Reigning champions Compton & Chandler’s Ford extended their unbeaten start in the NatWest Under-16 Indoor Cricket League with emphatic wins over newcomers Fair Oak and South Wilts.
They ended South Wilts’ two-match winning start before skittling Fair Oak for a dismal 22 to notch a third straight win.
Results -
Fair Oak 105-5 (F Middleton 35*, Abbas 28, Atkinson 2-28) South Wilts 106-4 (Huntley 32*, E Wade 24, Smith 3-19).
South Wilts 110-3 (J Wade 26*, Atkinson 19*) Compton & Chandler’s Ford 112-1 (Khan 26*, Dhariwal 25*, Vaughan 16*).
Fair Oak 22 (Lovell 2-3, Vaughan 2-4) Compton & Chandler’s Ford 23-0.
* There is no Under-16 indoor cricket at the Ageas Bowl this Sunday. Play resumes on October 30.

Ben Smith, pictured, etched his name into the NatWest Under-16 Indoor Cricket League annals by becoming probably the youngest player to make a half-century in the competition’s 15-year history.
The 13-year old Wildern School all-rounder glued the Fair Oak innings of 106-5 after Basingstoke’s Mikhal Saujani (3-20) had ripped through the Oak’s top order, clean bowling all three victims.
Alas, Smith’s valiant efforts were in vain as Ben Firrell (27) and George Metzer (25) guided Basingstoke to a four-wicket win.
Compton & Chandler’s Ford opened their title defence by whipping Parley out for 28 before coasting to a four-wicket win, while the New Forest stunned the county Development six with a comfortable three-wicket victory.
Tom South and Mark Watson both ‘retired’ in a total of 127-2, which the Forest youngsters successfully chased down with Redlynch & Hales’s Ben Fisher, and New Milton pair Connor Tompkins and Campbell Golding all unbeaten.
Results -
Parley 28 (Littlehales 2-3), Lovell 2-9) Compton & CF 30-2.
Fair Oak 106-5 (Smith 56*, Saujani 3-20) Basingstoke 109-2 (Firrell 27*, Metzer 25*).
Development 127-2 (South 27*, Watson 27*) New Forest 131-3 (Fisher 27*, Tomkins 26*, Goldring 25).

Gosport Borough’s Jacob Harris, pictured, hit an undefeated 71 and debutant Hook & Newnham Basics spinner Charlie Neville took four wickets on an eye catching curtain raiser to the NatWest Under-16 Indoor Cricket League season at the Ageas Bowl.
Harris’s 71 not out, which set up a 47-run win for South East Hants Strikers over the district’s U15 team, was the highest individual score for several seasons.
With Troy Bound (29) going well and Totton handily placed at 55-1, Hook’s 123-5 was under threat.
But leg spinner Neville changed the face of the game with four wickets in ten balls as the Tigers sank to 100 all out.
Wiltshire’s Under-14 top player Jayden Atkinson underlined his potential with a tidy 3-8 return which set up an easy five-wicket win for South Wilts over BournemoutH, which Jack Stearman completed.
Results -
Bournemouth 46 (Kitson 29, Atkinson 3-8) South Wilts 49-1 (Stearman 25*). South Wilts won by five wickets.
Hook Hurricanes 123-5 (Taylor 40*, Brown 24, Taylor 3-37) Totton & Eling Tigers 100 (Bound 29, Neville 4-13). Hook Hurricanes won by 23 runs.
SE Hants Strikers 155-4 (Harris 71*, Richards 24) SE Hants Sixers 108-3 (Baker 26*, Seve 26*, Richards 2-28). SE Hants Strikers won by 47 runs.
Sunday’s fixtures: 6 Compton & Chandler’s Ford v Parley, 7 Basingstoke & North Hants v Fair Oak, 8 Development v New Forest.

Old Tauntonians & Romsey defied their underdogs tag to pull off two remarkable victories and win the NatWest Under-16 Indoor Cricket Championship.

Finishing fourth in the log and without injured England prospect Katie George, they went into the Ageas Bowl finals as firm outsiders for the title.

But, fully motivated and totally focussed, they chased down competitive totals to initially beat 2014 champions Parley and then thrash the Hampshire EDP squad by six wickets in the final.

They scored 133-4 to beat Parley with three balls to spare and had four batsmen ‘retire’ before knocking off the EDP’s 137-3 with ten balls in hand.

“To beat the two top sides in it so convincingly was a simply fantastic achievement,” beamed coach Rick Kellaway.

“I told the lads beforehand that, because they’d reached the cut-off age limit, this would be the last time they’d play together and go out and make the most of it.

“They certainly did that !”

Chasing competitive totals each time, the OTs youngsters kept their heads, pushing the ball into the gaps to comfortably score at ten runs an over throughout.

Openers Harry Tulk and Elliott Mitchell-Lee both retired before skipper Sam Costley played his part in a two-wicket win over Parley.

The same three, plus Tom George, played identical batting roles in the final, while spinner Nicho Newman showed his potential withcthe ball.

Results -

NatWest Semi-finals

Parley 132-4 (Nash 23*, Clarke 22, Newman 2-25)

OTs & Romsey 133-4 (Tulk 34*, Costley 30*, Mitchell-Lee 27, Rowett 3-15)

OTs & Romsey won by two wickets.

Basingstoke & North Hants 99-5 (Oates 34*, Neal 28, Spencer 2-19)

Hampshire EDP 102-3(Broadhurst 27, Holly 16*, Wade 16*)

Hampshire EDP won by three wickets.

NatWest Final

Hampshire EDP 137-3 (Broadhurst 46*, Holly 28*, Fay 26*, Tulk 2-35)

OTs & Romsey 139-0 (Tulk 27*, Costley 27*, Mitchell-Lee 25*, T George 25*)

OTs & Romsey won by six wickets.

A 15-year old Petersfield cricketer has produced the best individual bowling performance in the 13-year history of the NatWest Under-16 indoor league at the Ageas Bowl.

Ben Turk took five wickets for 13 runs in three overs as his East Hampshire district side shot Winchester Warriors out for 78 to spring a 43-run surprise.  Turk, pictured, clean bowled three of his victims, had another trapped leg before and a fifth caught in his record breaking spell.  

Only Sparsholt’s Tom Foster, who was run out for 44, avoided being dismissed by Turk.  East Hants won only three of their 11 games at the Ageas Bowl and finished second from bottom of the table.