Match report: Langley Manor CC (199-7) seal three-wicket win against Liphook & Ripsley CC (198-8) to maintain perfect start to the Southern Premier Cricket League (SPCL) Division Two season

Langley Manor kept their perfect start to the season, defeating Liphook & Ripsley by three wickets thanks to a stubborn stand from their tail-enders away from home on Saturday.

After Langley Manor skipper Conor Browne won the toss and chose to field first, the decision looked wise with Liphook & Ripsley floundering at 36-3.

However, Ryan Covey had other ideas, firing 51 runs off 71 balls to lift the score to 95-4 by the time Ben Morgan took the catch after a slick delivery from Toby Green (3-31), who finished with three wickets.

Kyle Nelson-Esch added another 41 runs before Simon Peters took his wicket. Earlier in the innings, Peters (3-39) had delivered the balls that saw openers Rob Nicklin (4) and Ash-Lee Harvey (10) caught.

A headstrong showing from the Liphook & Ripsley tail saw Sean Burton (32 not out) and Steve Barrett (10 not out) eek out every available run before reaching the 50-over mark on 198-8.

In reply, Langley Manor openers Tom Spencer (44) and Browne (11) made a steady start before Liphook’s George Neave had the latter caught before catching Steve Harris (0) LBW with the very next ball to leave them at 28-2.

Jack Campbell (0) was Neave’s next victim eight runs later, leaving a shell-shocked Langley Manor staring down the barrel of a heavy defeat at 36-3.

However, the remaining opener, Spencer and his new partner, Nick Doubell (44) – who hit seven fours and a six – had other ideas. Together, the duo added 104 crucial runs for the fourth wicket to drag their side back into contention at 110-4.

A couple of low scores left the hopes slim again, though. With three wickets remaining, the New Forest side were 63 runs shy of the target. Fortunately for Langley Manor, Toby Green and Peters held their nerve, working together to get their side across the line with undefeated showings of 19 and 24 runs, respectively.

Langley Manor plays at their Knellers Lane home on Saturday at 12:30pm when they host New Forest rivals Calmore Sports.