Somerset Bridge were bowled out for a measly 37 as Southampton Rangers retained the Western Counties Cup with a 105-run victory at White Hill Field on Saturday.

Rangers were restricted to 142 off 36.1 overs on an unpredictable wicket after being put into bat, with opener Alex Dore top scoring with 35 runs in the second-round match.

Janeiro Tucker, the Rangers captain, weighed in with 31 while guest player Dion Stovell scored a quick-fire 30.

Teenage seam bowler Torleair Caines was the pick of the Bridge bowlers with three wickets for 24 runs, with Noel Woods, the Bridge captain, claiming two for 32 while Jamie Raynor took two for 17.

It may not have been a formidable total by Rangers, but the Premier Division side always felt confident of defending it against Bridge, who named three colts — Raynor, Caines and Sharye Tavares — in their line-up.

Wickets fell quickly and cheaply as Bridge managed just 37 off 23.1 overs, with guest player Derrick Brangman, a left-arm slow bowler, doing the brunt of the damage, taking four for 14 and fellow spinner Vernon Eve claiming three for six.

Wood, the Bridge opener, was the only batsman to reach double figures with 16.

It a match delayed by two hours because of a wet pitch, Kwame Tucker, the experienced Rangers wicketkeeper, admitted it was a tough wicket.

“It was a challenging wicket to bat on,” said Tucker, whose side beat Willow Cuts in the opening round last weekend. “The wicket had a lot of movement and we fought to 140, which was a good score on this wicket. We knew we would have to bowl well and that’s what we did. We knew 140 was going to be enough.”

Tucker, who was dismissed for one at the top of the order, praised the Rangers bowlers for a disciplined performance against the challenger’s fragile batting line-up.

“The bowlers did very well, especially our spinners as the wicket was taking spin and they put the ball in the right areas,” Tucker added.

“We’ll take each round as it comes and we’re not going to settle here. We’ll fight hard to the end of the tournament.”

Woods believed his bowlers deserved plenty of praise but said that ultimately Bridge had lost to a superior side.

“The bowlers and fielders did pretty good,” Woods said. “We held them under 150, which was what we were aiming to do.

“In the batting, we started pretty well but then we collapsed. We’re a First Division team whereas they’re a Premier Division and we were just trying to bring our best performance. I thought the Rangers bowling was pretty average and our batsman took too many chances when we really didn’t have to.”

They will face PHC in the third round on August 12.