Match report: New Milton CC (243 all out) make a strong start but Calmore Sports CC 244-4 (all out) preserve perfect Southern Premier Cricket League (SPCL) Division Two start

New Milton made a bright start, but hosts and New Forest rivals Calmore Sports were inspired with the bat, winning at Loperwood Park by six wickets on Saturday.

Both sides won their opening league fixture of the season last weekend, but Calmore kept their perfect streak to move up to first place in the table.

Having won the toss, New Milton elected to bat and got off to a flyer, racing to 70 without loss. James Adams and Ollie Shrubsole looked in control early on, capitalising on anything loose and putting the pressure back on the Calmore seamers.

However, once their spinners, Mark Lavelle (0-23) and Ben Perry (2-32), came into the attack, they managed to tighten the screws.

New Milton skipper Ed Bartlett said: “The runs dried up, and we struggled to rotate strike for a period. When they came off, we looked to rebuild the momentum, and a few batters managed to get going again, particularly Ed Denham with a quickfire 37, but we kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

“We eventually posted 243 from our 50 overs, a total we felt was competitive, but probably 20 or 30 short of what we were aiming for given our start.

“It’s also worth noting we were without our overseas player, Thaakier Davids, who unfortunately twisted his ankle at training on Tuesday after scoring a brilliant 198 the previous weekend.”

New Milton made a promising start with the ball by taking two early wickets – Will Brewster (0) and Matt Taylor (5) – to leave them at 0-1 and then 19-2, putting Calmore under some pressure.

But Ben Johns batted superbly for the second week running, notching up back-to-back hundreds and anchoring their chase. He played with great composure and allowed the rest of their batting lineup to play around him while registering a scorching 115 runs.

“Despite our best efforts in the field”, said Bartlett. “They reached the target with six wickets in hand and just under three overs to spare.

“It was a tough loss to take, but there are plenty of positives and a lot we can learn from. The season is still young, and we’ll keep pushing hard in the coming weeks to build some momentum.

“Happy that a lot of our players are scoring runs and the younger, more inexperienced bowlers have some overs under their belts.”

Both sides return to action on Saturday at 12.30pm in 50-over matches. New Milton welcome Andover to the Fernhill Sports Ground, while Calmore Sports take on fellow undefeated New Forest side Langley Manor away from home.