit the boundary rope 12 times and clear it once.
His dismissal saw a mini collapse, as Warner grabbed a couple of wickets and suddenly Basingstoke were 102-4.
It was left to Belcher and young Berkshire prospect Toby Albert (47) to bat the home side into a winning position with half the overs gone the score had reached 165-4.
This left the home side needing just 61 runs from the remaining 25 overs for a victory.
It was South Wilts’ seventh bowler Joe Weld, who finally parted the pair as he bowled Belcher.
Any hopes this would signal another mini collapse, were soon dashed as Stokes looked in the mood to finish the game quickly as he hit 29 not out in 28 balls and along with Albert took the score to 215-6.
It was then left to Stokes and Griffiths to complete the four wicket win which was the Bountymen’s fourth win on the trot to end a very good first season in the top tier of the Southern League.

m Jacques celebrated his maiden ECB Southern Premier Division century, but his Bashley (Rydal) team-mates had little else to celebrate as the New Forest club slumped to a sixth successive defeat, losing by eight wickets to Havant.
He was upstaged as Richard Hindley scored his first hundred in eight years (since May 2011), making a match winning 102 not out for the displaced champions.  The previous week he became the first Premier Division cricketer to reach 500 wickets.
Havant’s Richard Jerry, who finished with league best figures of 6-41, struck three early blows before Jacques was joined at the crease by Josh Digby (41), with Bashley wobbling at 33-3.
Jacques made 123 (two sixes and nine fours) and added 110 before Jerry’s second spell ended the Bashley innings at 225-9.
The evergreen Kevin Nash quickly removed Havant opener Stu Ransley, but any prospect of Bashley ending a disappointing season on a positive note effectively ended with Peter Hopson (37) and Hindley taking the score to 100 before the second wicket fell.
Hindley reigned supreme after that, hitting two sixes and 12 fours in an unbeaten 103, sharing an unbroken stand of 129 with Chris Stone (56) as Havant cruised home with five overs to spare.

Joe Collings-Wells and Richard Lock shared a double-century second-wicket partnership as Burridge rattled up a club record ECB Southern Premier League score of 343-4 against Alton at the Jubilee Ground.
The pair added 246 with Collings-Wells cracking a league best 127, including a six and 11 fours and which took his season’s run tally soaring beyond the 700 mark.
Lock’s 113 (one six and 12 fours) was his third century of the summer and set the platform for Azim Chowdhury to smash an 18-ball half-century just before tea.
The former Totton & Eling big hitter launched six maximums as he battered the tired Alton bowlers for 53 off 18 balls.
At least Julian Ballinger had something to smile about during the tea interval – his unusually expensive 2-81 return ensured he finished the leading Premier League bowler with 46 wickets.
It was all purely academic after that as Alton played out time at 188-5 – Dan Harris (48) and Scott Myers (44) – in a tedious evening session.
* Burridge’s scheduled match against the Lashings World XI this Friday has been cancelled and rearranged for June 2019.

