Winchester are Hampshire indoor champions for the seventh time in nine years.

Beaten ECB semi-final-ist at Lord's last month, Winchester clinched theirnow regular spot in the national championships with comparative ease - this despite losing Hampshire Board opening batsman Paul Marks to a back injury.

One Marks replaced another with Stuart stepping in with a decade and more of experience at the highest level.

Winchester promptly beat Paultons by 25 runs before trouncing 2001 runners-up Easton in the first final at Hampshire's Rose Bowl.

Chris Wheeler (30), who top scored in both matches, Jimmy Taylor (28), Green (26) and Dave Greetham (25) led the way as Winchester set off on a 156-run scoring spree against Easton, whose bowling and fielding fell apart. And, once left-armer Martin Taylor (3-11) had got amongst the Easton top order, the result was a foregone conclusion.

Only last-man Mark Stone (20) and Andy Birch (19) put up tokenresistance to take the total to 93 as Winchester retained their crown.

Semi-finals : Winchester 122-4 (Wheeler 32, J Taylor 21) Paultons 97-5 (Richman40), Lymington 76-5 (Smith 36, Phillips 20, Sh Green 2-18) Easton 78-2 (A Birch 15, Sh Green 15, Smith 2-21).

Paul Marks faces a late check on his back before the HCB's 50-over match against Hampshire II at The Rose Bowl on Sunday (11am). County Second XI coach Tony Middleton is expected to field several of his prospective Academy XI in the match.

Hampshire Board XI: P Gover (Havant), P Marks, D Greetham (Winchester KS), D Peacock (Lymington), D Banks, D Shirazi, K Stewart (BAT ), N Randall, C Wright (Liphook), R Miller, M Hooper (Andover).

Fair Oak are the first winners of the NatWest Bank Under-16 Indoor championships after pipping table-topping Havant by four runs in a thrilling Rose Bowl final. Paul Malone (27), James Scutt (26) and Tom Luff (25) guided Fair Oak to 128-4 but some wayward bowling, culminating in 57 wides and no-balls, almost cost them dear.

Chris Wade (30) and Nick Hardacre (29) provided Havant with a ten-an-over start, but key seventh and eighth overs slowed the rate.

Havant needed 12 off Ed White's final over, but the left-armer held - his nerve to restrict Havant to 124-5.