BASINGSTOKE and North Hants are Southern League Division 1 champions and will be back amongst the ECB Premier Division elite next season after a four-year absence.

They collected the four bonus points they needed to clinch the title when they scored 211 against Sarisbury Athletic.

But then saw an eight-match winning run ended by a below-par post-match display in the field, which culminated in a five-wicket defeat.

READ MORE: Hook and Newnham Basics secure Division 1 future

"We took our foot off the gas against Sarisbury, no doubt about that, but by tea we had achieved what we set out to do in early May by winning the league and that's all that matters," said Basingstoke skipper Joe Oates.

"The great thing about the summer is that its been a team performance, with no single player dominating with bat or ball. Everyone has done their bit.

"Matt Deadman and Ash Neal are the only players in the top 15 SPL1 batting positions and Dubs Wood just crept into the top 10 wicket takers.

"But there have been plenty of 40 scores from the batsmen and three-wicket returns. Brad Neal has bowled with pace without necessarily yielding the rewards he deserved.

"We're largely homegrown too. Eight of the lads have grown up at May's Bounty and that helps enormously."

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Basingstoke made a sound start against Sarisbury, with Deadman (37), Wood (34) and Ash Neal (34) taking the score to 93-1 - only for spinner Sam Hill (4-29) to step in with a 16th over hat-trick.

The pencil-thin slow left-armer caught and bowled Wood before bowling Neil Shelar a fast ball and then having Oates caught. Dean Nurse (24) and Laurence Benge (34) reset the innings, but with Jordan Wright taking 3-59, Basingstoke were dismissed for 211.

Sarisbury, chasing a slightly adjusted target of 209 off 48 overs, lost both openers cheaply, but Wright (25) added 53 with Ross Grierson (38) before Hook and Newnham Basics-raised Jack Robson (43) consolidated the visitors' position.

Robson's flowing stand with big hitting Nathan Feltham sealed Basingstoke's fate - the former Paultons batsman hitting two sixes and seven fours in a typical forceful 61 not out. Skipper Rob Franklin made 19 not out.