By Isle of Wight Observer
Tons by Ventnor’s Henry Edwards, Mark Price, and Martin Blackman, Shanklin’s Steve Egerton-Read, 6-wicket hauls for Northwood’s Simon Goldsmith and Shanklin’s Max Bushby-Harris, along with 5 wickets for Ventnor’s Charlie Calloway, were the highlights of a sun-filled bank holiday weekend.
Southern Premier & Hampshire
Ventnor won by 3 wickets at home to Hook & Newnham Basics, in a closely contested match. The visitors elected to bat, tight bowling from Tom Southcott (3-45), Chris Russell (2-49), Mark Holmes (2-57), and Dineth Thimodya (2-37), bowling Hook out for 259 in the 49th over.
In reply, Ventnor’s number 3, Dan Cox, hit a masterful 89, including a six and 7 fours, before a majestic Henry Edwards facing 71 balls to strike 108 to enable Ventnor to reach 260-7 in the 49th over. Victory lifted Ventnor to second place in Southern Premier One.
Ventnor II XI won by 196 runs away at Hythe & Dibden, in Hants Division Two B, with Martin Blackman’s 125, supported by Toby Noyes, helping the Islanders reach 295-8 off 45 overs. Charlie Calloway was the pick of the Ventnor bowling, returning 5-25 to skittle Hythe out for 99 in the 23rd over, and move to second place in the division, just above Ryde in third.
Ryde lost by 7 wickets at home to Havant. Islanders were put into bat and struggled to gain momentum, with scores from Ash Goldsmith (31) and Ben Shannon (23) not converting into a big score. Disappointment came when wickie, Tom Roscoe, was out early in his innings for 1, but helped Ryde reach 174 all out in the 41st over. In reply, Havant scored 175-3 in the 28th over to claim victory.
Division Three B leaders, Purbrook, narrowly won by 2 wickets at home to Shanklin & Godshill. The Islanders batted first, and opener, Olly Niemiec, scored 69, with Seb Read unbeaten on 45 at the close, with Shanklin setting 212-5 off 45 overs. The 2 wickets each for Ben White, Callum Wright and Niemiec were not enough to stop Purbrook hitting the winning runs in the 44th over despite losing 8 wickets.
Island Cups
In the Senior Cup Group A, an under-strength Freshwater side lost by 9 wickets at home to Ryde II XI, with wickie and opener, Graham Gosden, scoring 40 not out from a total of 63 all out. Ryde openers, Harry Everard (32) and Shybin Joseph (25), secured victory in the 8th over.
Northwood won by 55 runs at home to Wight Whizzers, with opener, Gary Cooper, scoring 53 from a total of 211-7 from 40 overs, and an unbeaten 25 from Max Rivlin. Wight Whizzers were not able to come to terms with the bowling of Simon Goldsmith, who returned figures of 6-27, as the Whizzers struggled to reach 156 all out in the 33rd over, including a classy 22 from mid-order, Midhun Devassy.
In Group B, Newport won by 9 wickets at home to St Helens, with opener, Gareth Bricknell, unbeaten on 88 from a total of 160-1 off 40 overs.
In reply, St Helens’ Marc Allen scored 86 not out, but ran out of overs as Sam Richards and Bricknell took 2 wickets apiece to limit St Helens to 156-6 in their allotted overs.
Shanklin & Godshill II XI lost by 8 wickets at home to Ventnor III XI, with opener Steve Egerton-Read unbeaten on 103, as Shanklin posted 215-6. Jackson Parker took 2-44 for the visitors. Experienced opener, Mark Price, hit 108 not out, with Souvak Sanyal unbeaten on 62, as Ventnor reached their target, losing only 2 wickets in the 32nd over.
In the Fred Winter Cup Group A, Ventnor IV XI won by 35 runs at home to Northwood II XI, with Ventnor openers, Jess Glover (38) and Adam Goulding (71), laying the foundations for Ventnor to post 223-3 off their 35 overs, including an unbeaten 53 from Alfie Toulson. Northwood were all out for 188 in the 33rd over, with Nick Stafford top-scoring on 35, and Ventnor bowlers, Jack Charlesworth, Matt Burgess and Toulson, taking 2 wickets each.
Shanklin & Godshill III XI lost to Arreton by 20 runs in Group B, with Peter McClelland hitting 88, and skipper, Josh White, adding 39, for Arreton to return 230 all out, with 6-32 from Shanklin’s strike bowler, Max Bushby-Harris. Despite an unbeaten 97 from Shanklin opener, Bushby-Harris, Shanklin could only score 210-7 off their 35 overs to narrowly lose.