DAVE JACKSON couldn't have done much more to prevent Burridge from crashing to a six-wicket defeat against Southern Electric Premier League, Division 2 new boys Alton.

He scored 102 and took 3-43 - but Burridge were unable to defend 241-7 as Alton swept home with seven overs to spare.

Arriving at the crease with Burridge rocking at 2-2, Jackson shared a third-wicket stand of 122 with Paul Friedrich (58) and a further 57 with Ed Brogan (28).

Roger Cawte's 30 not out furthered the Burridge cause, but there was no stopping Alton's pinch-hitting opener Bruce Oliphant after tea.

Oliphant smacked 102 out of a 159-run start with Howard Gadsby (56) as last season's unbeaten Premier 3 champions raced home in just 43 overs!

Hursley Park experienced precious little problem in beating Gosport Borough by eight wickets at The Quarters.

They were on the back foot while Borough's Queensland import Ryan Hale (67) remained at the crease.

But, once the Australian became the first of three wickets for spinner Ollie Green (3-23), Gosport crumbled from 96-1 to 141 all out.

Left-arm seamer Martin Taylor (4-29) and Andy Marks (2-19) raced through Borough's flimsy middle-order as Adie Aymes's side took charge.

Hursley lost Paul Marks cheaply, but a second-wicket stand of 131 between Adrian Small (55) and Paul Edwards (45 not out) guided Hursley to the brink of victory.

Australian Karl Whatham is proving a prize capture for Lymington, who won their second consecutive match, beating Easton & Martyr Worthy by two wickets at the Sports Ground.

The Sydney-based all-rounder followed up last week's inspired performance at Ventnor - he scored 80 and took 5-41 on the island - by guiding Lymington to a nervy victory.

This time he enjoyed a slightly less impressive 3-48 return with the ball, but his unbeaten 94 undoubtedly won the match for Lymington.

Having bowled Easton out for 207, Lymington appeared unlikely winners at 139-6, but the Balmain batter found a long overdue and reliable partner in Scott Sivier (23) to turn the tide in Lymington's favour.

Evergreen Trevor Yeates (3-27) caused all the early problems for Lymington, while Steve Green's cunning left-arm spin, which yielded a 4-33 return, created a procession to and from the crease as the evening session wore on.

Easton, beaten off the last ball by Hursley Park in their Division 2 opener, were unable to remove Whatham, however.

He added a priceless 46 with Sivier before Green twice broke the stumps in quick succession to leave Lymington wobbling at 197-8.

The Australian remained unfazed by the panic all around him and guided Lymington to 209-8 without further loss.

Easton will have been disappointed to have reached 139-2 and be dismissed for 207.

Kevin Neave (53), Shaun Green (26) and Dave Birch (36) eased them into the driving seat, but the innings fell apart against the combined off-spin of Danny Peacock (5-42) and Glyn Treagus (2-49), who caused the last five Easton wickets to fall for 19 runs. Calmore Sports bounced back from a narrow defeat at Burridge, with a solid all-round performance which sentenced visiting Sparsholt to a 63-run defeat at Loperwood Park.

Hampshire trialist James Hibberd (51) top-scored, but solid contributions down the order from Stuart Bailey (38) and Charlie Freeston (33) pointed Calmore to a useful 235 all out.

Sparsholt's top order - Jerry Frith, in particular - took far too long and the pressure was on Ryan Mannix (62) and James Schofield (50) as they tried to increase a below-par run rate.

The Australian all-rounder, Mannix tried his best.

But the outcome was inevitable before he departed amid a John Wall (4-39) and Mark Boston (3-47) engineered collapse which saw the last five wickets fall for just five runs and Sparsholt drop to 172 all out.

St Cross Symondians, who finished runners-up to Old Tauntonians & Romsey last season, are propping up the Division 2 table after suffering a second consecutive defeat.

Despite a 6-50 return by Nigel Miller, they lost by a 75-run margin to Ventnor at the Royal Green Jackets Ground.

Lee Brown (72) underpinned Ventnor's total of 239 and was fourth out at 171 after useful support from Neil Westhorpe (27) and Rob Archer (20).

Josh Nelson (31) and Andy White (34) added useful runs in the middle-order as Ventnor progressed to 204-5 before Miller, the former Colchester & East Essex all-rounder, got to work, taking four of the last five wickets.

But, despite Fergus Haycock (38) and Ben Adams (32), who moved the score on to 70-1, St Cross fell well short.

Six wickets fell for 29 runs as they slipped to 99-7 before closing at 164-8, with Phil Nevin (30 not out) and Mark Padwick (21) adding an air of respectability to the total.