ANDOVER First XI, sponsored by Nordlock, made the trip south to Totton and Eling with a full strength side, welcoming back Alex Corbett, Glyn Treagus and Dylan Melvey.

The town side lost the toss and were put into bat on what looked like a flat pitch prepared by former Andover overseas, Richmond Mutumbami.

Andover got off to a promising start with Will Berrill (26) and Sanjeet Garood (17) ticking over nicely. Garood was the first to go caught in the gully with the score on 27. Ollie Banks-Williams joined Berrill and they took the score past 50 before Banks-Williams was caught for 13.

The experienced Glyn Treagus (30) joined Berrill and kept the scoreboard moving along. Berrill was the next to go, caught and bowled by Parmar - the first of his six wickets.

St Edward’s School Oxford student, Alex Corbett, joined Treagus as the pair took Andover to 100 at the first drinks break.

Corbett was caught in the deep, trying to move the Andover score along after the platform that was built by the top order.

Wickets started to fall at regular intervals as Andover collapsed from 116-5 to 162 all out. Matt Hooper (19) showed some resistance before Andover were all out in the 39th over, leaving 11 overs unused.

With only 163 required to win, on what was a good wicket to bat on, the town side knew they would have to bowl well.

The new ball pairing of Veettil (1-28) and Jansen (0-13) started in typical fashion, with good control and accuracy. Their hard work was rewarded when Veettil removed the Totton and Eling opener but not after Chapungu (54) had crunched a few boundaries and taken the score to 30.

Captain John Nyumbu (1-34) brought himself and Farleigh teacher, Dylan Melvey (1-36), onto bowl as the spin duo looked to tear through the Totton and Eling batting line up.

The pair bowled with excellent control and stemmed the flow of runs but the Totton and Eling batsmen had time on their side. Melvey struck with the score on 81, bowling Baker with one that went straight on. Shortly after Nyumbu also struck, claiming the scalp of fellow countryman, Chapungu, for a well-constructed 53.

These two wickets gave the town side a glimmer of hope. However, former Andover overseas, Mutumbami, was now at the crease and it was key the town side removed him quickly.

Mutumbami and Taylor batted sensibly, waiting for the Andover bowlers to bowl a loose ball and latch onto it. The pair moved the score past 130, leaving Totton with only 30 left to win.

Andover removed both batsmen in consecutive overs, Mutumbami well caught by Jansen off the bowling of Ollie Banks-Williams (1-32) and Taylor removed by Hooper (1-16).

By this point, the damage was done and even with Totton and Eling 5 wickets down the game was over. The new Totton batsmen came in milked the Andover bowling before blasting a few boundaries to finish the game in the 40th over.

A tough afternoon for the town side after a promising start with the bat before collapsing and setting a well-below par score. The team have struggled with the bat this but Andover will re-group this week and look to bounce back against the table-topping Portsmouth this Saturday.