Nat-West U16 League - Experienced South Wilts look good

Inexperience weighed heavily against Hursley Park on their NatWest Hampshire Under-16 Indoor Cricket Championship debut at the Rose Bowl.

They went home pointless after suffering heavy defeats by last year's winners Fair Oak and South Wilts, who collected a 24-point maximum after two handsome wins.

Dean Robertson (25) and Richard Conway (17) provided a sound enough start against Fair Oak, but with last winter's champions bowling a much tighter line than in their first games, progress was slow.

Hursley's eventual 74-3 proved easy meat for Fair Oak, with openers James Scutt (27) and Ed Kemp (22) polishing off the target.

Both Hursley and Fair Oak were soundly thrashed by South Wilts, who are clearing going to be among the leading clubs in the 12-team NatWest backed competition.

The experience the Bemerton youngsters gained at the Rose Bowl last winter proved the key as South Wilts bettered their formidable 146-5 against Fair Oak by scoring 147-3 in 12 overs off Hursley Park.

Eddie Abel (39) and the emerging Lysander Wolf (36) led the way as South Wilts rattled up 146 against Fair Oak, who were dismissed for 76, with Chris Denning taking 2-22.

James Hayward hit an unbeaten 43 and received able support from Abel (30) and Wolf (27) in the South Wilts run spree against Hursley Park, who were dismissed for 78 (Kapoor 23).

Ventnor make their debut in the NatWestBank sponsored competition on Sunday against Andover and Sarisbury Athletic.