Sea Breeze Oval (Southampton Rangers won toss): Bailey’s Bay beat Southampton Rangers by 42 runs

Bailey’s Bay held off Southampton Rangers in a rain-reduced match to strengthen their grip on second place in the Logic Premier Division.

The home team had reached 35 for two after 12 overs when the rain came at 12.30pm to halt the match for three hours.

Upon resumption at 3.45pm, the overs were reduced to 28 a side, with Bay recovering to post 135 for eight and then restricting the league champions to 93 for nine for a comfortable victory.

Some smart fielding by Bay in the middle innings turned the match in their favour. First, at 61 for four in the seventeenth over, after a stand of 41 between captain Janeiro Tucker and Ricardo Brangman, Bay got the breakthrough when Stephen Outerbridge caught Brangman just inside the long-on boundary.

Quick thinking saw Outerbridge, as he was falling over the boundary rope, toss the ball into the air towards Kyle Hodsoll at long-off to take the catch and dismiss Brangman.

In the next over Tucker departed for 28 when his straight drive was smartly caught by Nyhrobi Carmichael at long-off.

Rangers’ challenge faded quickly after that with two more wickets going down on 70 and 81 by the 25th over, with Dennico Hollis running out Hasan Durham with a good piece of fielding in the covers to make it 70 for seven.

Derrick Brangman, playing against his former team, claimed four for 18 off five overs to lead the Bay bowling, including taking the first wicket of Gerald Simons on the first ball of the second over of the innings.

Opener Alex Dore departed next over when Kyle Hodsoll had him caught behind when he attempted to cut a short delivery.

Jason Wade and Andrew Raynor then departed in the sixth and eighth overs as Brangman claimed his second and third wickets to have the visiting side in early trouble at 20 for four.

Earlier, Rodney Trott, the Bay captain, top scored for his side with 21, while Tre Manders scored 20 in a third-wicket stand of 53 with Trott.

After the resumption they carried the score on to 84 before Rangers claimed three wickets in the space of 11 runs with Kyle Lightbourne claiming two for 33 off five overs.

After a wayward first over when he bowled several wides, Lightbourne found his line and tidied up before trapping Manders leg-before and then bowling Trott.

Ryan Belboda was one of five Rangers bowlers taking one wicket, giving up just 13 runs in his six overs with four maidens.