Celebrations ran long into the night after BAT Sports clinched the Southern Electric ECB Premier League championship with a 15-run victory over near neighbours Calmore Sports at Loperwood Park

Mike Vimpany03-Sep-2001Celebrations ran long into the night after BAT Sports clinched the Southern Electric ECB Premier League championship with a 15-run victory over near neighbours Calmore Sports at Loperwood Park.It was BAT’s 11th successive win – their victorious sequence began in early June – and one that ensured they finished 16 points ahead of Havant, last year’s winners, who were runners-up.”It’s a marvellous feeling to win the league,” enthused BAT skipper Dave Banks, desperately dodging a champagne soaking on the clubhouse patio.”What is so impressive about our success is that we lost two of the opening five games – and then put together 11 wins in a row, seven of them in the all-day cricket, where it can be much harder to win.”We’ve played some pretty good cricket throughout the side for the past three months and, quite honestly, we’ve so well we’ve not really been pushed that hard.”BAT, needing four points at the start of play to be certain of edging Havant out of the contest, had the title neatly buttoned up by the tea break.Conscious that Havant had rattled up a mammoth 288-3 – they eventually beat Burridge by 138 runs – BAT got the batting bonus points they needed by scoring 222-5 in the afternoon session.They subsequently pegged a gallant Calmore response to 207-8 to complete their 15-run win.BAT’s victory owed much to Richard Kenway (99) and Banks (78) himself – the pair sharing a second-wicket stand of 134 – and some quite unbelievable Calmore fielding howlers.The game might have taken a different course had Australian Glen Motchall not dropped a ‘dolly’ return catch off Damian Shirazi.And Banks not survived two almost equally astonishing dropped catches by Clive Surry and the South Wilts bound Paul Draper.Motchall’s gaff – he allowed a simple fifth-over playground catch to slip through his fingers – was relatively inexpensive, with Shirazi (21) bowled at 60-1.But, by then, BAT had got a start and though Dave Carson (3) was neatly stumped by Stu Bailey trying to charge John Shepherd’s left-arm spin, Calmore looked set for a long afternoon in the sun.Watched by an admiring younger brother Derek, the Hampshire opening batsman, Kenway batted beautifully, punishing anything loose but being equally respectful to the good delivery.He got to 50 as BAT reached 100-2, but then allowed Banks to take centre stage.The BAT skipper rode his luck but struck some glorious shots, burying Shepherd into the foliage overhanging Cooks Lane and thumping Motchall for a crisp straight six.Banks eventually departed at 203-3, leaving Kenway the task of scoring 11 runs off James Hibberd’s final over to bring up a richly deserved century.An exhausted Kenway got to 99, but drove Hibberd’s penultimate ball to extra-cover and was run out at 222-5 by Tom Pegler.”My century was immaterial. I was looking to get 225 on the board and get us another batting point,” confessed the unselfish Kenway.It took Calmore a while before they got any realistic challenge underway – Mark Page (2-43) removing the openersLeft-hander Jez Goode (54) piloted the reply to 104-2, but when Pegler (31) departed at 135-5, it appeared as though the Calmore challnge might peter out.Not so – Motchall, eager to redeem himself, applied the long handle, striking four sixes in a free-scoring 38 which, with the support of Hibberd (32 not out) lifted Calmore’s spirits.But the ultimate challenge of scoring 40 runs off the last four overs and 27 from the final two disappeared when Motchall holed out in the deep.Calmore closed 15 runs adrift at a commendable 207-8 … leaving themselves to rue those dropped catches earlier in the day.Those slips possibly cost Calmore third place in the final table – a position taken by Bashley (Rydal), who won by six wickets at Liphook & Ripsley.Former Ventnor off-spinner Chris Sketchley (4-24) bowled well and Andy Neal (2-30) produced tidy figures as Liphook reached 192-9 – youngster Michael Smyth (51) scoring a well-constructed half-century.But with only one wicket, Matt King missed out on beating BAT’s 38-victim Dan Goldstraw to the Premier League bowling award.Bashley lost four wickets in securing third spot – Neil Thurgood (57) and Richard Knowles (46 not out) producing the key partnership before Neal completed a six-wicket win with an unbeaten 28.Western Australian import Shawn Gillies hit a maiden century for Havant, who ran up a massive 281-3 before dismissing dogged Burridge for 143.Gillies, who hopes to return to Havant next summer, hit an unbeaten 102 after Andy Perry (52) and Richard Hindley had put on 83 for the second wicket.Hindley went on to make 96 – he was caught trying to bring up his century with a straight boundary – and share a third-wicket stand of 138 with Gillies, the Melville man reaching his hundred after a frantic run burst leading up to tea.Havant experienced some difficulty in digging Burridge out – skipper Paul Ancell (38), in particular – but eventually did so for 143 (Phil Loat 3-20) after the ex-champions had used eight bowlers.Bournemouth recovered from an uncertain 31-3 to reach a winning 276-8 against relegated Hungerford at Chapel Gate.When Michael Spence (3-52) hurried Tom Webley, Matt Swarbrick and Martin Miller back to the pavilion in quick succession, Bournemouth were in some disarray.But Northants hopeful Chris Park (46) added a crucial 89 with Julian Cassell (77) before Geoff Warrington (54) and Peter Waite (25) hit out to send the Bournemouth total rocketing to 276-8.Hungerford, who expect some ex-players to return for next year’s 50-over tussles in Premier Division 2, lurched to 8-2 and later 60-5 against Joe Wilson (3-22) and David Kidner (2-24).Spence (37) gave their reply some substance before the left-arm spin of Webley (3-43) closed the Hungerford innings at 128.South Wilts beat Andover by five wickets after pegging the North Hampshire side to 175-9.