Clanfield’s second team fell to an eight-wicket defeat at home to Hambledon’s fourth team on Saturday.

Hambledon asked the home side to bat first on what turned out to be a slow wicket.

With runs hard to come by, at the 20-over point Clanfield had only managed to amass 57 runs and a low score was looking likely.

However, persistence from opener Kevin Goodship (62) and then a fine innings from Adam Smith (68 not out) saw the innings close on a competitive 180 for four.

Clanfield’s bowlers found it hard to make a breakthrough against steady Hambledon batting, until the introduction of Smith (two for 38) led to two wickets falling.

The match was evenly poised, with Hambledon on or near the required run rate throughout their chase.

The winning runs came in the 37th over, with Hambledon opener Pete Grennan carrying his bat to score a match-winning 86 not out.