We have a look back over another good weekend for the club – victories for the 1st and 2nd XIs but sadly defeats for the 3s and 4s, both at Southampton Sports Centre.
CALMORE SPORTS v BASINGSTOKE & NORTH HANTS
SPCL Division 1
Calmore Sports won by 4 wickets
Basingstoke & NH 174 (Liam Carty 4/41, Mark Lavelle 2/24, Jimmy Manning 2/23)
Calmore Sports 175/6 (Ben Johns 105*)
A third consecutive league win and a sixth overall keeps the 1st XI firmly in contention for championship honours behind table toppers Rowledge – and it was a very familiar name that led the way for his side – yep, it’s Ben Johns again!
Calmore Sports Club are seriously privileged to have a player like Ben in their side and he, yet again, proved what an incredible cricketer he is. While all around him was tumbling, the left-hander posted his sixth SPCL century, facing 177 balls and hitting nine fours and two sixes in his quite brilliant unbeaten 105 to take his side to a four-wicket win with three balls remaining.
Skipper Mark Lavelle won the toss and chose to put the visitors in, only to see them move comfortably to 70-0. But the introduction of the spinners would change the game in Calmore’s favour, starting with Jimmy Manning removing keeper Vinn for 27, Wood being brilliantly run out by Mitch Parker and then leading wicket-taker Liam Carty turning the screw at the other end. 70-0 soon became 79-5 and 105-7 before some lusty hitting from Donaldson and Thankachan boosted their hopes with a stand of 64 in quite time – Donaldson hitting four sixes in his 44 and Thankachan unbeaten on 34 from 37. It was Carty’s continued brilliance – he now has 20 league wickets this season and 32 in all – that turned the game with 4-41 while Lavelle (2-24) and Manning (2-23) played their part.
Johns stepped out with a fourth different league opener this season – this time Sam Moss – and watched Wood cut through the top order with three wickets and only Lavelle’s 21 reaching double figures. Moss went for 4 and Johnson, Bailey, Manning and Rose all followed in single digits, but it was all on the 24-year-olds shoulder, certainly not for the first time and not for the last time, he stepped up. He equalled Paul Draper’s club SL/SPCL record of 28 fifty plus scores on the way to his sixth century – double the amount of any other Calmore player in the SL/SPCL era.
It went down to the last over and it was Ben Perry who helped Johns to his century and then cracked a four off the economical Bradley Neal’s bowling that closed out the deal but it was the openers day as he ended 105 not out – 346 league runs for the season and not even at the half way point. Michael Wallace’s 660 season-high in 2010 is well in reach.
A major milestone is just two runs away – he will surpass that and way, way beyond before his time is done.
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF RUNS SCORED IN A RESULTED MATCH
70.06% – Tom Pegler v Bournemouth (away) 2000 – 110* out of 157/0
66.67% – Rob Budd v Portsmouth (away) 1995 – 70* out of 105/1
65.04% – Lee Savident v Hambledon (home) 1999 – 80 out of 123/2
63.07% – Darren Vann v St Cross Symondians II (away) 2010 – 111* out of 176/3
60.00% – Ben Johns v Basingstoke & North Hants (home) 2022 – 105* out of 175/6
LOCKS HEATH v CALMORE SPORTS II
Hampshire League Division 3 South
Calmore Sports II won by 25 runs
Calmore Sports II 240/5 (Liam Newton 63*, Dippy Dey 60, Paul Lock 41)
Locks Heath 183 (Eve O’Neill 5/33, Mike West 3/20)
It was August 2020 when a talented young 12-year-old girl made her Calmore Sports debut in a Covid-related friendly against Locks Heath 3rd XI at the Royal Victoria Country Park. We chronicled at the time that she “was very unfortunate not to claim a wicket – a couple of dropped catches and some near misses as she tied the Locks Heath seniors down with six overs for just 24. The Locks Heath side openly admitted they were mightily impressed with her skill and their batsmen knew they were lucky not to become her maiden senior scalp as they won by nine wickets.”
Fast forward to 25 June 2022 and that same young girl, now 14, put the boot into that same clubs’ first XI’s unbeaten league record in this much anticipated contest between the two sides with zero in the losses column at the top of Hampshire League Division 3 South and was pivital in her sides’ vital 25-run success.
