Calmore Sports are within touching distance of a remarkable second consecutive British Gas Southern League title.
Five points from their final match of the season against mid-table Portsmouth will tie up the Division 1 championship – twelve months to the day after they lifted the SPL2 crown !
They took a giant step towards a back-to-back title with a four wicket win at Rowledge – the outcome all but mathematically relegating the Surrey border club.
Calmore bowled Rowledge out for 132 before Australian Jack Rutter (left) and skipper Mark Lavelle calmed nerves after a top order wobble to win the game.
Calmore took early charge at Church Road, with two early strikes by Dan Croft (2-22) complimenting a mean opening spell by Dom Ducellier.
Croft’s second wicket was the prize scalp of 632-run Victorian left-hander Tom Treble, who had made three previous centuries this season.
Ricky Yates (31) and Jake Wish (20) repaired the initial damage, but Calmore kept making inroads with Lavelle, Mike West and James Rose each taking two wickets.
But chasing down a modest Rowledge total of 132 didn’t come easy to Calmore, who sank alarmingly from 46-1 (Ben Johns 24) to a frantic 54-5 against the lanky left-arm spin of George Keeley (3-30).
Fortunately, Rutter (44) and Lavelle (24) rescued the situation with a match winning 74-run stand, which took Calmore to the brink of another title – and virtually put Rowledge down.
Five points from their final match of the season against mid-table Portsmouth will tie up the Division 1 championship – twelve months to the day after they lifted the SPL2 crown !
They took a giant step towards a back-to-back title with a four wicket win at Rowledge – the outcome all but mathematically relegating the Surrey border club.
Calmore bowled Rowledge out for 132 before Australian Jack Rutter (left) and skipper Mark Lavelle calmed nerves after a top order wobble to win the game.
Calmore took early charge at Church Road, with two early strikes by Dan Croft (2-22) complimenting a mean opening spell by Dom Ducellier.
Croft’s second wicket was the prize scalp of 632-run Victorian left-hander Tom Treble, who had made three previous centuries this season.
Ricky Yates (31) and Jake Wish (20) repaired the initial damage, but Calmore kept making inroads with Lavelle, Mike West and James Rose each taking two wickets.
But chasing down a modest Rowledge total of 132 didn’t come easy to Calmore, who sank alarmingly from 46-1 (Ben Johns 24) to a frantic 54-5 against the lanky left-arm spin of George Keeley (3-30).
Fortunately, Rutter (44) and Lavelle (24) rescued the situation with a match winning 74-run stand, which took Calmore to the brink of another title – and virtually put Rowledge down.