Celebrations  ran long into the night as St Cross Symondians toasted their maiden ECB Southern Premier League championship – the first significant piece of cricket silverware the Winchester club has ever won.
They got the 15 points they needed to clinch the title with a comfortable six-wicket win over Lymington.
It finally eased them into an unassailable position ahead of Burridge, who finished runners-up after running up a massive 343-4 in their 155-run win at Alton.
“Winning the Premier championship is a massive feat for the club, the culmination of a hot of hard work that has gone in over the past two years since I became captain,” beamed skipper Tom Foyle.
“As the summer progressed a lot of inner belief grew amongst the team. Everyone played for each other and every game we knew someone would step up to the plate.”
St Cross won 11 of their 17 completed matches to become the first club since Bournemouth (in 2010) to break the championship monopoly by Havant and South Wilts.
“I’ve had a great bunch of blokes to work with. We all train together and socialise together – no egos, just everyone pulling together. It’s been great,” he added.
Jimmy Adams, returning from Hampshire’s innings defeat by Essex at Chelmsford, was one of the first to send his congratulations to St Cross, for whom he’s played since his junior days.
Adams played a significant part in the club’s title triumph, hitting three centuries in five recent knocks.
Foyle had a special word for vice-captain and right-hand man Ed Ellis, who joined St Cross Symondians from Lymington at the start of the season.
He said: “Having Ed come on board in a playing and coaching capacity has been invaluable. He’s my go-to man on the field, the person I turn to for advice.
“The lads have bought into Ed’s coaching and training ideas, both at senior and junior levels, and its rubbed off with more cohesive performances, the teamwork being so different now.”
An eventual six-wicket victory in the town Sports Ground sunshine looked as though it was going to be far more decisive as the captain’s sibling brother Harry Foyle (3-28) and Matt Haworth shredded Lymington’s top order.
                                                                 Tumbled then rallied
The hosts, who finished fourth in the log, Lymington tumbled to 45-6, but the lower-order rallied and at least having to chase 171 gave St Cross something to think about.
Conor Moors (39), Josh Royan (34) and Josh Proctor (31) staged the fight-back – Moors brother Kieran finishing the day in A & E after breaking his hand taking a stunning catch.
Lymington’s prospects of pulling off an unlikely victory were effectively nullified by the stomach virus that put skipper Matt Metcalfe out of the game overnight.
But there was a glimmer of light when Queenslander James Grady (2-30), who represented the Australian Universities last winter, trapped Tom Foyle leg before with the first ball of the Symondians’ reply.
Former Hampshire opener Jason Laney (25) ensured there would be no further hiccups, but it was appropriate that Harry Came should seal the victory – and the championship – with the knock of the day.
Waiting anxiously on news of a potential Kent contract after scoring a fourth Second XI century for the Canterbury county club in midweek, Came struck a match winning 75 to take his league aggregate to 764 for the summer.
“Harry’s been a massive asset to the club over the past two seasons – SPL Young Cricketer of the Year in 2017 and championship winner this summer,” Foyle smiled.
“To make 764 runs and also take 24 wickets is some performance.”
Came made ten fours before Ellis, back on familiar Lymington soil, completed the victory with an unbeaten 38, the winning stroke a flowing cover boundary drive into the pavilion crammed full of jubilant St Cross team-mates and supporters.
Cue champagne and a long night of celebrations ….

SOUTHERN PREMIER CRICKET LEAGUE
RESULTS – ROUND 18 – 1 SEPTEMBER 2018

ECB PREMIER DIVISION

Bashley (Rydal) 225-9 (Jacques 123, Digby 41, Jerry 6-41)
Havant 229-2 (Hindley 103*, Stone 56, Hopson 37)
Havant won by eight wickets.

Burridge 343-4 (Collings-Wells 127, Lock 113, Chowdhury 53)
Alton 188-5 (Harris 48, Myers 44)
Burridge won by 155 runs.

Hampshire Academy 200 (Organ 67, Prest 34, Scriven 33)
New Milton 157 (Hussey 33, R Beck 24, Abbas 3-17, Organ 3-28, Trodd 3-28)
Hampshire Academy won by 43 runs.

Lymington 171 (C Moors 39. Royan 34, Proctor 31, Naik 4-26, H Foyle 3-28)
St Cross Symondians 175-4 (Came 75, Ellis 38*, Laney 25)
St Cross Symondians won by six wickets.

South Wilts 224-8 (Murray 59*, Morton 44, Hayward 36, Griffiths 3-24)
Basingstoke & North Hants 225-6 (Jolley 61, Belcher 50, Albert 47, Stokes 29*)
Basingstoke & North Hants won by four wickets.

DIVISION 1

Andover 237 (Treagus 102, Romer-Lee 53, Divecha 3-26)
Hook & Newnham Basics 218 (M Buckingham 39, Hobday 38, Taylor 3-29)
Andover won by 19 runs.

Bournemouth 175-7 (N Park 50, Woodruff 33, Denham 29, Clutterbuck 25)
Calmore Sports 145 (Woodhall 32, Johns 28, Denham 3-19, Hurley 3-20)
Bournemouth won by 30 runs.

Hartley Wintney 137 (Ross 38, Teale 37, Calloway 5-37)
Ventnor 140-8 (Calloway 69*, Batcup 3-25)
Ventnor won by two wickets.

