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Congratulations to Chris Stone and Robert Gibson for their achievements in 2008. Chris was the first Hambledon colt to be selected for the Hampshire Academy side and Robert has recently been selected for the West of England U15 team to go the West Indies next Easter. We wish them both the best of luck!

Hambledon travelled to Bournemouth this weekend, needing twenty points to secure promotion to Division Two of the Southern Electric Premier League. Having dismissed the opposition for 166 in the last over to claim maximum bowling points, Hambledon's reply faltered with three wickets down with only 57 on the board. A partnership of 53 between Richard Marshall (22) and Nick Scutt (28) took Hambledon within sight of victory but wickets continued to fall as nerves took hold and Hambledon still required 7 for victory on the fall of the eighth wicket. Dan Hewitt (13*) held his nerve to hit the winning runs and seal promotion for the Dons! The scorecard can be found here.

We are delighted to announce that Hon. Sec. Chris de Mellow has been selected as the County winner in the NatWest OSCAs (Outstanding Service to Cricket Award). This has been awarded for his voluntary work co-ordinating Nat West Cricket Force 2008 at Hambledon. The Hampshire Cricket Board have recognised his efforts in providing an 'exceptional contribution to the development of cricket at Hambledon Cricket Club'.

Chris's award means he will now represent Hambledon at the national OSCAs which will be held at Lords in October.

Following another successful month, Hambledon's Dan Hewitt has been awarded the Southern Electric Premier League player of the month for July. Dan has taken 29 wickets this season with an average of 11.97. Congratulations to Dan!

The oldies amongst us will remember Peter and Lynn who emigrated to New Zealand in 1997. 1st XI scorer Jennie de Mellow was delighted to catch up with them recently. They showed her around their beautiful home town of Christchurch and Peter's New Zealand cricket club - Willows C.C. Peter, who played international cricket for Hong Kong, played a significant role in organising the Old England game in 1994 and was one of the club's regular 1st XI all rounders in the early nineties.

Hambledon's U9 colt side have been crowned league champions following their victory over Portsmouth Community. Congratulations to Dean Rockett and his successful team! Thank you to Catherine Younger and Charlotte Thistlethwayte for the photographs.

Congratulations to Eddie Lewis who scored 101 not out for Hampshire U11 this weekend against Surrey at Epsom College. He batted for 2 hours and forty minutes, facing 112 balls. The fabulous innings featured 10 fours and 1 six!

Simon Milenko has been named SEPL Division Three Player of the Week In May after his fabulous innings this week.

Hambledon swept into the final of the Hampshire U15 Cup with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Wellow & Plaitford at Ridge Meadow.

Three early strikes from James Marshall and Cameron Prentice had Wellow struggling at 14-3 before Sampson (30) and Rides (19) put on 45 for the fourth wicket.

But two wickets apiece from Ash Fooks and Rob Gibson pegged the New Forest team back to finish on 91-8 in 20 overs.

In reply, Gibson hit three fours in the first over to give the young Dons the perfect start before a majestic unbeaten 51 from Chris Stone sealed victory in just 14.2 overs.

Hambledon will now play either Basingstoke or Andover in the Hampshire U15 final at Hursley Park next Thursday June 26 (6pm) with a place in the prestigious national Nationwide Cup at stake.

Hambledon sneaked into the semi finals of the Hampshire U15 Cup after a nail-biting one run victory over Portsmouth & Southsea at Ridge Meadow..

Hambledon's bid to reach the Nationwide national U15 Cup for the first time in their history looked dead in the water after a poor batting display - backed up by some great bowling and catching from P&S - saw them dismissed in less than 20 overs for just 85 - their lowest score for six years!

Only James Marshall (33) and Dan Bond (17) made double figures and Portsmouth & Southsea looked comfortably on target at 43-1 in nine overs before some excellent four-over figures from Marshall (0-14), Rob Tusler (1-14), Ollie Mills (2-11) and Rob Gibson (1-13) set up a fantastic finish.

With nine runs wanted off the last over and two off the last ball, P&S could only manage eight and a scrambled single off the last ball to leave them one run short.

Hambledon will now host Wellow & Plaitford U15s in the semi final tomorrow Tuesday June 17 at Ridge Meadow (6pm)

The winners will play Basingstoke or Andover in the Hampshire Cup final on Thursday June 26 (6pm) and are one step away from qualifying for the national Nationwide U15 Cup - a competition the club have never qualified for before.#

Sky Go Live From Ridge Meadow

Sky Sports News visited the ground for Hambledon's opinions about the spirit of the game. For more details and photos from the day - please see here.

