ELLINGHAM have entered the Hampshire League record books for all the wrong reasons - being skittled out for just SEVEN runs when they visited United Services Portsmouth at Burnaby Road in County Division 1.

With a team made up of many second and third team players, Ellingham did well to reduce their opponents to 120 all out with acting skipper Sean Leadbetter (3-35) and Brad Hammas (3-0) the pick of the attack.

When Ellingham went into bat they found the wet conditions and the swinging ball virtually impossible to master so much so that seven of their batsmen were dismissed without scoring and three others made just a single each.

It was the US new-ball bowlers, John Parker with six wickets and Fraser Quirke with four, who caused the havoc and the innings lasted just 12.2 overs with wides accounting for four of the seven run total.

There was just one wide in Parker’s amazing analysis of 6.2-5-1-6 while Quirke returned 6-1-6-4 with three runs and three wides. Parker has been a regular in the British Armed Forces team for the past 10 years.

In the league’s 43-year history there has never been an occasion when a side has been dismissed for a single figure total with 11 by Southampton Community four years ago being the previous lowest.

Jim Edwards said: “The ball was just like a boomerang and, coming through very low, was almost unplayable especially from two such experienced bowlers."

“We were very short of first team regulars and knew that the batting was quite weak after four wickets had gone but we certainly didn’t expect to be rolled over for such a dismal total."

But Ellingham’s trip to Portsmouth wasn’t completely unrewarded as they came away with five bonus points for bowling out their opponents.