CRAIG de Weymarn hopes explosive debuts from newcomers Chris Cooke and Scott Barlow are a sign of things to come for Bournemouth this year.

South African wicketkeeper-batsman Cooke notched 65 as Bournemouth raced to 260 for six against Hampshire Academy. Then ex-Sidmouth seamer Scott Barlow plundered five for 22 as the visitors were skittled for 134, with Bournemouth sealing a comfortable 126-run home victory on the opening day of the Division One campaign.

Asked if Cooke’s and Barlow’s performances were a sign of things to come, Bournemouth captain de Weymarn, said: “Let’s hope so! Chris made a good impact coming in at five. He’ll be a great acquisition and his 65 showed why we’ve recruited him, just to shore up our batting.

“The hope is, not only will he perform well for us, but his batting will rub off on some of the other boys and take a bit of pressure off one or two.

“Having him in the side, everyone will benefit. It certainly showed on Saturday because people could bat with a little bit more freedom knowing they had more stability around them.

“I was really impressed with Scott. He came on as first change and looks the real deal.

“Scott consistently puts the ball in the right places. He got movement off the seam and caused their batsmen all sorts of problems. He’s one to watch.”

Simon Watkins (53), James Park (50) and Martin Miller (40) also shone for Bournemouth, who bagged 22 points, with only Chris Wood (33) and Benny Howell (25) impressing for Hampshire Academy.

• Bashley needed two off the final ball to beat 2007, 2008 and 2009 champions Havant in a nail-biting finish at Elm Lane.

But Dan Friedman (24) scrambled one as Rydal tied with stunned Havant, who hung on to avoid a rare defeat.

Kevin Nash (6-34) and Matt King (3-35) impressed as Havant were dismissed for 150, with Andy Sexton (32) and Neil Thurgood (28) starring as Bashley were restricted to 150 for nine.

• Glyn Treagus (68) and Wahid Khan (34) led Lymington to 183, later reduced to 131 off 28 overs following three rain interruptions at St Cross Symondians, who replied with 132 for three to claim a seven-wicket win in the second last over.

• David Wheeler cracked 98 and Eric Linge 42 as New Milton chalked up 212 for seven to beat Havant seconds by 100 runs at home in Division Two. Ryan Beck bagged four for 15 as New Milton secured 21 points by skittling Havant for 112.

• Paulton’s Pete Wilde took three wickets without conceding a run as Bournemouth seconds were reduced to nine for four before Simon Ridley (21) helped them recover to 58 for five. The game was then abandoned due to rain.