SOUTH Wilts finally secured their Division One status after a nervous yet ultimately comfortable win over Hursley Park.

On a wicket dampened by the midweek rain and early morning dew, skipper Rob Wade lost the toss and Hursley skipper and Hampshire paceman Billy Taylor invited his former Wiltshire teammate's side to have a bat.

South Wilts made slow progress.

Against decent, if not particularly threatening bowling, Paul Draper and Tom Morton, struggled to get the ball through the gaps.

The seam quartet of Billy Taylor, Darrell Steele, Farhan Bashir and Martin Taylor kept runs off the bat at a premium but regular wides kept the scoreboard ticking over.

After the unorthodox Bashir had induced an edge from Morton, a passage of play began that typified South Wilts' batting all season.

Eddie Abel came in and looked good but got bowled by Taylor, and then James Hayward who looked in great touch after his maiden minor county hundred did the same this time lbw to Taylor, 2-30.

At 77-3, South Wilts were precariously placed but Andy Hay-ward upped the tempo.

The score trickled into three figures in the 30th over and then as the field spread, the Salisbury side began to look more confident.

Hayward, whose batting has been the success story of a difficult second half of the season, played a gem of an innings and it was a shame that he once again fell short of a half century when he holed out to a fine catch by Billy Taylor off Oli Green for 47.

South Wilts' 77-3 had become 176-4 though with Draper having just reached a slow but invaluable 50.

In the chase for late runs Dra-per was bowled by Green for a 132-ball 59, but after Wade, 11, fell again to Green, 4-56, in the 48th over, Charlie Duffell produced a cameo of an innings, an unbeaten 30 coming off just 19 balls.

The final score was 230-7 and Duffell's late flurry put South Wilts in a decent position at halfway and with James Tomlin-son making a rare appearance, their bowling ranks looked to have the depth to defend the score.

Park began their chase in a similar vein to South Wilts. Tomlinson and Fouhy were accurate, but when Billy Taylor offered an early chance at slip, it went begging.

Phil Hughes gloved a sharp short delivery off Tomlinson, but then Bashir took the attack to the visitors.

Hitting through the line, he struck four boundaries in a quick 21 - the innings was not without fortune, twice being out off Fouhy no-balls but it gave the innings a much-needed impetus, which was at least stemmed as Holewell had Bashir caught off a leading edge.

At 54-2 the game entered its crucial stage and South Wilts began to take control.

Adie Holewell bowled a typically nagging spell, while James Hayward bowled with flight and control, and the runs began to dry up.

The pressure told on Taylor, 38, as a desperate swing off Holewell sent his stumps back.

Holewell's spell of 2-22 off ten overs was a superb effort and went a long way to securing the victory.

With the run-rate now soaring Paul Edwards and Paul Davies struggled to prevent the innings from stagnating completely.

Hayward span one past Edwards, 23, to give Morton a stumping and then after a brief flurry from Mills, 19, Hayward took him caught and bowled.

A Holewell direct hit run out then left Hursley at 137-6 and the game was virtually over.

Hayward finished his spell 2-28 off his ten, but the Hursley reply received no let up as Tomlinson and Fouhy returned to the attack in the fading light.

With Hursley having given up the ghost in terms of winning the game, Darrell Steele and Ben Smyth batted well in the gloom to gain some extra batting points.

Steele's 31 came mostly off Wade's penultimate over, but was ended by a well judged catch by Duffell in the deep off Tomlinson, 10-4-18-2.

Smyth closed 30 not out as Park sneaked over the 200 mark.

The victory saved South Wilts from requiring anything from this weekend's final day visit to Bashley, and skipper Wade was full of praise for his players.

"This has been a difficult season. We started badly and were never allowed to regain any form by the weather.

"However, the players have stuck together superbly. We have a lot of young players who have been struggling on the pitch but they haven't let it get to them and all things considered the spirit in the team is probably better than in any of our more successful sides."

Relieved to finally have survival confirmed Wade added: "We've been playing like a side that didn't know how to win.

"Even today, we made life hard for ourselves at times.

"We should really have won by about 50 or 60 as the game was practically over with 12 overs left, but we missed chances and had to go the distance."

10:59am Thursday 30th August 2007

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