FOURTEEN points separate South Wilts from Havant going into Saturday’s potential ECB Southern Electric Premier Division title decider at Bemerton.

The lead pair collected maximum points from their penultimate round of Time pennant games.

Havant brushed aside fast-sliding Alton by eight wickets, while South Wilts made it 11 wins from 13 starts with a handsome 118-run victory over St Cross Symondians, who ran them close earlier in the season.

Skipper Tom Morton, whose 96 at the top of the order was the lynchpin innings for the triple champions, expressed his “considerable satisfaction” at the way South Wilts had won at the Green Jackets Ground.

“After the appalling weather we experienced on Friday, it was a difficult decision whether to bat first. We talked about it before the toss. There were mixed opinions, so I asked the top three batters and they all wanted us to go first.

“We backed ourselves and came out with 252 runs on the board,” he said.

Morton admitted conditions were “pretty tough early on, but it was easier batting first than later in the game".

Morton also said he had to “adopt a totally different approach to batting (at St Cross) to at any other time this season".

“I had to cut out the drives and work the ball around off the back foot. It was hard work, but very satisfying to adopt a different approach and still get 96," he added.

It was Morton’s third-wicket century stand with James Hayward (59) which effectively won the day for South Wilts.

“James’ was the pivotal knock. He came in at a difficult stage but batted really sensibly and played a key role towards us putting that total on the board,” the skipper reflected.

James Hibberd (29) and Rob Franklin (23) added quick runs to enable South Wilts to reach 252-7 (Matt Howarth 3-60).

“Early on the ball was leaving so many dents in the surface. As soon as that firmed up, it was then starting to do sidewise movement – and that’s when bowlers like James Hibberd come into play."

St Cross were always up against it, with left-armer Ryan Duffield (2-30) removing Tom Foyle and Matt Stokes to leave the hosts 35-3.

Hibberd (4-29) gradually worked his way through the order, with New Zealander Mike Pollard (38) the only batsman able to show the necessary technique.

Harry Foyle (29) swatted several sixes before Franklin (2-30) gained his revenge and St Cross fell to 134 all out.

nSouth Wilts make their third successive entry into the ECB’s NatWest Club t20 national championships when they travel to Wimbledon for Sunday’s regional finals.