Portsmouth 243-5 (Christian 84, J Marston 47, Bains 28, Hall 3-41)
Liphook & Ripsley 174 (Nicklin 67, Dawson 4-46, A Marston 3-20)
Portsmouth won by 79 runs.

Sarisbury Athletic 229-5 (Rawlins 77, Mills 55, Floyd 46)
Old Tauntonians & Romsey 219 (Tulk 55, R Newman 39, Smith 33, Wright 3-37, J Hills 3-45)
Sarisbury Athletic won by ten runs.

DIVISION 2

Paultons 224-8 (Grierson 79, Pike 56, Perry-Lewis 5-50)
St Cross Symondians II 226-8 (Hadfield 93*, Barrett 29, Lunn 27, Denney 3-32)
St Cross Symondians won by two wickets.

Rowledge 309-5 (Moseley 122*, Wilson 119)
Trojans 75 (J Wish 3-13, Keeley 3-16)
Rowledge won by 234 runs.

Sparsholt 267-5 (O’Brien 87*, Haworth 63, Mitchard 41, Taylor 35, Holzmann 3-38)
Totton & Eling 55 (L Taylor 21, Banks 3-8)
Sparsholt won by 212 runs.

Tichborne Park 126 (Brooks 28, Spencer 4-14)
Langley Manor 127-8 (Browne 30, Long 3-20)
Langley Manor won by two wickets.

Waterlooville 90 (Smith 21, Perera 6-17)
Basingstoke & North Hants II 91-5 (Vinn 32*, Coombs 21)
Basingstoke & North Hants II won by five wickets.

DIVISION 3

Bashley (Rydal) II 136-8 (Vaughan 36, Taylor 32, Grierson 27, Gorvin 3-18)
Havant II 137-4 (Gorvin 55)
Havant II won by six wickets.

Hambledon 204-8 (Chakrabarti 59, Glanfield 32, Richards 3-21)
Gosport Borough 90 (Harrop 23, Larner 23, Glanfield 4-32, Beagley 4-21)
Hambledon won by 114 runs.

Lymington II 190-8 (Woodward 43*, Edwards 25, Barton 24, Gwynn 3-24, Abbas 3-54)
Fair Oak 75 (Hughes 26, Layman 6-43, Atrill 3-13)
Lymington II won by 115 runs.

Portsmouth & Southsea 245 (Davies 58, Briggs 56, Benfield 34, Kanavan 32, Bryers 3-28, Smith 3-36)
Fawley 58 (B Parratt 22, Peach 8-28)
Portsmouth & Southsea won by 187 runs.

South Wilts II 225-9 (Pearce 73, Phillips 40, Cranch 28, Dean 4-33)
Purbrook 199-9 (Dean 56*, Lee 28, R Pittman 3-43)
South Wilts II won by 26 runs.

Hampshire and St Cross Symondians batsman Jimmy Adams will retire from professional cricket at the end of the 2018 season.
The 37-year-old, who played a significant role in Symondians’ ECB Southern Premier League title triumph this season, made his Hampshire debut 16 years ago and having excelled both as a player and as Club captain in that time, he has made the decision to call time on his career following the conclusion of this year’s campaign.
Adams has totalled more than 450 matches for Hampshire, accumulating 19,601 runs across all formats so far, including 27 centuries and 108 fifties.  He scored 585 runs in five knocks for St Cross Symondians in recent matches.
The left-hander has been an integral part of several one-day triumphs in recent years too, winning 50-over trophies in 2005, 2009 and 2012 whilst also contributing to two T20 titles in 2010 and 2012.
A four-day title as skipper also came in 2014 when Adams led a strong Hampshire side to the top of County Championship Division Two, securing promotion to the first-class top-tier, where they’ve remained for the past three seasons.
Jimmy Adams said: “When I first grew up watching the game as a youngster, I had hopes and aspirations to play for Hampshire, but I never thought I would end up having the honour of representing this wonderful Club for the last 16 years.
“I have made great friendships and shared some fantastic experiences in that time and I’m immensely proud of what the Club has accomplished, but I feel the time is right to hang up my boots at the end of the year and allow others the opportunity for success.
“From everyone at the Club, to fans, friends and family, the support I’ve received throughout these 16 years has been incredible – I still have a few games in me to finish off this season and I’m looking forward to these next few weeks, where I’m sure I’ll have the opportunity to thank you all and look ahead with excitement to the next chapter.”
Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “Jimmy has been an integral part of the Club since he made his debut in 2002 and he’ll be greatly missed both professionally and personally.  He has been a whole hearted and selfless cricketer who’s had a wide-ranging influence both on and off the field.
“It hasn’t just been about the runs and the trophies, it’s about the way he has gone about it. Jimmy is a genuine team player and that’s the reason he’s held in such high regard by fans, players and coaches.  We would all like to thank him for the fantastic contributions he’s made throughout his career, both as player and captain.”

