SPL Division Three cricket: Langley Manor seal promotion after Sway tie

SPL Division Three
Langley Manor CC 128
Sway CC 128

LANGLEY Manor secured promotion and will join SPL Division Three champions Portsmouth & Southsea in division two next season following a nail-biting tie with Forest rivals Sway at Knellers Lane.

It had seemed to be plain sailing for Manor, with skipper Jack Budd asking the visitors to bat on a turning wicket.

A procession of batsmen all failed to reach double figures, starting with Sway's top-three: Tim Noble, Alex Hall and Greg Jones.

Ben Morgan (2-15) and England U19 quickie Jack Campbell (2-15), bowling slow left-arm, took control. Hugh Bernard (33) started the attempted recovery with Dave Steadman (17) and Tom Burton (18) until he was caught skying one to Campbell.

It was then left to the experienced Craig Renders (4-28) to bamboozle the Sway tail. But to Budd's delight, recent promotion challengers Sway were back in the pavilion for a less-than-modest 128.

Sway turned to their established seam attack. In tandem with the ever-reliable Jon Waller (2-23), a devastating Steadman (5-28) spell trapped three top-six batters without scoring and Campbell for just four runs.

At 52-7, Langley's fingers were certainly crossed. But despite the devastation around him, number three Steve Harris held the innings together, latterly with the aid of Renders (17) and Tom Spencer (13).

With the scores level at 128-9, with 12 fours and two sixes to his name, Harris (77) was on the verge of claiming a Langley victory before Richard Thomas (3-9) bowled him.

Ultimately, the match finished as a tie, with second-placed Langley Manor sealing the final promotion spot.

Sway finished fourth after slipping to a six-wicket defeat against Paultons the previous Saturday.