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SPCL Div 1 - Andover top table for first time ever
Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo) - 19 May 2002
Andover are top of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League for the first time in their history. They boast the only unblemished Division 1 record after a third successive win - a 48-run success at Liphook & Ripsley - which co-incided with Havant, the joint overnight leaders, losing to Bashley (Rydal).
Burridge, who beat Portsmouth in their only previous outing, went down by eight wickets to BAT Sports, with Bournemouth's scheduled home game with Raj Maru's side being called off.
Mark Miller was the star of Andover's win at Liphook, hitting 83 and taking 3-33 in a tidy performance.
Miller, an assistant groundsman at the Hampshire Rose Bowl, shared an opening stand of 89 with Jerry Hayward (45) and a century second-wicket partnership with his elder brother Roger (64 not out) as Andover piled up 248-3.
With Mark Miller and Dean Woodhouse (2-35) sharing the first four wickets and Richard Taylor producing an economic ten-over spell, Liphook's reply never really got into gear.
South African youngster Alistair Gray (56) hit a half-century, but when he became Miller's third victim at 169-8, the game was up. Liphook closed at 200-9.
Enigmatic Bashley (Rydal) have upset the applecart by toppling title favourites Havant, who had beaten champions BAT Sports the previous week.
Ironically, Bashley's six-wicket success over the 2000 league winners came just seven days after skipper Neil Taylor had berated the side for a slipshod performance against Liphook & Ripsley.
Bashley would probably have slumped to the bottom of the table had they suffered a third a successive defeat and lost at Havant. But Taylor's side pulled out all the stops to spring a surprise result.
"We bowled a tight line early on, restricting them to 39-1 off the initial 18 overs," Taylor revealed.
Kevin Nash (1-27) struck a major blow by removing Andy Perry before Hindley (71) and Gover (58) established themselves with a 129-run second-wicket stand.
Off-spinner Andy Sexton (3-40) accounted for both batsmen and, by the 32nd over, Havant's innings was interestingly poised at 141-2.
"To be honest, we never allowed them to dominate after that and were quite happy to peg them to 197-5," added Taylor, who had a special word of praise for Chris Sketchley (1-33).
Bashley got off to a flier in reply, with Neil Thurgood and Andy Sexton posting 46 runs off the first seven overs after tea.
Blunted by the absence of Mackie Hobson and Bevis Moynhan, Havant's attack lacked potency - and Bashley duly cashed in.
Sexton (36) got the innings off to a flying start, but the match-clinching partnership was produced by Thurgood (66) and Western Australian prodigy Luke Ronchi, who made his first significant contribution of the season.
Ronchi cracked 60 in even time, hitting two huge sixes - one straight hit on to the adjoining railway line and another into the Havant Park tennis courts.
Bashley stuttered when Phil Loat (2-44) removed Ronchi and Richard Knowles at 144, but Sketchley (32 not out) joined Thurgood to take Bashley to the brink of a much needed victory.
BAT Sports bounced back from the Havant defeat to beat Burridge by eight wickets at Botley Road.
Neil Cunningham (50) hit a half-century, but Burridge (169) were seldom able to dictate against a tidy four-pronged BAT attack, for whom Damian Shirazi took 3-21, and Dan Goldstraw, Richard Dibden and Terry Rawlins two wickets each.
Shirazi (32) and Richard Kenway (29) got BAT off to a positive start but left it to Dave Banks (56 not out) and Australian Michael Watson (29 not out) to seal Burridge's fate.
Frustrated Bournemouth were hit by the weather for a second time in three weeks - the scheduled home match with weakened Portsmouth being called off.
"Chapel Gate was really saturated by the heavy Friday night rain and the game was effectively called off at breakfast time," explained Bournemouth vice-captain Martin Miller.
© SPCL / Daily Echo / Mike Vimpany
| Players/Umpires | Roger Miller, Neil Taylor, Kevin Nash, Andrew Perry, Richard Hindley, Paul Gover, Andrew Sexton, Neil Thurgood, Mackie Hobson, Luke Ronchi, Damian Shirazi, Daniel Goldstraw, Richard Dibden, Richard Kenway, David Banks, Rajesh Maru, Martin Miller. |
| Tournaments | Southern Electric Premier League |
| Season | English Domestic Season |