PHC Field (Southampton Rangers won toss): Southampton Rangers beat Somerset Bridge by nine wickets

Holders Southampton Rangers were crowned Western Counties champions after taking less than four hours to dismantle Somerset Bridge in Saturday’s final round at PHC Field.

Guest players Derrick Brangman and Dion Stovell bagged eight wickets between as Bridge were bowled out for just 81 in 29.2 overs after being sent in by Janeiro Tucker, the Rangers captain.

Alex Dore then dominated a half-century opening stand with Vernon Eve and carried his bat as Rangers raced to victory with plenty of wickets in hand and overs to spare.

“We came with a plan and it worked,” Ricky Brangman, the Rangers coach, said. “Derrick and Dion came in and gave us a boost. They had the ball turning on a nice track and I was proud that Derrick got five wickets.

“I don’t think Vernon should have got out because we just had to take our time to score 82 runs. He got out, but he also done a good job and overall I am happy with the ways things turned out for us.”

Alfred Carter, the Bridge coach, made no excuses for his team’s poor batting display.

“Mentally we didn’t bat the overs out,” he said. “Nobody applied themselves for a long period of time and that’s where we lost the game.

“A couple of guys played across the line at the wrong time and that’s what cost us, because 80 runs against a Premier Division side is not enough.”

Brangman was drafted into the Rangers squad as a replacement for his brother Ricardo, who is serving a three-match ban, and made the most of his opportunity by claiming five for 21. He also sent down five maidens with his left-arm spin, bowling from the northern end of the ground.

Brangman was introduced into the attack as first change in the ninth over, and with Bridge already wobbling at 21 for two ripped the challenger’s middle order to shreds without breaking a sweat.

He claimed two wickets in his second over as Noel Woods, the Bridge captain, and Donnie Charles got their lines horribly wrong and were bowled, and then trapped Jason Smith leg-before to leave the challengers reeling at 71 for seven in the 23rd over.

Brangman, the Bailey’s Bay player, was subjected to some rough treatment as he went for 16 runs in his sixth over as tail-ender Clarence Trott rolled up his sleeves and tried to blast Bridge out of trouble.

However, the slow bowler had the final say as he bowled Trott in the 25th over, and then completed his impressive five-wicket haul when Bilal Lambert was caught at long on by Stovell two overs later.

Stovell was also a thorn in Bridge’s side, claiming three for 28 from just 4.2 overs.

The St David’s player snared the prized wicket of guest player Joshua Gilbert, who he bowled in the tenth over, and struck again two overs later after taking a return catch to dismiss Maclaren Smith off his own bowling.

Stovell completed his treble after bowling last man Wayne Ball Jr to bring the curtains down on the innings.

Trott top scored for Bridge with 19 from 22 balls, which included two sixes and a four.

Gilbert, Smith and Scott Tucker were the only other Bridge batsmen in double figures.

With plenty of time remaining before the scheduled interval break, Rangers went straight in to bat and began their run chase on solid ground as Dore and Eve quickly got on top of the new ball.

Dore dominated the opening stand of 59 with some powerful hitting, with a more sedated Eve keen to rotate the strike.

Trott eventually made the breakthrough in the seventeenth over after having Eve caught in the covers by Ball.

But that was as good as it got for Bridge in the field as Dore and Andrew Raynor added 24 runs for the second wicket to carry Rangers safely across the line in 18.5 overs.

Dore sealed Rangers’ emphatic victory by thumping Trott down the ground for four. The left-handed batsman finished unbeaten on 41, which came off 50 balls, and included a six and five fours.

Trott returned figures of one for 21, while Charles was Bridge’s most economical bowler, going for less than two runs per over during a four over burst with the new ball.