TWO carnival days of drinking, eating, partying and cricket hosted by Sarisbury Athletic in their fourth annual festival of cricket had a serious side.

As organiser Andy Dowland explained: "It was a great, great weekend. The atmosphere was fantastic and all the money we have raised will go straight back into promoting the youth set-up at the club."

With colts teams running from under-nines to under-15s and a first team largely made up of teenagers, youth plays a huge part at Sarisbury. Teams from Locks Heath, Eastleigh, Rowner, Burseldon and Margaretting joined the hosts for the ten-over round robin tournament.

And, as ever, the emphasis was very much on enjoying the occasion.

Club treasurer Elaine Dowland and youth development officer Bob Joyce took control of refreshments and ensured that everyone was suitably nourished throughout the weekend.

Festival sponsors were the Abshot Hotel and Country Club and they put on an evening of Chilean food and music as friends and families of the players also got involved in the occasion.

But it is, of course, a club with a long and distinguished history.

Some say that cricket matches were even played at Sarisbury Green before Hambledon in the 1750s.

Although Sarisbury's first team now plays at Allotment Road, the third eleven still stage their home matches at the green.

The first team stopped playing on the picturesque pitch several years ago for safety reasons!

The boundary on one side of the ground is only 25 yards from the square and big hits over the years have led to a spate of smashed windows - and cars.

The most famous incident occurred a few years ago when a cricket ball was hit out of the ground and straight onto the bonnet of a brand new Aston Martin DB8.

The furious owner even tried to take the cricket club to court and threatened to sue for £3,000 in damages.

"I think he got about £1,000 off the insurance in the end," laughed Dowland.

"Over the years there has been a lot of damage - I remember hitting a Rover," he added.

"We even had a local councillor saying that we should move. In the end the ground became available at Allotment Road and we decided to move. As a club we had outgrown the green.

"But matches are still played down there and we have a net up now to protect the road. It has worked quite well this year and there have not been too many accidents recently."

Even since the change of ground, several big hitters at the club have ensured that locals are still not totally safe.

Overseas player Amogh Pandit from Bombay even once managed to clear the new pavilion and put the ball into Church Close.

But Dowland got his comeuppance for all the windscreens he has smashed when a batsman cracked one in his direction during a tour match. Amazingly, it bounced off his head to the boundary!

"It knocked me out and I had to go to hospital, but I was OK once I came round," he said.