he Southern Premier and Hampshire Leagues are bracing themselves for the first total washout of the season following today’s heavy rain across the region.
With three rounds of matches remaining and championship, promotion and relegation issues reaching a climax, cricketers expect to wake on Saturday morning with news that squares and outfields are flooded – and that shopping and all those jobs around the house that need doing are high on the ‘alternative attraction’ agenda !
Senior umpiring guru Denis Emery will rise at dawn to get his panel of umpires clad in oilskins and wellies and inspecting grounds before they tuck into their bacon and eggs.
Premier Division leaders Bashley (Rydal), homing in on a maiden championship triumph, are due to host New Forest rivals Lymington, with a 36-point lead over second placed St Cross Symondians safely tucked under their belts.
A postponement will make it virtually impossible for 2018 winners St Cross (at home to Bournemouth) to make up the leeway, unless Bashley suffer heavy defeats in their remaining two games against Bournemouth and South Wilts.
At the bottom, time is not on the side of Basingstoke & North Hants, who will be certain to finish last if their match at Alton is rained off. They trail the second-from-bottom Brewers by 52 points.
The other scheduled Premier Division games are Hampshire Academy v South Wilts and Havant v Burridge.
Hook & Newnham Basics, 33 points clear of Sparsholt at the top of Division 1, are due to set sail for the Isle of Wight to play relegated Ventnor, with chairman Keith Lovelock already penning a travel refund application to Wightlink.
Sparsholt have Rowledge visiting, with Portsmouth due at Calmore Sports. Relegation rivals OTs & Romsey have Sarisbury Athletic as guests.
SPL2 leaders Totton & Eling have a derby with Paultons, while St Cross Symondians, 23 points behind them, await a call from Liphook & Ripsley.
Bashley (Rydal) II, whose lead at the top of SPL3 has been trimmed to 28 points, are scheduled to visit Trojans, who have slipped into the drop zone. Resurgent Portsmouth & Southsea have little hope of playing at relegated Lymington – a game they ideally needed to play – which means next Saturday’s showdown with Trojans will almost certainly be a relegation decider.
County Division 1 top dogs Hook & Newnham Basics II host Bedhampton, with second placed Parley at home to Alton II.
With three rounds of matches remaining and championship, promotion and relegation issues reaching a climax, cricketers expect to wake on Saturday morning with news that squares and outfields are flooded – and that shopping and all those jobs around the house that need doing are high on the ‘alternative attraction’ agenda !
Senior umpiring guru Denis Emery will rise at dawn to get his panel of umpires clad in oilskins and wellies and inspecting grounds before they tuck into their bacon and eggs.
Premier Division leaders Bashley (Rydal), homing in on a maiden championship triumph, are due to host New Forest rivals Lymington, with a 36-point lead over second placed St Cross Symondians safely tucked under their belts.
A postponement will make it virtually impossible for 2018 winners St Cross (at home to Bournemouth) to make up the leeway, unless Bashley suffer heavy defeats in their remaining two games against Bournemouth and South Wilts.
At the bottom, time is not on the side of Basingstoke & North Hants, who will be certain to finish last if their match at Alton is rained off. They trail the second-from-bottom Brewers by 52 points.
The other scheduled Premier Division games are Hampshire Academy v South Wilts and Havant v Burridge.
Hook & Newnham Basics, 33 points clear of Sparsholt at the top of Division 1, are due to set sail for the Isle of Wight to play relegated Ventnor, with chairman Keith Lovelock already penning a travel refund application to Wightlink.
Sparsholt have Rowledge visiting, with Portsmouth due at Calmore Sports. Relegation rivals OTs & Romsey have Sarisbury Athletic as guests.
SPL2 leaders Totton & Eling have a derby with Paultons, while St Cross Symondians, 23 points behind them, await a call from Liphook & Ripsley.
Bashley (Rydal) II, whose lead at the top of SPL3 has been trimmed to 28 points, are scheduled to visit Trojans, who have slipped into the drop zone. Resurgent Portsmouth & Southsea have little hope of playing at relegated Lymington – a game they ideally needed to play – which means next Saturday’s showdown with Trojans will almost certainly be a relegation decider.
County Division 1 top dogs Hook & Newnham Basics II host Bedhampton, with second placed Parley at home to Alton II.
