Havant remain on track for T20 trophy hat-trick
George Metzger smacked a six off the first ball of the last over to ensure Havant’s bid for a hat-trick of Southern Premier League T20 Cups remains firmly on.
Chasing 168 for victory, the holders advanced into the quarter-finals with a fivewicket win at St Helens.
Havant hit 24 off the 18th and 19th overs before Joe Smitherman’s first delivery of the 20th sailed over the boundary ropes.
The visitors’ reply had started well, with skipper Ben Walker (42 at the top of the order), Chris Stone (41) and Peter Hopson (34) helping Havant reach 121-2.
Walker has struggled for runs in the Southern Premier League this year, but top scored with seven fours in a 26-ball innings.
Home skipper Ben Duggan, having won the toss, hit 31 at the top of the order and overseas all-rounder Minhaj Jalill added 24 as Portsmouth reached 80-2.
Keeper Sujeeth Daini top scored with a 20-ball 39, hitting five fours and two sixes and sharing a 48-run stand for the fifth wicket with Dan Wimble (21).
Stone ended with 4-26, taking the last three wickets including Smitherman who was bowled off the final delivery of the innings - having struck two sixes in an eightball 18 - as Portsmouth closed on 167-8.
It was a career best haul for Stone, who prior to this season had never even taken three wickets in an innings for the club.
Here, he opened the bowling alongside Walker with Havant minus the injured Richard Jerry and the unavailable Nick Ward, while Sonny Reynolds played purely as a batter.
In addition, Richard Hindley was another experienced absentee and Chris Morgan - who skippered Havant in 2020 and 2021 remains sidelined for the entire summer after winter surgery.
Hambledon will join Havant in the last eight if they can beat top flight Lymington on July 17, with Burridge hosting Hook & Newnham Basics on the same day.
*Holders Waterlooville thrashed Langley Manor by nine wickets in the Southern Premier League’s T20 Plate.
Kiwi Josh McGregor and Alex Shephard shared an unbroken 110-run partnership in only 11 overs as Ville strolled to victory at Knellers Lane.
McGregor slapped an unbeaten 62 off 33 balls with five sixes and four fours, while Shephard’s 50 not out contained three sixes and two fours off 44 deliveries.
Two of Shephard’s maximums came in the third over, while McGregor lashed three sixes in the 11th over bowled by Ben Morgan that cost 20 runs.
Earlier, Langley found things tough going with the bat as they were restricted to 120-9 having been inserted.
It was a great day allround for Shepherd, who also crashed a half-century, but before came away with bowling figures of 3-19 off his three overs.
Captain Archie Reynolds would come away with three wickets himself – 3-19 off his four overs – to put the squeeze on Langley before Shephard and McGregor stepped up to make easy work of chasing down the target, as Waterlooville took another step to retaining the T20 Plate trophy.