BASINGSTOKE and North Hants, the top club cricket side in the area, are trying to add to past glories this season.

At the moment they are waiting to see if new skipper Charl Willoughby will be playing for them or is selected for South Africa's touring party in England later in the summer.

The May's Bounty batting line-up is led by seasoned campaigners Lee Nurse and Ian Maynard, while wicketkeeper Ross Hunter is also useful with the bat as is Andy Giles.

Dean Nurse, younger brother of Lee Nurse, is a key member of the middle order.

Basingstoke have two useful all-rounders in Ray Pavesi and Scott Dyer, who can win matches with either the bat or the ball.

The bowling attack is led by Chris Chandler and last season's leading wicket-taker Jon Govett. David Holland made his first team debut in the opening game of this season, taking a wicket with his first ball.

The club was founded in 1865 with benefactor John May the club's first president. It was 1969 before the team entered their first league, the Southern Evening Echo League, and in 1972 they entered the Thames Valley League.

They were champions in the inaugural season and won the league four more times - in 1985, 1988, 1989 and 1996 - before club cricket was restructured and Basingstoke moved into the Home Counties League.

In the first Home Counties season, in 2000, they finished sixth and, a year later, fourth. Last season, they started with four defeats but recovered and could have finished runners-up but, in the end, had to settle for fifth place.