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* * * * * * MAY 08 * * * * * *
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RAM IT DOWN Well it's been a few weeks now and the pain is starting to go, slowly. Here are the bare facts of the debacle. RAM's score of 481-4 was the highest total Highfield have ever conceded, beating the 314-7 scored by Paultons on 1.6.03. Malcolm Terry was the only player to participate in both games! RAM's total also beat the Hampshire League record held by Mudeford with 431. The match aggregate of 581 was the highest ever for any Highfield game beating the 558 v Hambledon at Hardmoor on 10.6.06. Neil Campone was the only player to play in both of these games. It was the first time all 10 outfielders have had a bowl and the first time 2 tons had been scored against us in the same game. The top scorer, A.Mahmmod with 164, also beat a 21 year old record held by Keith Dampier, who hit us for 156* on 17.5.87. Malcolm and Neil also played in this game, there is a bit of a theme here! I'm pretty sure there are another couple of records in here as well, but we'll save them for later. And don't forget we still have to play RAM again in 5 weeks. NEW AWARDS FOR 2008 Each season we have an award for the best bowling figures and highest scores for each Saturday team and this year we are doing the same for the Evening league. Last years bowling award for the firsts went in the first game of the season, and the batting award for the seconds went deep into August so you never can tell when it's won. The front runners so far are.. Chinchillas Chris Hart 111 Saffi Ahmed 5/30 Buffalos Anandraj Sasidharan 53 Prasana Jothiraman 5/40 Pandas Martin Wild 111 Martyn Isherwood 3/13 TYPICAL DAILY ECHO JUMP ON BANDWAGON Over the years the Daily Echo has built up a reputation for sitting on the fence until they see which way the wind is blowing. Occasionally they speak out, once famously against the Saints management and found themselves banned from the Dell. But this sort of journalism happens all too infrequently. Months ago Shane Warne said he wanted to play cards rather than cricket, not a squeak from the paper. Then he says he desperately wants to go to India to play T20 and will miss the first 6 weeks of the season. This coming from a bloke who never played a single game of T20 for Hampshire, because it was just a bit of fun for the batsman, and all the bowlers get slogged out of the park. For my money he should have been sacked for the poker alone. The Echo just reported the facts when they should have had Rod Bransgrove quizzed about what the hell was going on. Finally to no ones surprise Warne packs it all in and goes off to fill his pockets. Bransgrove then moans that there are a lack of overseas players around at late notice so they go and sign the most injury prone Test cricketer they can find. Putting all this in the shade though is the farce concerning Mascerenhas, after a nice benefit year he is handed the Captaincy then follows Warne out to India. Not a flicker of criticism from the paper despite Hampshire being winless in the Championship and out of the cup in which they reached the final last year. Then suddenly a letter from an old lady appears in the Echo criticising Dimi, the next day there are a few more and suddenly the Echo come down off the fence and run a big article on what's wrong at Hampshire, well done, just a few months late! Maybe we'll even have a story one day on the horrendous traffic problems getting out of the Rosebowl.
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* * * * * * APR 08 * * * * * *
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BAD NEWS FOR POMPEY FANS The Hampshire League have dealt a devastating blow to the myriad of clubs from the Portsmouth area by announcing that all Cricket matches must go ahead on cup final day, May 17 th . This is the second time in 5 years that the League have faced this dilemma following on from the (now incredulous) Saints appearance against Arsenal at Cardiff in 2003. Back then we were one of the teams that applied to play on the Sunday and although we were due to play another team from Southampton (Netley) we were refused permission. As it happened a major storm washed out virtually the whole programme so we were spared putting out a weakened side. Clubs can call off a game but get penalised with the game counting as played and nil points awarded. Any club calling off 3 games in a season is removed from the league. Needless to say any player from Highfield wanting time off to watch the Cup Final would get a good flogging! NOT ENOUGH MEN FOR NOMANSLAND Nomansland have had to withdraw from the Border League because of a lack of players. With a monument situated inside the boundary it is an unforgettable place to play. We last visited there in July 2006 when Oli Knight hit his first ton for the club to help us to a 51 run win in our promotion season to the top flight. Totton & Eling Veterans have taken their place and named themselves the Totton Eels. If we beat Ashurst and The Eels beat Embley Park we will meet them in the second round of the cup. PLAYER LIST EXPANDING Four new players made their debuts in the traditional opening day defeat to IBM. Swaroop Konda, Tim Alcock, Matt Ashe and Prasana Jothiraman take the total to 279 players used since 1983. It took 11 years to reach 100 players, another 9 years for the next 100 and now we're only 21 away from 300 five years later. Last years crop of 36 new players was a record. See the players caps list on the stats for a complete list. APRIL SHOWERS NOT GOOD FOR RECORDS There are some records that for one reason or another have never found their way into the yearbook, and the monthly records are one example of this. With only one game being played it means Neil's record wicket haul of 6 wickets in April 1989 will now stand for 20 years. Wasim Khan managed to equal this last year playing 4 games in April's Heatwave. The batting record is held by Steve Taylor, who hit 161 runs in April 1996. It's nothing to do with April, but after days of complaining, Chris Harts Hat Trick of catches has now been added to the Miscellaneous Records page. Although he was rather inebriated at the time he did have big gloves on! SPORTS QUIZ TOO PREDICTABLE They say only 4 teams are capable of winning the Premiership (3 if you discount Liverpool) and only 2 can win in it Scotland. But the Hampshire League sports quiz is even more predictable than that. For the 10 th year running Aldershot have walked away with the coveted Rosebowl. The league are now planning on a replica of the trophy to recognise their achievements. Now on the face of it this seems fair enough but there is more to this story than meets the eye. Before Aldershot started their little run, it was Highfield, with three wins on the trot with the quartet of Dave Slowgrove, Ian Kenworthy, Dean Weaver and Neil Campone that brang home the bacon. Well, Ok it was Dave that answered the questions but the rest of us kept him company. We were so far ahead in some finals that we could have skipped the last round and still won. Dave had also won the trophy with Antelope and like the good chap he is, did the decent thing and retired to set the questions. Only in the last two years have we even got close to a Final place, and that's mainly thanks to Steve Taylor and Brent Jeffs. Neil and Ian still tag along and even answer a few questions now and then. So I say to Aldershot it's time to pack it in and if there's any extra baubles going, give them to Dave. Final placings. Aldershot 222, Whiteparish 212, Andover 202, Hursley Park 198 Portsmouth & Southsea 189, Sarisbury 186, Old Basing 183
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