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Bournemouth still have much to do to challenge for honours
Mike Vimpany - 24 June 2001
Paul Gover rates them as the best side Havant have come up against so far, but Matt Swarbrick believes Bournemouth still have a lot more work to do, particularly in the batting department, before they can start to challenge in the Southern Electric ECB Premier League.
"Batting has been a big worry so far. Just 17 batting points tells its own story," says Swarbrick, who own performances with the bat won the day against Liphook & Ripsley and, more recently, Andover.
"There's been a lot of pressure on me as the senior batsman at the top of the order," he revealed.
But, with Tom Webley (now contracted to Somerset) and Dorset's Peter Deakin shortly to become available on a regular basis, Bournemouth's batting should soon be much stronger.
Indeed, had Bournemouth batted as well as they've bowled this season, they might have been challenging Havant at the top.
"We've bowled really well, particularly Paul Warren and Peter Waite, our Aussie," Swarbrick says.
"Paul (who plays for Devon) hits the deck and gets a lot of bounce, while Peter has added a lot more sharpness to the attack.
"The great thing is they bowl so consistently and rarely bowl bad balls - perhaps one every four overs or so," he enthused.
Joe Wilson and teenager Kristian Wilson (no relation) have provided fine support, while Dorset's Toby Sharpe returns shortly after his initial new-ball stint with Oxford CEE.
The added presence of Deakin and Webley will also provide Bournemouth with two quality spinners.
Bournemouth's bowlers certainly called the tune at Lower Bemerton last weekend, having South Wilts reeling at 82-8 before heavy rain denied Swarbrick's frustrated men a third win.
Five of the eight wickets Bournemouth took were down to the safe hands of teenage wicketkeeper Chris Park, whose 17 victims so far this season have earned a debut call-up for Dorset's ECB 38 County Cup tie agains the Channel Islands on Sunday.
"Keeping to Warren and Waite, in particular, has been ideal for Parkey, but he's done really well and looks a very good prospect," praised Swarbrick.
"He's a bubbly young character and keeps the field going all the time.
"On top of that, he's batted very well on a couple of occasions, scoring 90 not out at Calmore - some achievement for a 17-year old."
Once Bournemouth get all their players back on board, they could be a very difficult side to beat.
This article appeared in The Pink on June 23 2001
© Daily Echo
| Teams | England. |
| Players/Umpires | Matthew Swarbrick, Thomas Webley, Peter Deakin, Paul Warren, Toby Sharpe. |
| Tournaments | Southern Premier League |
| Season | English Domestic Season |