Matt Colban continues great start to Hayling Island CC career with century in Hampshire League victory over Locks Heath

The top order batsman had scored 55 against Totton & Eling 2nds and 47 against Sarisbury 2nds in his first two Hampshire League Division 3 South matches for the club.

Batting at No 3, he surpassed that at the weekend with an unbeaten 136 as Hayling claimed a fourth successive league victory of 2021 against Locks Heath

It was just one short of equalling his personal best, scored when he was a teenager at Purbrook CC.

Colban was at the crease early after opener Morgan Marshall had been dismissed by Adam Brown first ball.

The right-hander was still there at the end of the 40 overs as the hosts amassed 215-2 at Hayling Park.

He put on 68 for the second wicket with Mike Hallett (25) and an unbroken 146 for the third with Greg Chaplin (47 not out).

Colban struck 14 fours and five sixes in his 118-ball innings, while Chaplin hit five boundaries in his 51-ball effort.

Locks opening bowler Andy Newland only conceded 16 runs off his eight overs, but team-mates Tom Griffiths (0-72) and Simon Stone (0-62) were far more expensive off their eight-over spells.

Locks lost opener Matt Wake early in their reply, bowled by Dave Wayman for a duck, before first change Tom Chaplin (3-27) dismissed the rest of the top four.

He had Matt Short caught by Duncan Brown for 26 before clean bowling Stone (33) and skipper Andrew Booth (21).

Adam Brown (34) top scored at No 7 before he was dismissed by Colban (2-21 off five overs).

No 9 Tom Griffon was 21 not out but Locks, suffering a third successive defeat, finished 41 runs short on 174-9.

Hayling skipper Rob Cordell said his new-look side appear ‘strong all round’ as they aim to return to County 2.

Colban and leg-spinner Dan Holt, formerly of Yeovil CC, both signed for the club after moving to the island and getting in contact via social media.

Seam bowler Tom Chaplin - brother of Greg, who is also Hayling’s coach - had only played once prior to 2021 while another new player is Southampton University student Lijani Cherry.

‘Freddie Steele and Callum Cells have come up from the 2nds and are now opening the bowling,’ said Cordell.

‘They’ve brought the average age of the side down as we’ve still got the old heads like Mike Hallett, Dave Wayman and myself.

‘It would be nice to go back up to County 2. We were only there for a year last time - it coincided with two or three players leaving the club.’

A half-century from Vineet Vajpayee and some impressive tail wagging failed to prevent US Portsmouth suffering a fourth successive Division 3 South defeat.

Asked to chase 214 for victory against New Milton 2nds, US - who only fielded 10 players - slipped to 51-5 with Jacob Varney (3-30, including 10 wides) removing skipper Sameen Mahboob (1), Kelan Wilby (1) and Ijaz Tarakhail (0) in rapid succession.

Vajpayee led the fightback, adding 64 for the sixth wicket with Ahmed Khan (19) and 38 for the seventh with Jahanzeb Habib before he was finally out for 70.

It was his second successive US half-century, having scored 63 not out for the 2nds against Compton the previous week.

No 8 Habib, who had smacked nine sixes in 17 balls a week earlier, hit two more in racing to a 17-ball 33.

No 9 Hamid Khan added 25 more, off 31 balls, but US were bowled out for 191 to lose by 22 runs.