A superb opening stand of 190 between Fair Oak openers Harry Reed and Henry Nicholls was the cornerstone of the club’s maximum-points Southern Premier Division 2 victory over Sway at Lapstone Park on Saturday. 

Skipper Reed’s first-ever senior ton was reached with his brother Sam at the wicket, and was only ended when he was bowled by Jon Waller at 228 for 2. Nicholls, meanwhile, also achieved a personal best of 77. Sam Reed (16), Matt White (20) and Ben Smith (20) stepped on the gas in the latter stages to propel Oaks to 284 for 6, a tough target in any circumstances. Dave Steadman, Hugh Bernard and Toby Ramwell all took a wicket each, but none of the Sway bowlers will be delighted with their analyses.

Smith, having scored his runs at a strike rate of 200 per 100 balls, then conceded just 19 runs in his ten overs as Sway struggled to make an impact with the bat. He took four wickets into the bargain. Tim Noble made 23, Will Crossley 40, Steadman 32 and Bernard 28, but Sway never really came to terms with the run chase.

Fair Oak spinners Monty McKenzie and Rhys Oxley took two wickets each, the latter at a cost of just five runs, as the visitors collapsed from 141 for 4 to 160 all out with four overs still unused. Oaks now stand seventh in the table with a healthy average points advantage over the teams above the bottom three. Next week they travel to one of those teams – St Cross Symondians II.

Fair Oak II stand fifth of the 18 teams in Hampshire League Division 2 after a convincing win over nearest-and-dearest Twyford at spacious Hunter Park. Phil Smith, promoted to opener, gave Oaks a good start with 37 despite the best efforts of the pacy Alex Reidy (3 for 32). Tom Clark, short of runs, then played himself back in to form with a perfectly paced 60. Mitch le Tissier (21) and Kannan Manoj upped the tempo in the later overs. Slow left-armer Tom Watson took 2 for 36, but could not prevent Fair Oak from posting a highly competitive 194 for 9 from 45 overs.

That was to prove more than enough – once Ross Stewart got to work. The Oaks seamer ripped out the Twyford top order with a punishing opening spell, taking 5 for 18. There was no coming back from 24 for 5, although Tom Crowley did at least stem the carnage with a classy knock of 46. He had help from Karanveer Kooner and Tom Watson, but the home tail quickly succumbed to Manoj (3 for 2) and were bowled out for 107. Oaks won by 87 runs.

Fair Oak III were outpointed by Kerala II on their Hampshire Division 4 South visit to Hilsea. The Oaks top three – Adam Trigwell (21), Matt Smith (23) and Charlie White (25) - all made starts, so from 81 for 2 they were disappointed to be bowled out for 158. They were rallied by tail-ender Joeh Turner’s 24, but Pradheesh Panamchickal (3 for 21), Dawn Ambi (2 for 14) and Nimal Valsan (2 for 36) did well with the ball for the hosts.

Kerala’s positive batting style paid dividends, even though spinner Tom Turner picked up a couple of wickets. Rakesh Janardhanan carried his bat for 48, and rapid contributions from Ambi (44) and Valsan (28no) ushered the home side to the tape at 159 for 4 in the 29th over.