Liphook & Ripsley III v Colden Common & Otterbourne II: ON THE back of two fine performances in their last two matches, the Liphook players were full of optimism as they arrived at Stedham on another scorching hot summers day for this Regional Division 2 North East fixture in the Hampshire Cricket League.

Losing the toss, Liphook found themselves fielding first.

The Liphook bowlers performed well, but it was the inability to hold the catches that were offered that helped Ben Vincent (61) and Brian Cooper (80) build a strong foundation for Colden Common, who finished on 214-7 at the end of their allotted 40 overs.

John Strong (2-24) and Steve Saycell (1-28) were the pick of the Liphook bowlers, but Al Lewis (2-46) and Jack Barrow (1-44) also put in noteworthy performances.

If Liphook’s catching was not up to scratch, the same must also be said of the batting.

Strong had the strength and stamina to carry his bat for an unbeaten 71, but he received little support as the other batsmen came and went at the other end.

Andrew Caeser-Gordon made a strong case to move up the batting order with an unbeaten 15 towards the end of the innings, but by then Liphook were playing for batting points, and the chance of winning the game had been lost.

The Liphook batsmen had fallen short of the high standards they had set themselves in their previous two matches, and the home side finished on 126-8.