Hampshire Academy were unfortunate to suffer a 25-run defeat at the hands of Havant, despite an excellent five-wicket haul for Mason Crane (5-108) and an impressive half-century from Brad Taylor (64) in the Southern Electric Premier League fixture.

A solid batting effort from much of Havant’s batting line-up saw them post a competitive 244-9 from 64 overs, with a well-made fifty from Chris Stone (51) leading the way for the home-side.

Crane was the pick of the bowlers for Hampshire, the youngster rewarded for his efforts having bowled more than 20 overs in the innings.

In reply, the Academy lost early wickets courtesy of Hampshire first-team bowler Brad Wheal (3-40) who featured prominently for the opposition as they reduced the hosts to 82-4.

Taylor looked in good touch with the bat and a valuable innings too from Tom Alsop (46) gave their side an outside chance of victory.

However some efficient late-innings bowling mean that Hampshire Academy were eventually restricted to 219 all out from 57.5 overs, falling just short in their second-innings pursuit of Havant’s first-innings total.

Words: Will Brewster