Sarisbury’s hopes of promotion from Southern Electric Premier Cricket League Three took a hefty dent when they were beaten at Sparsholt.
Another insertion by the opposition saw Banks (15) and Norris (55) open up in the face of some probing left arm seam and so not so probing right arm military medium.
The latter was dispatched regularly to the short boundaries, though the former (Wright, 6-2-16-1) snared Banks dead in front as he looked to send the ball far into the treeline with his trademark sweep shot.
Despite this setback things were looking good as Norris and Hammond (43) pushed on, scoring at around four an over on a slow pudding-like pitch.
At 119-2 off 30 overs a score of 250-plus was more than possible.
However, the wheels came off again and wickets began to fall regularly. The slow bowlers began to paralyse the innings and despite the efforts of Journeaux (29) and Miller (22), Sarisbury never really got on top of the opposition. Orr (6), Bond (11) and Floyd (11) all fell cheaply as they tried to accelerate the scoring rate.
Sharp (18) launched some late boundaries, while Ingram (8*) ran intelligently.
Sarisbury posted 224-9 – one short of a batting point, and plenty short of what they were capable of.
Defending a low total meant it was imperative to protect the runs on the board. A dropped catch in the second over didn’t help, though Banks snared the same player with a great diving catch soon after.
Ingram (10-2-35-1) and Sharp (8-2-36-1) didn’t get too much out of the pitch with the new ball, and Sparsholt looked steady in the form of opener and overseas player Payne (114*).
Four batsmen were removed from the other end by the 30 over mark and it was looking promising for Sarisbury.
Unfortunately the fielding was utterly awful giving the opposition about 20-25 runs through mistakes and poor communication.
