Lymington CC secure first league victory of the season over Andover

Southern Premier/Division One West: Lymington CC 217-6 v Andover CC 165

AN excellent all-round performance saw Lymington CC dominate against Andover for their first win of the season. It was a mixture of youth and experience that saw Lymington comfortably home by 52 runs.

Winning the toss, Lymington elected to bat at the opposition’s ground on a lovely afternoon, but the Forest side got off to a shaky start as opening batsman and stand-in wicketkeeper Hugo Smith was back in the pavilion during the second over.

However, the experience of Terry Crabb (72) and Ryan Scott (49), the son of former Hampshire player Richard Scott, set the platform for a solid total as they put on 134 runs for the second wicket. Crabb was particularly aggressive with eight fours and one six while Scott was more patient in a knock that included 21 singles.

Dan Bailey (40 not out) then played a cameo role and Tom Sykes scored 20 as Lymington finished on 217-6 in their 40 overs. Spinner Matt Hooper was the pick of the Andover bowlers taking 3-31.

When batting, Andover lost wickets steadily with no batsmen getting on top of the Lymington bowlers. The dangerous Max Soutar was first out with 11 bowled by Charlie Inglis, who finished on 2-27. Ed Freeman, who claimed 2-26, also dismissed two of the top order batsmen while Josh Bailey ran out Alex Ayers, who scored with 22 in a patient knock.

Tom Skype with his pace, and in spite of 10 wides, prised out two batsmen. This included last out Matt Hooper, who top-scored with 26 before holing out to Jude Tollerfield.

The two young spinners Josh Bailey (2-28) and Tollerfield (1-25) accounted for late-order batsmen both bowling economically. The conceding of extras (48 including 28 wides) was the one disappointment, but Lymington were still home with 4.5 overs to spare and picked up maximum points.

For the Lymington scorer Lionel Colby and Ed Freeman, it represented the side’s first win in a league game for over a year, which gave means for celebration.

Lymington have no league game tomorrow, but they feature in a SPCL T20 home game on the Sunday with a 2:30pm start against Bashley.