Hampshire Academy fell to a disappointing 76-run defeat against Havant in their Southern Electric Premier League fixture, despite an impressive innings from Harry Came (99) on Saturday.

A half-century for Ben Walker (78) as well as contributions of more than 40 from three other batsman helped the home-side post 268-7 from their allotted overs.

Hampshire struggled from the off in their reply, with six wickets falling before the total moved past 50. Although Came’s best efforts moved the visitors closer to the required target, the early collapse left them with too much to do as Havant ultimately claimed the home victory.

The hosts recovered remarkably after finding themselves 1-1 in the opening over courtesy of Josh McCoy (2-38) trapping Robert Gibson (0) who departed without scoring.

Fellow opener Peter Hopson (43) battled well with Walker as the pair shared a century stand to see the score move to 103-1. Hopson fell shortly after however sizable knocks from Christopher Stone (42) and Stuart Ransley (42) advanced the total further to see Havant close on a competitive first-innings total.

Walker (2-12) then proved to be just as impressive with the ball as he and Cameron Prentice (4-31) claimed the wickets of all of Hampshire’s top-four batsman between them to leave the away-side 26-4.

Further wickets fell to reduce the total to 86-7, and although excellent resistance from Came helped to prevent a heavier defeat than seemed likely, Havant still picked up the victory by a significant margin.

Words: Will Brewster