Tom Clark continued his run of good form with the bat for Fair Oak I with a wonderful innings of 94 at Lapstone Park against Portsmouth & Southsea on Saturday, while left-arm spinner Lewis Goodyear went on to play an equal part with four wickets for just six runs from his ten overs.

Oaks’ Under-18 prodigy Clark followed up scores of 60 and 49 in the last two games from a precarious position. Oaks were in trouble at 9 for 3 when he joined Monty McKenzie at the wicket.

The top three had all fallen to Jonathan Willey, who finished with 5 for 33.

McKenzie and Clark added 75 before the senior partner was out to Felix Stanley (2 for 29) for 41.

Oaks had 196 on the board when Clark was finally caught off Usman Akram (2 for 39), and Ben Smith (24) and James Gradwell (14) took the home total to a healthy 213 all out.

The P&S innings never really got off the ground. Eight of their wickets fell to spin, McKenzie and Rhys Oxley backing up Under-18 Goodyear with 1 for 15 and 2 for 19 respectively. Visiting opener Stanley made 23, while lower-order batters Max Goddard hit 28 and Ben Saunders 23 not out, but the Portsmouth side could only muster 137 all out from 49.4 overs.

Fifth-placed Oaks travel to strugglers Harley Wintney next Saturday, while P&S, whose promotion prospects seem to be melting away, host struggling neighbours Gosport Borough. 

The King George V ground in Ferndown, home to Winton CC, was the scene for Dan Wheble’s first ever senior century. The 15-year-old Fair Oak II keeper-batsman made 101 in his side’s Hampshire League Division 2 fixture – but that still wasn’t enough for victory.

In a rich runfest, Winton racked up a towering 289 for 7 in their 45 overs. Skipper John Duke led the way with 103 off 105 balls and received significant help from Dorset prospect Liam Crutchley (67) and Sean Wienand (47 not out off just 33). Oaks skipper Jake Salmon picked up three late wickets, but none of the visiting bowlers will be satisfied with their economy rates.

After the break James Featherstone (27) helped Wheble post 90 for the first wicket. After that, wickets tumbled as the asking rate spiralled out of control. Kannan Manoj added a rapid 23, but when Wheble was bowled behind his legs by Akshit Jha for a chanceless 101, the game was up. Jha, Daniel Best and Duke each bagged two wickets as Oaks closed on 240 for 9 and claimed the consolation prize of maximum batting points.

Fair Oak III did their best to chase down Hursley Park III’s total of 215 for 7 in Hampshire Division 4 South, but ultimately fell short by 21 runs. A Hursley side bristling with experience piled on the runs with Steve Cockram making 70, Nick Best 44 and Paul Marks 26. Toby Wolverson (2 for 32), Albert Voaden (2 for 49) and Keir Smith (2 for 38) bowled well.

Young batsmen were very much to the fore for Oaks this weekend, and in this game it was Under-14 Wilf Voaden who stepped up to the plate with a fine knock of 76. None of the other Fair Oak batsmen could reach 20, however. Kajit Sharma took 3 for 50, George Pengelly 2 for 29 and Ollie Chaplin 2 for 22 as the hosts wrapped up a 21-run win.