Havant hold their nerve to set up Southern Premier League T20 Cup final date with Hampshire Academy

The skipper chose to bowl the final over of a nailbiting semi-final with New Milton requiring 13 runs for victory.

Ninth-wicket pair Joe Hall and Jack Humphrey were threatening to give the visitors an unlikely victory.

They had come together at 97-8 with Milton requiring 162 for victory.

Morgan ran in to bowl the final ball with Milton requiring six to win or four to tie to take the game to a super over.

But Ollie Jones, fielding at deep mid-wicket, prevented a boundary and Havant progressed to the final against Hampshire Academy by just two runs.

After Morgan elected to bat first at Havant Park, the hosts lost their first wicket on 39 when Harry Gadd (19) was run out.

Pete Hopson departed for 27 before ex-skipper Chris Stone (49) and Morgan (40) added 59 for the third wicket.

Stone struck five fours and two sixes in his 36-ball knock, while Morgan hit two sixes and one four in his 35-ball innings.

Havant were well place at 153-4 but four wickets clattered for only four runs and they eventually posted 161-8.

Young spinner Freddie Gadd starred as Milton’s reply floundered early on.

For the second time in the tournament, Gadd bagged four wickets - following up a 4-14 burst against Sparsholt with 4-23.

Gadd’s four wickets were all top order victims as Milton slumped to 49-5.

Ollie Shrubsole (32) was the only top order batsman to hang around before he was stumped by Simon Loat off Richard Hindley.

Hall, though, came in at No 7 and whacked an unbeaten 65 off 42 balls with five fours and two sixes.

He found a willing partner in No 10 Humphrey, whose unbeaten 21 off 15 balls included a four and a six.

Pete Hayward was Havant’s most successful bowler with 2-16 off three overs, including a maiden, as Milton dipped from 92-5 to 97-8.

The Hampshire Academy reached the final with two wins in one day on Sunday.

They defeated OTs & Romsey by just eight runs in a quarter-final at South Wilts CC before knocking out holders Alton at the same venue in the last four.

In the first game, they won despite a century partnership between OTs openers Bothwell Chapungu and Jovan Dhariwal.

Chasing the Academy’s 153-7 total, Chapungu (67) and Dhariwal (27) put on 113 before the latter was out off the penultimate ball of the 15th over.

Despite the Academy conceding 24 wides, OTs fell short on 145-5 - Harry Broderick including a rare T20 maiden in his 2-14 off three overs.

The Academy’s top five had all reached double figures, but only wicket-keeper George Metzger (46) made a substantial score.

Metzger faced 45 balls without hitting a four - though he did smash two sixes - before he was dismissed by Rob Newman (3-22).

In the semi-final, the Academy were rescued by Hampshire’s Scott Currie.

The 19-year-old had made an impressive first class debut against Kent in the previous week’s Bob Willis Trophy tie at Canterbury.

Here he was playing just as a batsman and, coming in at No 6, struck a match-winning innings.

Chasing Alton’s 118-7 total, the Academy were in trouble on 59-5 when skipper Fletcha Middleton was dismissed.

But Currie struck an unbeaten 39 off 31 balls as the Academy won by two wickets with four balls to spare.

Alton, though, were left to rue a missed chance when Currie was dropped by Dan Harris in the deep before he had reached 20.

Mark Heffernan (37) had top scored for Alton, with Tom Prest (2-14) and Harry Petrie (2-27) the Academy’s most successful bowlers.