Basingstoke & North Hants face Hook & Newnham Basics in the rescheduled Finch Group Guy Jewell T20 Cup final at May's Bounty on Sunday, 2.45pm.  The tie will be preceded by the Cyril Thompson Cup final between Basingstoke Hockey Club and Chawton, 10.30am.

Premier Division
Batting: Felix Organ (Academy) 776, Tom Morton (South Wilts) 725, Harry Came (St Cross Symondians) 689, Ben Thane (Basingstoke & North Hants) 626, Scott Myers (Alton) 625, Tom Scriven (Academy) 613.
Bowling: Julian Ballinger (Alton) 44, Graham Burns (Havant) 39, Luke Evans (South Wilts) 37, Mitch Stokes (Basingstoke) 35, Oli Southon (Burridge) 34.
Wicket-keeping: Tom Morton (South Wilts) 26, George Metzger (Academy) 20.
Division 1
Batting: Harry Munt (Liphook & Ripsley) 577, Tom Nightingale (Sarisbury Athletic) 547, Tom Friend (Ventnor) 533.
Bowling: Robbie Pack (Bournemouth) 37, Chris Russell (Ventnor) 36, Mark Lavelle (Calmore Sports) 35, Dom Clutterbuck (Bournemouth) 32.
Wicket-keeping: Ben Woodhouse (Ventnor) 28, Will Kerr (Hartley Wintney) 22.
Division 2
Batting: Jeremy Frith (Sparsholt) 748, Tom Allam (Tichborne Park) 721, Dave Banks (Sparsholt) 602, Conor Browne (Langley Manor) 587.
Bowling: Jeremy Frith 31, Matt Perry-Lewis (St Cross Symonians II) 30, Liam Doran (Sparsholt) 30.
Wicket-keeping: Robbie Hadfield (St Cross Symondians II) 21, Ben Wish (Rowledge) 18.
Division 3
Batting: Jack Davies (Portsmouth & Southsea) 584, Josh McCoy (Purbrook) 560, Matt Benfield (P & S) 492, Gregor McKenzie (Fair Oak) 473.
Bowling: Charlie Gwynn (Fair Oak) 37, Adam Freeman (Fawley) 32, Wayne Smith (Fawley) 30, Josh McCoy 29.
Wicket-keeping: Kieran Earl (Fawley) 23, Sam Pittman (South Wilts II) 22, Will Bond (Hambledon) 21, Richard Featherstone (Fair Oak) 20.   

