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11 ... the gap between top two and the relegation mire
Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo) - 15 August 2002
Eleven points. That's what separate BAT Sports from second placed Havant in the chase for the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship and Burridge from the nearest safety rung in the relegation zone.
With three matches remaining, tomorrow is a vital day in not only the championship race, but also the three-club battle for survival at the bottom.
BAT Sports, chasing back-to-back titles, defend their 11-point advantage at Bashley (Rydal), with Havant going in search of victory at South Wilts, a ground on which they have come unstuck in the past.
At the bottom, Burridge must win the relegation dogfight at Liphook & Ripsley to stand any chance of staying in the top flight.
And Calmore Sports, now second from bottom on run rate, can ill afford to lose to Bournemouth at Loperwood Park.
BAT expect to be at full strength at Bashley, where top Premier run-getters Luke Ronchi and Damian Shirazi go head-to-head. Ronchi has 617 runs to his name - 63 more than teenage left-hander Shirazi, who has some catching up to do if he is to finish with the SEPL batting award.
Havant, preoccupied with a fourth attempt at settling their long drawn out ECB Club Championship quarter-final tie with Stanmore this afternoon (FRI), should be at full strength at Lower Bemerton.
At the opposite end of the table, Burridge threw themselves a lifeline by beating Calmore Sports last weekend.
"But we've got to repeat that performance and more at Liphook tomorrow," warns skipper Paul Ancell. "We played extremely well to beat Calmore last week and gave ourselves a fighting chance of staying up.
"But we've simply got to beat Liphook if we are going to claw back that 11-point deficit."
Liphook tossed away a great opportunity of ensuring survival when they lost by 21 runs at Havant last week.
"We bowled and fielded superbly, but they chucked away a great chance of victory through an irresponsible batting performance," lamented skipper Duncan Berry.
But Liphook gleaned enough points from the Havant defeat to nudge ahead of Calmore Sports, albeit by virtue of a superior run rate.
Calmore, 11 points ahead of Burridge, have all-rounder James Hibberd back against Bournemouth, but skipper Tom Pegler could be on Jewson Wessex League soccer duty with AFC Newbury.
Andover, currently top of the 50-over pennant, have a score to settle with Portsmouth at London Road.
"Portsmouth beat us in the first of the all-day `time' games and, to be honest, we've not managed to recapture our early season spark since," confessed skipper Roger Miller.
"We started really well, winning four of our first five 50-over games and now need to finish the season with some good results.
"It would be really nice to have a pennant to stick up on the clubhouse wall and we'll be going for it against Portsmouth," he warned.
Andover name the side which would have faced Bournemouth last week - but for the rain which swamped Chapel Gate.
© SPCL / Daily Echo / Mike Vimpany
| Players/Umpires | Luke Ronchi, Damian Shirazi, James Hibberd, Roger Miller. |
| Tournaments | Southern Electric Premier League |
| Season | English Domestic Season |