Sea Breeze Oval (Bailey’s Bay won toss): St David’s beat Bailey’s Bay by 27 runs

Barring an upset St David’s will be crowned Premier Division champions with at least a game to spare.

Victory yesterday over their Eastern Counties rivals extend their unbeaten run in the Logic Premier Division to eight games.

After losing to St David’s on June 12, Bay went into the top-of-the-table clash facing a must-win situation. They did well to restrict St David’s to 175 in 47 overs, but in the end their batsmen did not back up the bowlers as they fell just short of victory with 9.5 overs remaining.

The result means that one of the other four teams in the division must beat St David’s in order for the league race to go down to the anticipated last game of the season, when St David’s host Bay at Lord’s.

Dedicating the rest of their season to their former team-mate Fiqre Crockwell, St David’s played with more determination, making it difficult for Bay in their run chase.

It should have been comfortable at less than four runs an over, but St David’s pegged them back, taking two wickets in the space of ten runs to make it 73 for five, and then three wickets in two overs to put the home team in deeper trouble at 109 for eight after 29 overs.

Like St David’s, Bay offered some late resistance with Derrick Brangman and Kyle Hodsoll putting on 28 runs for the ninth wicket. Then, after Brangman and last man Zeko Burgess advanced the score to 148 with ten overs remaining, Brangman lofted an off-drive to give Kevin Hurdle an easy catch at long-off to end the match.

“I’d like to congratulate St David’s on their victory today, my team was a little relaxed and St David’s wanted it more,” Rodney Trott, the Bay captain, said. “They have so much to play for, with Fiqre passing.

“When you play against a team that has something to play for, you have to come with your A game. If we don’t win the league then they will be the best team in the league.”

Bay’s hopes rest on possibly Southampton Rangers beating St David’s again, having done so in the Twenty20 semi-final in May. Trott admits the odds are against them now.

“I’m hurting right now, this is the second game in a row that our bowlers have bowled well and our batters have let the team down,” he said.

“It is something that has been bothering the club for a couple of years now. We’ll bat good one week and the next week we don’t, despite the batting power that we have.

“I think the bowlers did well to keep them to 175, we’ll take 175 any day against St David’s. That was only three runs an over but again we came up short.”

Top scorers for St David’s were Chris Douglas and Dion Stovell, both making 39, while OJ Pitcher, the captain, scored 27 as he and Douglas carried the score from 27 for two to 80 for three.

Douglas was trapped leg-before by Derrick Brangman in the 24th over after hitting five fours and in the next over Pitcher was bowled by Trott without any addition to the score.

Then, when St David’s were rocked back even further with the fifth and sixth wickets falling on 93 and 94, it looked like St David’s would struggle to reach 150.

Stovell and George O’Brien, who made 14, put on 41 for the eighth wicket in ten overs before Shannon Rayner and Kevin Hurdle added 23 more for the ninth wicket.

Trott, who dropped O’Brien in the slips before he reached double figures, made amends by taking three more wickets, including trapping O’Brien leg-before, to finish with four for 36 from ten overs. Zeko Burgess claimed three for 59 off ten.

Terry Fray scored a patient 29 at the top of the Bay innings before he was eventually fourth out in the 21st over. Stephen Outerbridge scored a valuable 23 in the middle order before falling leg-before to Stovell as St David’s tightened their grip at 109 for seven.

That became 109 for eight when tailender Lateef Trott, who injured his hamstring in the second over of the match, was bowled by Stovell after facing just two balls.

Justin Pitcher claimed three for 19, while OJ Pitcher had two for 20 and Stovell two for 16.

“Against Bailey’s Bay whenever we bat first and score 150 it seems to be enough,” George Cannonier, the St David’s coach, said. “Bay’s bowlers held us back for a while and bowled us out but what kept us in the game was the spirit we are showing for Fiqre, and the fact that [captain] OJ dedicated this game to him.

“Bay have a strong team but our reason for winning is a little stronger, that’s the only difference in the teams. I just love the heart that the players show on the field.

“We didn’t get many bonus points today but we won the game, so I’m happy about that.”