Liphook & Ripsley III v Sparsholt III: LIPHOOK won the toss and elected to bat first on another warm day at Stedham in this Regional Division 2 North East match.

After the dismissal of captain Al Lewis and Mick Poore with the score on 13, Liphook had some work to do.

With the flamboyant Andy Grimes joining John Strong at the crease, the pair dug deep and took Liphook to 62, but it was from then on that the innings started to fall apart.

Grimes fell in slightly unfortunate circumstances, the ball hitting the roll of his pad before hitting the wicket, and the innings then began to fall apart.

Sparsholt brought Adam Trivett (6-12) into the attack, and Liphook struggled to cope with his bowling as they lost their last six wickets for six runs.

Strong had made a tidy half-century, and Grimes made 18, but no one else made double figures as Liphook were bowled out for 109.

Opening bowlers Toby Colwood (0-23) and Jack Barrow (0-12) bowled tidily enough for Liphook, but the low target they were defending gave little room for manoeuvre.

The Sparsholt batsmen were quick to spot any delivery that was slightly off the perfect length and dispatched it to the boundary.

Two wickets each for Nick Cansfield (2-31) and Strong (2-25), which included three well-taken catches from Lewis, made the score look slightly more respectful for Liphook, as the visitors won by six wickets.