‘He’s got shots I’ve never seen before’ – Rowner master blaster Desron Spring’s brutal assault in Hampshire Cricket League derby

Spring swatted 12 sixes and 19 fours in a brutal assault while playing for Rowner’s 1st XI against the club’s 2nds in a Hampshire League fixture.

The carnage ended when he was bowled by Matt Smyth, but only after he had raced to 165 off just 76 deliveries.

That was just four short of equalling the Rowner league record of 169 set by Ian Collins.

It was Spring’s second Division 5 South East century of the season, having started the campaign with another blizzard of big hitting - 11 fours and eight sixes - in making 107 off just 38 balls against Fareham & Crofton 3rds.

Those hundreds have come as no surprise to those who witnessed his first appearance of 2022 in a pre-season friendly against Portsmouth Community, where Spring blasted an undefeated 167.

Spring also hit 74 off 39 balls against Kerala 3rds, and is currently second in the divisional runscorers list with 374 at 93.50. Only Wickham’s Peter Gwynn, with 391 at an average of 130.33, is above him.

But while Gwynn, who has had one more innings than Spring, has a strike rate of 66.31, the Rowner master blaster boasts a spectacular strike rate of 210.11!

‘He’s just a phenomenal cricketer,’ Rowner 1st XI skipper Rob Bowman told The News.

‘He’s got quick hands, quick feet - I wouldn’t know where to bowl to him - and he hits sixes all around the wicket.

‘He’s got shots I’ve never seen before. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first ball or the 100th, if he thinks he can hit it he will.

‘Mind you, he hasn’t faced 100 balls (in an innings) yet - if he had he’d probably have scored a double century!’

Spring has been at Rowner for a couple of years but has rarely played in the Hampshire League due to his Royal Navy commitments.

As it stands, his next deployment is not until September so - bad news for bowlers in the division - he should be available for most of the current season.

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Spring entered the Rowner derby having been dismissed for a duck twice in the same day playing for the Navy earlier in the week.

In the first of a T20 double header against Hampshire Colleges at Burnaby Road in Portsmouth, Spring was out first ball. And, in the second fixture, he lasted just deliveries.

If he harboured any frustrations from that, he certainly took them out on Rowner 2nds as the 1sts rattled up 344-9 off 40 overs.

Spring, batting at No 3, put on 105 for the third wicket with Matt Williams (24) before he was seventh out with the score on 259.

That wasn’t the end of the 2nds’ agony, though, as J King (46) and James Osborn (22) added 69 for the ninth wicket.

Quinten Van Eeden, another of the 1sts’ Royal Navy contingent, starred with the ball as the 2nds, who only had 10 batters, were restricted to 132-9.

Van Eeden bagged a Hampshire League best 5-35 and Martin Bowman took 3-24 with opener Harry Cox (38) and tailender James Trinder (27 not out) top scoring as the 2nds suffered a huge 212-run loss.

While the 1sts are mid-table with three wins and three defeats, the 2nds prop up the table after a sixth successive reverse.