Andover II v Redlynch and Hale.

Andover II made it four wins in a row with a tense five run win over table toppers Redlynch and Hale.

Andover batted first and posted 190-9 from their 45 overs despite being on the back foot early, losing both openers Andy Sale and the inform Sean Purchase before the sixth over. Martin Roberts (37) and Luke Andrews (14) set about building a platform for the town side punishing anything loose however a quick flurry of wickets saw Andover suffer another mini collapse from 64-2 to 73-5 giving Redlynch the momentum.

Phil Greening (55) batted beautifully and was well supported by Alex Thompson (21) and the bowlers as he fought back and helped Andover reassert themselves.

Andover knew they wold have to bowl well but openers Phil Greening and Aiden Jansen kept the run rate down to under two an over leaving Redlynch on 28-2 off 15 overs.

A series of dropped catches and misfields let Redlynch back into the game as they rallied through to 98-4 at the second interval but Andover then regrouped and showed a lot of character as they fought back led by the pace of Phil Knight (3-48) and the spin of Roberts (3-45).

Redlynch needed just ten from the final over but could not connect with the pace and movement produced by a calm Jansen who produced a match winning spell at the death.

Test Valley Windows sponsored Andover play Littleton and Westhill on Saturday.