BAT Sports are off to a winning start in their defence of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship

Mike Vimpany05-May-2002BAT Sports are off to a winning start in their defence of the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship. But they had to overcome early problems before completing a comfortable 101-run win over Liphook & Ripsley at Ripsley Park.Last year’s runners-up Havant, who visit BAT on Saturday, shaded newly promoted Portsmouth by 12 runs, while Andover raised a few eyebrows by defeating South Wilts by 34 runs at Lower Bemerton.BAT found themselves in strife at 34-3 after being put into bat on a damp Ripsley Park top. Hampshire YCs prospect Chris Wright (4-21) nipped out openers Damian Shirazi and Richard Kenway, before Australian newcomer Michael Watson fell to Matt Eaton.But Dave Banks, with a binding 57, and fit-again Chris Thomason (28) repaired the damage and set up Adam Hayes (49) to push BAT into a commanding position.”Adam’s innings was electric. I’ve never seen him bat as well as that,” glowed skipper Banks, his sixth-wicket partner. BAT’s eventual 201-7 proved far too many for Liphook, who slithered from a promising 43-0 to 100 all out.Watson (2-19) removed Wright and ex-Cove left-hander Neil Randall before the evergreen Terry Rawlins got to work with his telling left-arm spin. Rawlins, a youthful 46-year old, ripped out Liphook’s entire middle-order, finishing with figures of 5-29 in 6.5 overs. Richard Dibden took 2-6.Mackie Hobson, the former South African provincial cricketer, prescribed the tonic for Havant’s topsy-turvy 12-run win over Portsmouth, last season’s Division 2 winners, at Havant Park.The South African, who played for relegated Hambledon at the end of last season, made 44 First Class appearances for Natal and Border before flying to the UK to become a veterinary surgeon six years ago.He hit a decisive 46 and later, bowling low trajectory seam, took 5-33 to send Raj Maru’s side to defeat.Ali Naqeeb Mohamed (2-37) had Havant in early difficulty at 54-3 (Andrew Perry 35), but it was Hobson’s seventh-wicket partnership with Phil Loat that turned the tide.Coming together at 130-6, Hobson (46) and Loat (20 not out) added a crucial 43 runs to ease the 2000 league champions to 182-7.Portsmouth stuttered at 12-2, but moved into the box seat at 103-2, with South African youngster Warren Swan (52) and Matthew Keech (44) in control. But the introduction of Hobson’s seamers changed the course of the game.In his first spell he removed both partnership breakers – to leave Portsmouth 145-4 – and in his second, bowling in tandem with left-arm spinner Loat (3-13), he destroyed the City lower-order.Only teenager Michael Barnes (28) resisted as Portsmouth dipped to 170 all out, the last six wickets tumbling for 25 runs.Former Calmore Sports all-rounder Paul Draper took 5-33 on his South Wilts debut – but that’s all he had to celebrate as his new Salisbury club tumbled to a 34-run defeat to Andover.But Andover’s openers Jerry Hayward (65) and Mark Miller (31) had already taken the initiative by the time Draper appeared. With Roger Miller (35) and Ian Langdown (33) improving on that start, Andover reached 207 – and then bowled South Wilts out for 173 (Richard Taylor 3-28).Last season’s leading SEPL run scorer Russell Rowe (77) fought a lone battle as South Wilts lost their way … and the game.James Hibberd produced a stunning performance with both the bat and ball as Calmore Sports snatched a dramatic one-run victory off the last ball of their ECB Southern Electric Premier League match against fancied Bashley (Rydal) at Loperwood Park.Hibberd hit an undefeated 70 to hold the Calmore innings together and then removed three of Bashley’s top four batsmen in two key spells during the evening session.The New Forest club, chasing Calmore’s 166-8, clawed their way back and, with their last pair at the crease, needed two runs for victory off spinner Mark Boston’s final ball.But John Whiting, eager to be a last ball hero, was stumped by Tom Pegler and Bashley were all out for 165.”We always knew a total around 170 would be competitive as the dampish track wasn’t easy to force the pace on,” said Calmore skipper Pegler. “But Hibby did brilliantly. He batted very sensibly and then produced a couple of stunning spells with the ball.”Hibberd, maturing into a decent club cricketer, was certainly Calmore’s hero with the bat, averting a total collapse with 70 not out – an individual contribution that, James Rose (20) apart, got precious little support.Emergency opener Mark Boston (33) shared a 68-run third-wicket partnership with Hibberd, but Calmore’s promising 107-2 subsequently became a worrying 112-5 and later a distinctly concerning 149-8.Three-wicket Whiting (3-26) and Kevin Nash (2-42), both struggling with stiff hamstrings, created concern in the Calmore ranks.But significantly neither managed to remove Hibberd, who knuckled down to the task at hand and steered Calmore to an eventually defend able 166-8.Bashley, who quietly fancy their chances of challenging the BAT-Havant dynasty this summer, hadn’t seen the last of Hibberd … by a long way ! He promptly removed Neil Thurgood and, after Andy Sexton (40) and Luke Ronchi (47) had lifted Bashley’s reply to a threatening 80-1, returned to nip out the dangerous Western Australian and Richard Knowles in the same over.”I just brought Hibby back for one over and he got two wickets which proved decisive in the end.”He nipped the ball away from the bat and, as his return of 3-8 in ten overs shows, bowled really well,” Pegler said.Bashley never got back into cruise mode again after Hibberd’s double strike and, though they inched closer to the target, continued to lose wickets at vital times.Hampshire Under-16 prospect Matt Metcalfe (2-29) did his bit late on, removing Neil Taylor (17) and Neil Sexton as Bashley lurched to 148-8. Bashley, who needed nine runs from Boston’s last over, lost Chris Sketchley (12) and, two balls later, Whiting – ironically, both stumped by Pegler.Bournemouth’s scheduled Premier Division 1 opener at Burridge was called off because of a saturated outfield.