Choosing to bat first, Calmore’s batters made steady progress with Michael Cook making 20, Paul Lock 41 and skipper Matt Taylor, a rare failure with 14. But the imputus was left to the returning Liam Newton and powerhouse all-rounder Dipanjan Dey as they masterfully collaborated in a stand of 113 – a remarkable sixth century stand in the second XI this season and the second highest of the campaign. Newton would remain unbeaten on 63 from 81 balls while Dey hit top form again with a 56-ball 60 containing five fours and three sixes.
A total of 240-5 – collecting maximum batting points again – was under serious threat as the Locks Heath batters tucked in and were well ahead of the rate at 20 overs and County 3 South’s leading run scorer Joe Baker, with 530 runs to his name this season, well set on 46. So the skipper threw the ball to the Southern Vipers Academy and Hampshire Under 15s all-rounder and she was instantly rewarded by enticing Stobbs to drive to West which broke the partnership of 71 and then skipper Booth was stumped off West and then Eve dragged Baker down the track for Cook’s second stumping and he was removed for 46.
A short rain shower did reduce the target to 209 from 39 overs but Eve had crashed the door down and sent Brown, Farrington and Sabri all spinning to their demise and 153-4 became 183 all out with Eve claiming the mesmerical figures of 8-0-33-5. Mike West bowled superbly for his 3-20 and there were a couple of scalps for Newton to add to his good day.
But it was Eve’s day and she led the side from the field, ball in hand for her first senior club five-wicket haul and her place in Calmore annuls assured. There is an extremely bright future ahead for his brilliant young player.
YOUNGEST BOWLER TO TAKE FIVE WICKETS FOR CALMORE SPORTS
(where details are known)
13y 336d Calum Bailey – 5/30 for 4th XI v Pylewell Park 2nd XI (away) 2012
14y 45d Eve O’Neill – 5/33 for 2nd XI v Locks Heath (away) 2022
15y 278d Matt Morgan – 5/14 for 3rd XI v Hythe & Dibden 3rd XI (away) 2018
16y 14d Adam Carty – 5/51 for 1st XI v Fareham (away) 1986
CALMORE SPORTS III v PORTSMOUTH III
Hampshire League Division 4 South
Portsmouth III won by 65 runs
Portsmouth III 278/7 (Ryan Carty 2/34, Ollie Osborne 2/54
Calmore Sports III 213 (Ryan Aston 48, Jack Austin 34)
The 3rd XI couldn’t back up their victory last week when they hosted Portsmouth III at the Southampton Sports Centre – being moved to one of the smaller pitches after finding cars parked on their normal ‘Pitch 1’ home – and succumbing to a 65-run defeat on a day of 491 runs and 17 wickets.
Calmore won the toss and chose to bowl but it didn’t go to plan as both openers recorded half centuries and four other batters passed 25 as the run scoring flowed high up over the Sports Centre. There were a couple of wickets for Ollie Osborne and Ryan Carty, the latter finishing with more than respectable figures of 2-34 in his nine overs.
Cal Greasley’s side didn’t die wondering as Jack Austin (34) and Ryan Aston (48) both hit three sixes and Calmore were very much up with the rate but the regular trickle of wickets would be their undoing and the early blitzkrieg was continued by Greasley (26 – two sixes). However, Ahmad’s four wickets was their nemesis and they were bowled out for 213 – 65 runs short of their target but with the best part of 10 overs remaining.
CALMORE SPORTS IV v BRANSGORE II
Hampshire League Division 6 West
Bransgore II won by 52 runs
Bransgore II 167/9 (Ollie Hibberd 3/25, Taimoor Shah 3/25)
Calmore Sports IV 115 (James Hibberd 32, Ollie Hibberd 30)
The youthful 4th XI came off second best in their home game with Bransgore II but certainly performed admirably – especially Ollie Hibberd who became the second player this season in the 4s to score 30 and take three wickets in the match.
Bransgore won the toss and chose to bat first and their good start at 77-0 was halted by Hampshire Under 15 star Ella Cruise Cotter, who cleaned up both openers on her way to figures of 2-32 from seven overs. Exciting Taimoor Shah dominated the middle order with 3-25 while Hibberd jr took care of the lower order with an impressive 3-25 to his name.
Things didn’t start well in the chase but the returning Kevin Love – playing his first game for the club since 2010 – hit a timely 16 and then it was left to the father and son pairing to try and get close. Skipper James Hibberd top scored with 32 but was outlasted by his son Ollie, who reached 30 before he was the last wicket to fall and they were dismissed for 115 in 32 overs.
It is a constant learning curve for the 4th XI and more and more young players are getting their exposure to senior cricket and that only can bode well for the future.
