Rob Wade confessed that he would be able to relax for the first time in six weeks after South Wilts finally clinched the ECB Southern Electric Premier League championship with a six-wicket win over Portsmouth.

"The tension has been unbearable since early July and I have to admit I've had a few sleepless nights since the five-wicket defeat by Havant the previous week," said the South Wilts skipper.

"I knew we were still in a good position with only 21 points needed, but my mind went back to 1999 when we lost our last two matches and Hungerford nicked the old Southern League championship off us right at the death."

But there was no stopping South Wilts this time - their first title in 15 years being secured with an emphatic win on Southsea's sea front.

Remarkably, the Salisbury club have carried off the bounty after losing their first two matches of the season to Bournemouth and the Hampshire Academy.

They scraped home off the last ball in each of their first two wins over Andover and Liphook & Ripsley.

"I honestly thought we had no chance of even making the play-offs at that stage," Wade admitted.

"But then we put together a remarkable run of ten wins out of 11, basically because we had a side more suited to 'time' cricket and were able to go out and attack opponents.

"We hadn't played well in the 50-over format, but when it mattered against Portsmouth we produced the goods and now we're league champions," he beamed.

It was the first time Wade had won a major honour in 22 years.

"We won the Southern Electric knockout cup a couple of years ago, but this is the first time I've ever won a league, so you can imagine how delighted I am," Wade said.

Initially, it was far from plain sailing for South Wilts as Portsmouth - put into bat on a wet St Helen's surface - made steady progress, reaching 73-2 off 21 overs.

Lee Savident (19) handed out some meaty punishment to Lysander Wolf, but the pencil-thin teenage medium-pace bowler got his revenge by having the ex-Hampshire man caught.

When Adie Holewell claimed the prize scalp of Carl Bradfield (29), South Wilts must have thought they were in business.

But it needed the left-arm guile of 16-year old Eddie Abel - one of three teenagers in the title-winning South Wilts team - to weave his magic and cut through Portsmouth's middle order.

In the space of ten overs, three of which were maidens, Abel (3-19) snapped up return catches to remove Sam Lavery and Matt Scott, and tempted Ben Thane (28) to sky a catch into the waiting hands of Alan Kruger.

The Bishop Wordsworth's schoolboy has now taken 24 Premier League wickets this season.

With James Hayward also breaking through, Portsmouth were on the ropes at 110-6.

Amid some often chaotic running between the wickets, James Moon (31), James Manning and Pete Hayward rallied to lift Portsmouth to an eventual 174-9 - but it was never likely to be enough.

Russell Rowe holed out early in South Wilts' reply, but Jason Laney (43) and Jamie Glasson (51) pointed the visitors towards victory - and the championship - with a 75-run stand.

The pair both fell as South Wilts forced the pace, but after Rob Wade had become Paul Ancell's second victim, Jon Chandler (25 not out) and Kruger hit the winning runs in quick time - a six-wicket win being achieved with three overs to spare.

An 11th win in 15 outings not only secured South Wilts their first title since 1990, but a home tie in the inaugural Premiership play-off semi-finals in two weeks time.

There is a £500 prize up for grabs for the play-off winners and the likelihood is that South Wilts will face either the Hampshire Academy or Bournemouth for a place in the final at Hursley Park on September 12.