Bournemouth’s left-arm spin ace Robbie Pack, above, is looking to wrap up a Southern Premier League bowling award after the Lions’ are crowned Division 1 champions at Calmore Sports.
Chris Park’s side will receive the trophy before start of play at Loperwood Park, after which Pack will need to be on the ball to hold on to his slender lead as the division’s leading wicket-takr.
He has so far snared 37 wickets at an average of less than 12, but Ventnor’s Chris Russell (whose in-form island side go to relegated Hartley Wintney) is only one behind.  Fascinatingly, 2017 winner Mark Lavelle has 35 wickets, so there could be a intriguing sideshow taking place. 
Bournemouth’s Dom Clutterbuck is still in the mix having taken 32 league wickets, although he would need a dazzling display to overhaul his team-mate.
Lions wrapped up the title with a 116-run home victory over Hook & Newnham Basics last time out and are set to recall the evergreen Martin Miller in place of Jem Warner.
Calmore Sports: Lavelle, Cook, Wright, Johns, Woodhall, Manning, Perry, Proudley, Vann, Pegler, West.
OTs & Romsey. safely nestled in mid-table, once again include the three Newman brothers in their line-up against Sarisbury Athletic at the Romsey Sports Centre, while relegated Liphook & Ripley have their final competitive run-out before the Village Cup final at Lord’s (September 16) when they play Portsmouth on Southsea seafront.
Andover make several enforced changes for the visit to Hook & Newnham Basics at the KGV.
Andover: M Hooper, Hart, Treagus, Romer-Lee, A Duckworth, Ayers, Knight, Palmer, Adams, R Duckworth, Taylor.

Burridge must take maximum points from their final day visit to Alton to stand any slim chance of denying St Cross Symondians the ECB Southern Premier Division championship.
Already seven points adrift at the top, Burridge are relying on lowly Lymington to beat St Cross at the Sports Ground.
But if that were to happen - and St Cross are bound to collect some bonus points - they would effectively have to win with a 22-point maximum.  Burridge will if at full strength if Nick McMurray returns.
Burridge: Steward, Richards, Collings-Wells, Lock, De Abreu, Chowdhury, Stancliffe, McMurray, Danley-Jones, White, Southon.
James Hibberd says his South Wilts' farewells against Basingstoke & North Hants at May's Bounty, where all-rounder James Hayward may return after breaking his hand seven weeks ago.
Hibberd leaves the Bemerton club tomorrow after 11 seasons, the past two as captain, during which time he has been among the lead players in the Premier League.
Hayward's scheduled return is a little surprising as he as still wearing a cast on his broken hand earlier this week.  He steps into the breach as all-rounder Arthur Godsal is on England 12th man duties in the Ageas Bowl Test Match.  Basingstoke, who have won five of their last six matches, expect to be unchanged.
Basingstoke: Thane, Jolley, Belcher, Stokes, Harsham, Albert, Williamson, Benge, James, Griffiths, Thankachan.
South Wilts: Morton, Evans, Stearman, Draper, Weld, Hayward, Hibberd, Warner, Murray, Fisher, Ghauri.
Hampshire Academy captain Felix Organ plans to hang on to his position at the top of the Premier Division batting leaderboard in the visit to relegated New Milton.
Organ's 776 run aggregate is 51 more than Tom Morton, while team-mate Tom Scriven has 613. The pair are both set to play cricket in Brisbane this winter.
Academy: Organ, Metzger, Scriven, Middleton, Pardoe, South, Prest, Abbas, Dale, Reynolds, Trodd.

Scarborough-based Folkton and Flixton, who play Liphook & Ripsley in the National Village Cup Final at Lord’s in two weekend’s time, are appealing to local businesses to come up with £8,000 to cover the costs of their trip to cricket's headquarters.
The team says: "Such an undertaking is very expensive for a club run by volunteers. Any help making the dreams of this team come true would be hugely welcomed by everyone at the club."
It’s little more than an hour for Liphook supporters to get to Lord’s by train, but would-be travellers should be aware there are scheduled engineering works on the track, with the 0836 the only suitable train into Waterloo to reach Lord’s in time for the 1100 start.