Following Simon James' retirement due to injury, the Committee is very pleased to announce James Scutts' appointment as 1st X1Captain for 2008. James impressed the Committee with his passion and commitment for the role and clearly has a hunger for the challenges that lie ahead. We are sure you will join with us in offering him our support and in wishing him every success. We would also like to thank Simon for all his hard work and dedication.

Many thanks to all those who supported the Club last weekend during Natwest Cricket Force and ensured it was such an incredible success! It was a delight to welcome over seventy colts on Friday, who were able to get expert coaching advice from Hampshire players such as Sean Ervine and Nic Pothas.

Thanks to the efforts of over two hundred volunteers, the HambleDon Hut is nearly fully functional and will be ready in time for the new season! As well as the Hut, the Club can now boast a new patio area, entirely new fencing around the ground and its own wildlife garden!

Media coverage over the weekend was extensive, but if you missed any - highlights are below!

Hambledon's colts have won the Eastleigh Indoor U14 Cup Final, beating local rivals Portsmouth & Southsea. Batting first, P&S posted a total of 139-2, with bowling figures as follows: Lewis Le-Clercq 3-0-25-0, Kyle Shinn 3-0-29-1, Tom Smith 3-0-37-0 and Pranay Rathod 3-0-47-0.

In reply, Hambledon finished triumphant with 140-3. This impressive display saw Hambledon hitting ten 6's in the last five overs, and winning with seven balls to spare!

Thanks to an inspiring presentation by Dave Leighton from the ECB, the Club are now fully under way with preparations for Cricket Force. Plans have been unveiled for all the tasks that are needed to be completed before the start of the new season. A brief outline is as follows:

If you have any further ideas about tasks the Club could consider for Natwest Cricket Force weekend - please let us know! The scope for this weekend is endless, so please be as creative as possible!

Hambledon are delighted to announce that they have been selected as the first Hampshire based showcase club for NatWest Cricket Force 2008.

The aim of the event is to prepare our club for the season, with volunteers completing all the essential tasks required and more. Whilst new pavilion plans continue to develop, the club has decided to erect a temporary wooden clubhouse and this weekend will prove invaluable in completing the work in time for the season.

The event will take place over the weekend of 4^th/5^th/6^th April with Hampshire Cricket and their players joining us at Ridge Meadow. We will also be welcoming the ECB Cricket Roadshow, which offers both an interactive and visual entertainment experience intended to excite the senses of cricket fans and non-cricket fans alike. This will be a fabulous opportunities for our junior section to enjoy and we have been promised that we will be joined by England Cricket team stars!

The ECB will be providing us with an enormous amount of support and resources that we would not normally be able to access. In return, all they expect is the enthusiasm and commitment of the selected showcase club.

In order to launch Hambledon�s NatWest Cricket Force weekend, David Leighton from the ECB will be making a presentation to the members of the club on Monday 11^th February at 7pm at the Mead End, Denmead.

It is essential that we demonstrate we are committed to this one off initiative and would urge all members to make the time and attend this meeting. The long-term benefits to the club will be substantial and we hope this will be an event that the whole club can embrace.

Two lanes have been booked at the Rose Bowl for Wednesdays 12^th March, 19^th March, 26^th March and 2nd April for two hours from 5pm to 7pm.

This is open to those 16 years and above and to any younger junior players who have represented one of the adult sides in 2007.

All four sessions can be booked at the discounted price of �24 or members can attend individual sessions at �7 each. Please forward a cheque made payable to Hambledon Cricket Club to the Club Secretary as soon as possible.

In addition to these nets sessions, Mat Jones will be organising fitness training at Ridge Meadow starting in April.

Robert 'Topsy' Turner has been nominated for The News Sports Awards - Outstanding Contribution category.

To vote for Topsy send a text starting with tnvote and add TOPSY, followed by your name, house number (or name) and postcode (in that order) to 81800.

For example, if your name is John Smith, your postcode is PO2 9SX, your house number is 26 - the text would be: tnvote TOPSY john smith 26 PO2 9SX. Alternatively, there is a postal form which can be found in The News.

During the Christmas break, contractors have completed the partial demolition of the club pavilion. The intention is to install a portacabin for the 2008 season whilst plans for the new pavilion are developed.

Hambledon's Simon Milenko has been selected to represent Queensland in the Australian U19 State Championships, held in Hobart, Tasmania, this week. Simon has had a very successful Grade season to date and earned his selection following two centuries and a ninety-five for his new club the Gold Coast Dolphins. Hambledon wish Simon every success for the tournament and results will be online shortly!