SPCL1 Week5 - Havant lose thriller and 100% record

A thrilling penultimate ball win by South Wilts over Havant has left BAT Sports and Bournemouth boasting the only unbeaten ECB Southern Electric Premier League records.

South Wilts edged out the defending champions by two wickets at Bemerton - a result which enabled BAT Sports, easy eight-wicket winners over the Hampshire Academy, and Bournemouth to take the initiative after five rounds of matches.

Portsmouth, strongly fancied at the start, tumbled to a four-wicket defeat at Andover, while Calmore Sports lost their last five wickets for seven runs in a costly late collapse against Liphook & Ripsley.

The South Wilts-Havant affair was a thriller from start to finish, with Combined Services medium-pace bowler Alex Senneck ripping into the champions' top order to have the visitors reeling at 32-4.

His new ball spell of 4-10 in eight overs accounted for Dom Carson (20), and Andy Perry, Luke Sears and Steve Snell, all without scoring.

Richard Hindley steadied the slide, but at 94-6 Havant were still in deep trouble. Chris Wright and Paul Gover supported Hindley, who was eventually eighth out at 134 for a valiant 68.

But it was unbeaten ninth-wicket pair Phil Loat (23) and Greg Benton (25), who hit Havant towards a defendable 184-8.

"That total gave us a chance and if we had taken another wicket when we had South Wilts 52-3 (Paul Draper 38) I'd have backed us to go on and win," Gover reflected.

South Wilts captain Rob Wade (38) and Tom Caines (29) doubled the Bemerton total, but as the run deficit narrowed wickets fell and the outcome was in the balance with 40 still needed off the last five overs.

"The two Army boys Stu Houghton (22) and Senneck added vital runs, but in the end it was Adie Holewell who won it for us," Wade said.

South Wilts, having required 24 runs off three overs, were left needing 12 for victory off Bev Moynhan's final over - and five runs from the final three balls.

Holewell slashed a four through the vacant slip area before South Wilts reached 185-8 off the penultimate ball of a thriller.

A delighted Wade, whose South Wilts side lost a 507-run thriller by a solitary run last season, was full of praise ... for Havant !

"They showed just why they are champions and such a good side, but nearly winning a game they never ought to have been in after the start they made with the bat.

"But the win was just what we needed. It's opened the league up already, which is just what we want," he said.

Portsmouth's prospects of making an early impression are fading after a second consecutive defeat inflicted by Andover, who had lost their previous two matches.

Portsmouth's modest 163-8 was overhauled with an over to spare by Andover, who won by four wickets at London Road.

Richard Taylor (3-23) struck the decisive early blows for Andover, removing Neil Randall, Michael Barnes and Matt Keech, the latter bowled first ball, to leave Portsmouth reeling at 30-4.

"Rich bowled superbly," enthused Andover skipper Roger Miller. "The ball that got Keechy was a jaffer."

South African Andrew Locke (30) rallied, but it was really left to Naqeeb Ali Mohamed (33 not out), Ben Thane (24) and the lower order to lift Portsmouth out of the mire.

Teenager James Manning, playing against his old Andover team-mates, struggled for a long time for his 16.

"He could barely hit the ball off the square - and that was just what we wanted at that stage," Miller added.

Aurijit Basu, who delayed his intended return to India to play against Portsmouth, got himself involved in a run out mix-up with Mark Miller.

But piloted Andover to 67-2 before giving way to Toby Radford, who marked his return from a broken finger injury to produce the match-winning knock.

His half-century fourth-wicket partnership with Ian Langdown (29) pushed Andover to 125.

Paul Ancell (3-21) created a middle-order wobble, but Radford's 44 not out guided Andover through to an important first win.

"Toby's a very experienced player and really applied himself in what was a pressure situation," Miller added.