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New Milton's title hopes receive a Leckford denting
Mike Vimpany - 11 August 2002
New Milton's Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 promotion bid has received a severe setback. An unexpected eight-run defeat by 13th placed Leckford - on probably the club's farewell appearance at the Ashley Sports Ground - has left Milton with a huge task in the final three weeks of the season if they are to grab the second promotion slot.
Leaders Purbrook have taken a firm grip of the championship race after whipping Waterlooville by eight wickets at The Heath.
The maximum 22-point win took them well clear of St Cross Symondians, whose visit to third-placed Hursley Park was one of seven Premier 3 matches to fall to the weather.
Those two results mean that New Milton will have to win at Purbrook this Saturday - and beat Waterlooville and Hursley Park in their other games.
Skipper Steve Watts blamed New Milton's out-cricket as the prime reason for the defeat. "That's probably as poorly as we've bowled and fielded for some time," he lamented.
New Milton's fielding stint had barely got under way before key all-rounder Iain Griffiths suffered a recurrence of a long standing back injury.
"He dived to stop the ball in the field and his back went," Watts explained. "It meant that Iain could neither bowl nor really bat, which effectively reduced us to ten men."
Ben Neal (2-48) and Andy Snellgrove (2-48) achieved two early breakthroughs for New Milton, but left-hand opener Martyn Isherwood proved immovable for Leckford and produced a match-winning knock.
"Martyn dug in and batted very well in trying conditions," Watts added.
Isherwood hit a match winning 90 and, with support from Andy Cattle (27), doubled the Leckford score at the crucial mid-innings stage. Eighth-wicket pair Simon Reeves and Steve Bolshow added a precious 25 before tea to take Leckford on to 198-8.
Although Ryan Beck went cheaply to the economical Steve Hicks, New Milton got themselves in a good position at 55-1 through Steve Watts (25) and Richard Wilson (28), who both departed in quick succession.
But Lee Beck, with his best innings of the season, kept New Milton's victory bid alive.
"Lee batted superbly at a stage when we needed seven or eight runs an over," praised Watts.
But when he perished - to a Reeves stumping off Nigel Marriott (4-53) - for a splendid 82, Milton's prospects effectively ended.
"We needed 27 off about 21 balls at that stage and, with Iain (Griffiths) injured, it was game up," the New Milton skipper admitted. New Milton eventually finished eight runs short at 191-9.
Purbrook, meanwhile, took a firm grip at the top, after reducing Waterlooville from a comfortable 56-0 (Chris Baumann 27) to 126 all out at The Heath.
Left-armer Mark Stanley (4-29) triggered a top order collapse, Ville plunging to 67-5 and 84-7 after Purbrook had won a key toss.
Seasoned off-spinner Kelvan Finch bowled a miserly 12-over spell in mid-innings - and was bowling when Ville's Mick Hamson was bizarrely dismissed Handled the ball !
Ville's modest tally was never likely to test Purbrook, who romped to an eight-wicket win inside 32 overs, with South African Will Prozesky hitting 64 not out.
The other seven Premier 3 matches were called off after the Friday afternoon storms.
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