Lymington seconds must become only the second club this season to beat champions Fair Oak - if they are to stand a chance of retaining their Southern Premier League Division 3 status for next season.
They go into their final match against the Oaks - ironically in the neutral surroundings of Sparsholt's well appointed Locks Lane ground - eight points adrift in the relegation struggle.
But even if they pull off the shock of the season at the Norman Edwards Memorial Ground, Lymington will still be relegated if Gosport win at Hambledon.
Ironically, Borough are the only side to have beaten Fair Oak this summer.
Fair Oak: Hughes, McKenzie, Kemp, Abbas, Gwynn, Gradwell, Bullough, Oxley, Featherstone, Bass, Stewart.
Lymington: Kelly, Agha, Barton, Edwards, Whyte, Attrill, Smith, Layman, Cox, Woodward, Willis.
With that eight-point advantage intact, Gosport lie 'safe' in third from bottom spot, but if they lose at Ridge Meadow and basement side Havant II roll over Bashley (Rydal) II, the calculators will be out and a photo finish will ensue.
Gosport produced a miraculous fightback to beat Lymington last week, their last three wickets producing 91 runs to win the match.
Teen ravers Jacob Harris and Jack Richards missed that win - almost drowning at the rain lashed Reading Festival - are back for the Hambledon trip. But their Lymington hero Charlie Pennicott is absent.
Another youngster, Hambledon's Henry Glanfield is in such good nick - three 50-plus scores in his past four knocks - that an international call-up could soon be calling, not from Trevor Bayliss, but ... Norway !
Henry's mother hails from Scandanivia and it's rumoured under-cover Norwegian selectors could be lurking in the undergrowth at Ridge Meadow when the spin all-rounder comes to the crease.
Hambledon: Will Bond, Spencer Le Clercq, Henry Glanfield, Alex Willoughby, Indy Chakrabarti, Chris Pratt, Lewis Le Clercq, George Harding, Ian Turner, Rhidian Chapman, Sam Beagley
Gosport Borough: Tom Larner, Lee Harrop, Simon Creal, Jacob Harris, Liam Campbell, Scott Taylor, Gavin King, Greg Kitchen, Jack Richards, Ollie Creal, Charlie Creal.
There's an equally important tussle at the top of SPL3, where the winners of the South Wilts II-Purbrook duel will finish runners-up to Fair Oak.
Purbrook take an 11-point lead into the match but will be pipped at the post if South Wits beat them at Bemerton.
South Wilts II: Phillips, Berzins, Cranch, Pearce, Pittman, Prescott, Franklin, Pittman, Wade, Atkinson, Burton.
Eleven points adrift of the closest safety rung, Havant II must beat visiting Bashley (Rydal) seconds if they are to avoid dropping down to Hampshire League cricket in 2019.
Bashley (Rydal): J Underwood, S Morris, C Vaughan, S Ridley, M Wilson, R Grierson, N Taylor, C Gates, T Harris, T Mills.

The Bashley Babes, pictured with their Under-19 T20 Trophy
Standing (from left): Piers Scott, Tom Saunders, Tom Harris, Kris Laurent, Patrick Holly, James Edmunds
Seated: Sam Presland , James Turner, Patrick Lewis, Alex Turner, Tom Hayward-Cox.
 
Bashley Rydal’s youngsters overcame a middle-order wobble to beat Hook & Newnham Basics by four wickets and carry off the Hampshire Vitality Under-19 T20 Cup.
Having brushed aside Fair Oak in the semi-finals at Calmore’s Loperwood Park, Bashley looked to be cruising to victory at 90-2 chasing down Hook’s 121 all out.
But three quick wickets by Will Wyatt (3-19) left Bashley 94-5 – and in a state of panic.
Ten runs off the penultimate over lifted Bashley’s score to 117-6 and five wides off the first ball of the last over settled it.
Hampshire Vitality Under-19 T20 Cup results -
Semi-finals
Fair Oak 101 (Middleton 28, South 20) Bashley (Rydal) 104-4 (Lewis 32, J Turner 24). Bashley (Rydal) won by six wickets.
Portsmouth 125-9 (Wallis 29, Kooner-Evans 22, Shore 4-16, Neville 4-26) Hook & Newnham Basics 127-4 (H Robson 51*, Franklin 26, Hewetson-Brown 19*). Hook & Newnham Basics won by six wickets.
Final
Hook & Newnham Basics 121 (H Robson 25, Franklin 19, A Turner 3-1) Bashley (Rydal) 124-6 (A Turner 39, Saunders 22, Wyatt 3-1).  Bashley (Rydal) won by four wickets.

Fair Oak, with the Southern Premier League Division 3 championship trophy
Standing (from left): Phil Smith, Rufus Bullough, James Gradwell, Max Watson, Asad Abbas, Charlie Gwynne.  Seated: Will Hughes, Rhys Oxley, Ed Kemp, Gregor McKenzie, Ross Stewart.
 
