This cricket report in from Graeme Burnett, in his own words – Ed
The nucleus of Ventnor’s regular third eleven, supplemented by the inclusion of first teamers Neil Westhorpe and David Beven, defeated Godshill by 105 runs to clinch the Harwood’s Division 2 title at Steephill on Saturday.
Ventnor’s youthful team went into the match on the back of three successive wins in contrast to league leaders Godshill, who had lost three of their previous four games. The home side still trailed Phil Mew’s side by 15 points, however, and knew only a comprehensive win would deny the village team the title.
Ventnor in to bat first
Asked to bat first, Ventnor made steady progress and with Westhorpe striking a fine 93 and Alistair Cotton supporting with 43 not out, the hosts totalled 193-3 from 40 overs, restricting Godshill to just one bowling point.
In reply, the visitors never recovered from a poor start as Jack Lyons and Scot Wheeler dismissed Jon Turner and Phil Mew with just four runs on the board. Arthur Halsey’s excellent spell of 4-14 helped reduce Godshill to 60-9 before Beven broke a tenth wicket partnership of 28 between Norton Mew (16 not out) and Dave Winter (11) to clinch the match and league title for Ventnor by just a three point margin.
Image: goldberg under CC BY-SA 2.0
