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SPCL 3 - Gosport keep winning but not likely to be enough
Mike Vimpany (as published in Daily Echo) - 1 September 2002
Gosport Borough have won all five games they've played since late June, but it's not been quite enough to propel them into the Southern Electric Premier League, Division 3 promotion frame.
Purbrook and St Cross Symondians went into today's final round of matches as firm favourites to claim the top two places.
Andy Mengham's side needed ten points from Ventnor's visit to The Heath to go up as champions, while five bonus points from Havant II would have been enough to secure the probable runners-up spot for St Cross, who just missed out last term.
But, after a modest four wins out of eight return from the opening two months of the season, Gosport will probably be well pleased with a probable third spot.
Queenslander Nathan Collins, who becomes a naturalised Englishman for the purposes of SPL regulations next season, has once again led the way for the Borough.
He's bagged 38 wickets so far and, unless Alton's Julian Ballinger picks up eight or more victims at Redlynch & Hale today, is virtually assured the Premier 3 bowling award for the second consecutive season.
But Gosport have also done pretty well with the bat - Mike Rees, Stuart Magee and Pete Robson all homing in on a 400-run aggregate before today's finale with Flamingo.
Gosport's fifth successive win came after a run chase at Ridge Meadow, where they cruised past Hambledon's 248 (Leigh Burns 65) for the loss of five wickets - Collins showing his batting prowess with a neat 74.
Hambledon's season has been in complete contrast to that of Gosport, who inflicted their fifth successive defeat - a sequence of results which is set to leave them in third from bottom position.
Winning or losing five games on the trot seems to be a regular occurrence in Premier 3 these days.
Take Alton, for example.
Top of the pile with seven wins out of eight at the start of July, their fortunes dipped dramatically with five straight defeats - a run they finally arrested with last weekend's 62-run win over Portsmouth II.
Alton must have thought promotion was theirs for the taking when they bowled over Purbrook and St Cross Symondians in late June.
But, just like last season, it all went horribly wrong for Julian Ballinger's side.
They completely lost their way - being skittled for a meagre 50 by Gosport two weeks ago - and went to Redlynch today still searching to finish in a top six slot.
Alton's long overdue eighth win came at the expense of Portsmouth II - Michael Heffernan hitting a maiden century he must have feared was always to elude him.
Four times previously the eldest of Paddy's two cricketing sons had perished in the nervous 90's, but as Alton ran up 245 against Portsmouth, so Michael notched his maiden 100.
And what an appropriate time to do it - with all four members of the Heffernan clan in the Alton side !
Rumour has it that Paddy's wallet took a pounding last Saturday night ..... But Heffernan's celebrations will pale into insignificance alongside those at Purbrook Heath tonight, should Andy Mengham's side lift the championship.
Purbrook took a massive step nearer the title with a thrilling one-run win at Hursley Park - an absorbing match in which South African Willem Prozensky underlined what a talent he has.
While partners came and went with regularity, Prozesky struck a quite superb 125 to take his season's run aggregate to 924, over two-thirds of which (652) have come in boundaries.
Purbrook's 268-8 was trimmed, leaving Hursley Park a target score of 215 - which they almost got on the back of the day's second splendid century by Paul Edwards, who was run out as the Park finished on 214-9.
It was a terrific game that neither side deserved to lose.
The win all but wrapped things up for Purbrook, who expect to be accompanied by St Cross into Premier 2 next season.
Symondians almost tied things up themselves with an eight-wicket win over Hook & Newnham Basics (171) - Kiwi Mark Parker hitting an unbeaten 75 to ease the visitors home.
Havant II pair Simon Greenfield, with an unbeaten 110, and Jon Owen (88) led a 275-2 run spree against severely weakened Flamingo, while a five-wicket spell by Fred Smith (5-21) and punchy 75 from Neil Westhorpe carried Ventnor to an 83-run win over Leckford.
New Milton christened their new Fernhill HQ with a low-scoring three-wicket win over Waterlooville, but Redlynch & Hale sank to a hefty 176-run defeat at Hartley Wintney, where the village bowlers took a 280-run pounding.
Paultons scored a timely late win, John Robinson hitting 66 in a 226-run total against Bashley-Rydal II, who faded after Steve Latimore's bright beginnings and dipped to 200-9 at stumps.
© SPCL / Daily Echo / Mike Vimpany
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