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It's Lord's for a fourth time in six years for Winchester
Simon Straker - 6 March 2002
Winchester K.S. have booked their place in a Lord's final for the fourth time in six years.
The Southern Electric Premier League club's indoor six, who have dominated the Hammonds Jewellers South Hants League at Eastleigh's Fleming Park Leisure Centre for more than a decade, were in top form in the regional finals of the National Championships at Taunton on Sunday.
They knocked out Cheltenham in the semi finals before coasting past Bovey Tracey of Devon to book their Lord's ticket a week on Sunday (March 17).
Two weeks earlier, Hampshire champions Winchester had seen off Taunton at home in the first round but Cheltenham were expected to be more than a match for Jimmy Taylor's troops.
But, after Winchester made a modest 114-4 (Paul Marks 30 not out, Taylor 30 not out) having been inserted, they skittled the Gloucestershire outfit for 89 (R Hall 33, Stuart Marks 2-20, Taylor 2-18) to win by 25 runs.
As it turned out, Winchester's total was the highest of the night by some distance as the bowlers made the most of a dramatically swinging ball, emphasised by Paul Marks, whose opening three overs cost just 15 runs.
In the final, Bovey Tracey were given first knock and again Marks proved difficult to get away, reducing the Devon champions to 25-1 off six overs.
This set the tone for the innings and, with Taylor returning 2-17, Winchester restricted their opponents to 79-4 (B Elphick 22, N Davey 25*) in their 12 overs - a target that was reached for the loss of just three wickets.
Taylor and Marks again laid the foundations with some confident strokeplay against former Surrey and current Somerset strike bowler Ian Bishop.
Taylor eventually played on for 20 while Marks retired for the second time on the night and, although Bovey Tracey took a couple of late wickets, Winchester, the national champions of 1997, had already done enough to return to HQ and battle it out with the three other regional winners.
© SPCL / Simon Straker / Daily Echo
| Players/Umpires | Paul Marks, James Taylor, Ian Bishop. |
| Tournaments | Southern Electric Premier League |