Fair Oak’s 14th win in 15 outings has left Havant seconds bottom of the table and needing to beat Bashley (Rydal) II this Saturday to stand any prospect of retaining their Southern Premier League Division 3 status.
Presented with the league trophy before start of play, Oaks posted 192-9 before bowling Havant out for 106.
Will Hughes carried his bat through the Fair Oak innings for an unbeaten 66 and added a handy 70 with third wicket partner Phil Smith (39).
Oaks dropped to 124-6 but rallied through Charlie Gwynne (24) and Rufus Bullough, despite Stu Ransley’s 4-52 return for Havant.
Havant seldom posed much of a threat, with Bullough (4-29) and Ross Stewart (3-22) taking seven of the wickets.
Gwynne’s 2-22 spell took his season’s tally to 37 victims, making the spinner firm favourite to win the SPL3 bowling prize.

Lymington seconds must beat Southern Premier League Division 3 champions Fair Oak at Sparsholt’s Locks Lane ground on Saturday to avoid an immediate return to Hampshire League cricket in 2019.
They were promoted as County Division 1 runners-up last season, but a one-wicket defeat in the Privett Park basement battle against Gosport has left them in the second relegation spot, eight points adrift of the Borough.
Lymington are still wondering how they continually blew their chances of beating Gosport, having had the Borough on the canvas three times in the closing stages.
They appeared in a handy place after Isle of Wight teens Ben Attrill (68) and Ross Whyte (35) guided them to 200-6.
When Gosport sank to 113-7 (Andy Woodward 4-35) it appeared all over bar the proverbial shouting.
But Charlie Pennicott’s unbeaten 77 sparked a remarkable comeback as Gosport’s tail added 91 runs – the winning runs coming off the fourth ball of the last over.
Gosport’s final match is at Hambledon.

Adam Freeman was the all-round hero of Fawley’s bizarre three-wicket win over promotion chasing Southern Premier League Division 3 rivals Purbrook at Holbury, where 17 wickets fell for only 136 runs.
Shell shocked by Freeman’s new-ball spell of 3-26, Purbrook were skittled for a meagre 66.
But they hit back with Josh McCoy (6-47) having Fawley reeling at 14-5 before left-armer Freeman reappeared with the bat to hit a priceless 27 and guide his side to an astonishing victory.
The result has lifted Fawley 16 points clear of the drop zone, but weakened Purbrook’s prospects of finishing runners-up behind champions Fair Oak.
They must now beat South Wilts II in a ‘winner take all’ showdown for second place at Bemerton on Saturday.
Only three Purbrook batsmen reached double figures as Wayne Smith (3-3) and Sufian Munir (3-19) backed up Freeman’s opening spell.
But with half the Fawley batsmen back in the pavilion and only 14 runs on the board, Purbrook looked capable of defending their 66.
Munir (17) doubled the score before becoming McCoy’s sixth victim and a fourth for wicketkeeper Josh Young.
But from 31-6, Fawley pulled themselves round, with Freeman’s 27 not out not only turning the game on its head, but probably ensuring the oilmen safety.  The match was all done and dusted inside 39 overs.
Purbrook’s unexpected defeat has left the door ajar for South Wilts II, even though the Bemerton club lost by 23 runs at mid-table Hambledon.
In-form Norway prospect Henry Glanfield (71) and PGS batsman Alex Willoughby (65) piloted Hambledon to 244-6, but South Wilts dropped to 113-5 (Tom Berzins 31) before Tom Pearce (62), James Wade (35) and Sam Pittman (24) took their reply to 221-7 by stumps.
Jack Davies (left) took over the mantle of leading SPL3 run scorer when he hit 100 – his third century of the season – in Portsmouth & Southsea’s 56-run win at Bashley (Rydal) II.
Matt Benfield (58) and Jack Peach (48) helped P & S on to 249-9, before Chris Turrell (3-33) had Bash rocking at 13-3.
Chris Vaughan (70) and veteran Graham Pardey (38) lifted Bashley’s final score to 193.

• Jack Davies picture by Neil Marshall.