SPARSHOLT YOUNGSTERS SET UP BIG WIN
Posted by Tony Edwards on 15 July 2015
SOUTHERN ELECTRIC LEAGUE DIVISION 2
Sparsholt 253 all out defeated Langley Manor 169 all out by 84 runs
Sparsholt CC, sponsored by Cala Homes, produced a powerful batting display on Saturday, to take maximum points at Langley Manor.
Put in to bat by the hosts, Stu Tognarelli got the visitors off to a flyer, crunching two fours and a six from the opening over.
That set the tone for the rest of his innings, as he was dismissed by Kevin Cresswell in just the 21st over for a run-a-ball 87.
Teenagers Tom Foster (53) and Nick Doubell (38) combined well, working the gaps to compile a mature 80 run stand through the middle overs.
A late flurry of wickets halted the innings as Jack Budd claimed 4-24 to restrict Sparsholt to 253 after 46 overs.
Things got worse for the hosts after Alex Dilley (1-37) produced an unplayable delivery to remove Craig Renders' off stump.
An impressive counter-attacking knock from Steve Harris gave the hosts some hope as he crashed 13 boundaries in his innings of 71.
However, he wasn't able to find any support as Kyle Ruffell claimed 5-51, Mike Doubell 2-51 and Jon Sankey 1-26 to dismiss Langley Manor for 169.
Meanwhile, Sparsholt 2nd XI had a difficult day in the field against IBM Hursley at Locks Lane.
The visiting Hursley side amassed a mammoth 335 from their 45 overs, thanks to contributions throughout the order, particularly Clive Reubenstein (58), Mike Pollard (70) and Dan Rides (62).
After losing both openers early, Sparsholt was able to consolidate through Lucian Cooks (71) and Rasheed Khan (45*) to post an encouraging 213, 120 runs short of victory.
It was a similar story for the Sparsholt 3rds, away to Holybourne 2nds, as they could only manage 118 batting first.
Richard Macer rolled back the years with an aggressive knock early on, before regular wickets halted the innings.
Martin Patterson, Nick Dorward and James Moore chipped in with a few vital runs at the end to carry Sparsholt to 118.
Unfortunately, this would prove far too short as Holybourne's openers eased their side to victory.
Sunday saw Sparsholt to travel to Andover for the first T20 plate round, with the Division 1 side cruising to a 5 wicket win.
Tom Foster (15) and Nick Doubell (18) continued their impressive weekends, however the visitors could only manage 80 all out.
The youngsters then claimed two wickets apiece before the Andover completed a comprehensive win.
The first XI travel to league leaders Portsmouth on Saturday in search of back-to-back league wins.