South Wilts are Southern Electric Premier League Time Pennant winners for a third successive season and for the sixth time in a remarkable seven-year period.

They ensured retention of the flag with a comfortable 69-run win over St Cross Symondians – the result extending South Wilts’ lead at the top to five points over Havant.

A match cut to 43-overs per side due to morning rain saw South Wilts post a healthy 237-4 and bowl St Cross out for 152.

South Wilts built their total around a century second-wicket stand between Eddie Abel (79) and Jack Mynott (38).

Richard Taylor (2-66) and Harry Foyle (2-29) checked South Wilts’ progress at 143-4, but the Salisbury club broke away again with Charlie Esson hitting an unbeaten 59 against his old club.

Esson shared a near century fifth-wicket stand with Ryan Burl, who marked his return from a two-month lay-off with a dislocated shoulder by scoring 41 not out.

A back injury prevented Burl doing much fielding, but his absence was hardly noticed as James Hibberd (4-21) cut through the St Cross top order.

Hibberd took three wickets for two runs to leave St Cross 58-4 – a position from which they never recovered.

Dan Young (49) eased the total to 86-5 after which only Tom Foyle (24) and stand-in skipper Jordan Finney (26) put up much resistance.

Rob Franklin (3-27) and Steve Warner (2-39) worked their way through the lower-order as St Cross Symondians fell away to 152 all out.

South Wilts’ victory came with its problems. Besides the injury to Burl, they lost form Eddie Abel with a broken finger, which will put him out for the rest of the season.