Petersfield vs Portsmouth

Petersfield vs Portsmouth Petersfield win by 8 wickets The U15s put the disappointment of last week behind them and picked up their first win of the season, beating Portsmouth by 8 wickets in an impressive all-round display. Batting first, Portsmouth were immediately under pressure with Rob Straw picking up the key wicket of district player Jordan Palmer-Goddard for 2, brilliantly caught by Ben Anscombe running around at mid-off. This was the second time in two matches that the lethal Straw-Anscombe combination had accounted for the Portsmouth opener, who must be sick of the sight of both of them! Our bowlers gradually tightened their grip as a young Portsmouth batting line-up struggled to build a decent total. Simpson, in his first game for the U15s and bowling with real menace, picked up 2 wickets, and there were also 2 wickets apiece for Broadhurst and Anscombe. Egelstaff and Straw were the other wicket takers as Portsmouth crumbled to 66 all out. Broadhurst was outstanding in the field with 2 catches (plus a caught-and-bowled) and a brilliant stop and throw from square leg, which resulted in a run-out. In reply, openers Thomas (27) and Broadhurst (23 n.o.) set off at a brisk pace, punishing the bad balls and putting on 55 for the first wicket. Despite losing 2 quick wickets, the hard work had been done and the winning total was reached with over 7 overs to spare. This was a great effort by the lads. Any victory over a Portsmouth team is one to savor and they don’t come much more one-sided than this. Cutting down on the wides and tightening up some of the ground-fielding will make the side even more competitive but this was a thumping victory and great to watch. Well done.