The ECB Southern Premier League championship is South Wilts’ to lose after a tense three-wicket win over St Cross Symondians, their nearest rivals, put them well clear at the top of the table.
With three games left – two of them at home against Lymington and Burridge, either side of a visit to Alton – South Wilts are 30 points clear and firm favourites for the title.
Another 38 points from those last three games will see South Wilts regain the championship they previously won in 2015, the last of the club’s four successive titles.
Skipper Ben Draper isn’t getting carried away. “We’ve got an extremely important game against Lymington next up, so we must stay focused. No one’s going to give us anything, but we’re obviously in a good position,” he said.
Draper’s side successfully chased down a rain trimmed St Cross target of 163 off 31 overs to win with seven wickets down and five balls to spare.
With three games left – two of them at home against Lymington and Burridge, either side of a visit to Alton – South Wilts are 30 points clear and firm favourites for the title.
Another 38 points from those last three games will see South Wilts regain the championship they previously won in 2015, the last of the club’s four successive titles.
Skipper Ben Draper isn’t getting carried away. “We’ve got an extremely important game against Lymington next up, so we must stay focused. No one’s going to give us anything, but we’re obviously in a good position,” he said.
Draper’s side successfully chased down a rain trimmed St Cross target of 163 off 31 overs to win with seven wickets down and five balls to spare.
The South Wilts run chase wasn’t altogether straight forward. It looked promising at 109-2 (Tom Morton 21) while Peter Roe (31) and James Hayward (31) were together, but when four middle-order wickets fell for 24 runs, St Cross were back in the match having reduced the hosts to an uncertain 133-6.
Two of the wickets were taken by emerging 20-years old leg spin bowler Alex Woolvine, whose SPL best 3-23 return accounted for Rowe and Ralph Hussey. Later in his spell, he had Ben Huntley well caught.
“We became pretty nervous when Hayward was caught, but Arthur (Godsal) batted beautifully and the six he hit off Booth was probably the defining moment of the run chase,” Draper added.
South Wilts required 26 runs off the last four overs when all-rounder Arthur Godsal, who played for the National Counties Championship against the MCC in midweek, struck a sublime shot off his legs over mid-wicket off speedster Michael Booth (3-50). It was the shot of the day and landed in an adjoining orchard.
He then thick edged the South African’s next ball to the third-man boundary and then took a four of Woolvine’s next over.
Huntley perished at 154-7 to leave South Wilts requiring nine to win off two overs. Seven more came off Booth’s penultimate over before Godsal drilled the first ball off the leg-spinner’s final over to the mid-wicket boundary to seal the victory.
Two of the wickets were taken by emerging 20-years old leg spin bowler Alex Woolvine, whose SPL best 3-23 return accounted for Rowe and Ralph Hussey. Later in his spell, he had Ben Huntley well caught.
“We became pretty nervous when Hayward was caught, but Arthur (Godsal) batted beautifully and the six he hit off Booth was probably the defining moment of the run chase,” Draper added.
South Wilts required 26 runs off the last four overs when all-rounder Arthur Godsal, who played for the National Counties Championship against the MCC in midweek, struck a sublime shot off his legs over mid-wicket off speedster Michael Booth (3-50). It was the shot of the day and landed in an adjoining orchard.
He then thick edged the South African’s next ball to the third-man boundary and then took a four of Woolvine’s next over.
Huntley perished at 154-7 to leave South Wilts requiring nine to win off two overs. Seven more came off Booth’s penultimate over before Godsal drilled the first ball off the leg-spinner’s final over to the mid-wicket boundary to seal the victory.
South Wilts didn’t bowl like potential champions earlier, with Godsal no-balling six times and Stephen Warner spraying ten wides about.
Left-hand opener Tom Foyle (44) cashed in on the loose stuff, hitting eight boundaries and scoring two-thirds of Symondians’ 68 before being caught by Tom Lewis to give Huntley (2-40) his second wicket.
Harry Trussler (23) held the fort but was shackled by Shrewton dairy farmer Tom Grant, whose ten over spell cost a meagre 13 runs.
Ed Ellis (38) and later Harry Foyle provided middle-order stability, but after the St Cross captain had holed out to teenage substitute fielder Matt Falconer wickets fell too frequently for the visitors’ liking.
Jack Mynott (3-23) chipped away, leaving Foyle to knuckle down and curb his natural attacking instincts and play an unaccustomed role. He made an important 42 off 93 deliveries, hitting only one six and a four before St Cross were dismissed for 212 with 16 balls remaining.
St Cross Symondians captain Ed Ellis concedes “South Wilts are now in a very strong position, but there’s a lot of cricket to be played yet. They’ve still got to get 38 more points, so all we can do now is go out a win our last three games.
“We’ve had two excellent games against South Wilts and run them close twice, which is a testament to our young side, but fair play to them, they’ve won them both.”
Left-hand opener Tom Foyle (44) cashed in on the loose stuff, hitting eight boundaries and scoring two-thirds of Symondians’ 68 before being caught by Tom Lewis to give Huntley (2-40) his second wicket.
Harry Trussler (23) held the fort but was shackled by Shrewton dairy farmer Tom Grant, whose ten over spell cost a meagre 13 runs.
Ed Ellis (38) and later Harry Foyle provided middle-order stability, but after the St Cross captain had holed out to teenage substitute fielder Matt Falconer wickets fell too frequently for the visitors’ liking.
Jack Mynott (3-23) chipped away, leaving Foyle to knuckle down and curb his natural attacking instincts and play an unaccustomed role. He made an important 42 off 93 deliveries, hitting only one six and a four before St Cross were dismissed for 212 with 16 balls remaining.
St Cross Symondians captain Ed Ellis concedes “South Wilts are now in a very strong position, but there’s a lot of cricket to be played yet. They’ve still got to get 38 more points, so all we can do now is go out a win our last three games.
“We’ve had two excellent games against South Wilts and run them close twice, which is a testament to our young side, but fair play to them, they’ve won them both.”
Photographs generously supplied by Roy Honeybone to whom we all extend best wishes for a long (and eagerly) awaited replacement knee operation on Thursday. Roy will sadly be out of action for the remainder of 2021, but will be snapping pictures from all sorts of angles next summer !!