Havant make winning start in bid for Southern Premier League T20 Cup hat-trick – first round round-up

A much-changed XI completed a 10-run victory over one division lower Basingstoke & North Hants at Havant Park yesterday.

Harry Gadd and Chris Stone opened the Havant innings after both had scored a maiden SPL top flight century at Bournemouth the previous day.

Gadd (21), Stone (19) and skipper Peter Hopson (26) took Havant to 96-4. After that, it was left to top scorer Sonny Reynolds (33 off 29 balls) to guide the hosts to 137-7 (Ashley Neal 3-31) after they had been inserted.

Basingstoke’s reply began badly when opener Richard Vinn was run out by Nick Ward for a duck.

Stone (2-22 off four overs) and Richard Hindley (1-14 off four) helped tie the visitors down, while teenager Matt Hayward bagged 2-22 off three overs.

Freddie Gadd, who had only conceded 11 runs off his first three overs, ran into bowl the last over of the innings with Basingstoke requiring an improbable 29.

After taking two off the first ball, Tyler Bradley was run out off the second - leaving Bradley Neal to score 27 off four balls. He smashed the first three for 16 - two sixes and a four - but failed to score off the last as his side closed on 129-9.

Havant’s last SPL T20 loss was a six-wicket quarter-final defeat at Burridge in August 2019. Since then, they have thrashed the Hampshire Academy by eight wickets to lift the silverware in 2020 and caned Hook by nine wickets to retain the trophy last September.

Gosport Borough fell just short of beating two divisions higher Alton in another T20 first round tie at Privett Park.

Chasing 172 for victory, Muhammad Ali clubbed two sixes and a four off the 18th over to leave Gosport needing just 16 off the final 12 balls.

But Nathan Gilbert conceded just five runs off his last over and Scott Myers, who bowled the 20th, conceded only four as well as taking the wicket of Craig Stares (0).

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That left Gosport stranded seven runs short of victory on 165-8.

Skipper Lee Harrop (34) and Jubin Karappai (29) had taken Gosport to 82-1 before the latter was dismissed with the final ball of the 10th over.

Alton, put into bat, had been given a good start by a 73-run first wicket stand in 7.3 overs between Tom South (43) and Dan Harris (31).

Pace bowler Bash Walters lived up to his forename by clubbing two sixes in making an unbeaten 21 off 10 balls as Alton crashed 32 off the last three overs to finish on 171-5.

Burridge are through to the second round after a comfortable eight-wicket home win over OTs & Romsey.

Pace bowler Dan Stancliffe (3-16 off three overs) reduced OTs to 12-2 after they had chosen to bat first. Francis Moore (2-22) and Charlie Creal (2-19) also returned tight four-over spells as the lower tier visitors were restricted to 102-9.

Azimunoor Chowdhury (6) fell early when Burridge replied, but opening partner Joe Collings-Wells (51 not out), skipper Hilio De Abreu (23) and Nathan Schultz (18 not out) eased them to victory in the 17th over.

Will Tripcony and Sam Stroud shared an unbroken century stand as Bashley Rydal amassed 235-3 against lower tier Hartley Wintney.

Opener Tripcony smashed a career best unbeaten 91 while Stroud smacked five sixes and three fours in racing to an undefeated 64 off 34 balls. Together, they added 127 for the fourth wicket.

With James Trodd having struck 45 off 19 deliveries, Bashley powered to a total that was always going to be far too large for Wintney to chase.

Finn Gordon took 4-14 as Wintney were restricted to 156-9 - and that was helped by an unbroken last wicket stand of 43 between No 9 Shafeh Asmat (33 not out off 20 balls) and last man James Darnell (8 not out).