Somerset Cricket Club (Willow Cuts won toss): Willow Cuts beat Bailey’s Bay by nine wickets

Willow Cuts beat Bailey’s Bay comfortably for the second time in the early weeks of the season, with Stephen Outerbridge, the Bay captain, offering no excuses but promising that things will be better against Southampton Rangers in their next match.

Cuts, who beat Bay by 90 runs two weeks ago in the Belco Cup, made short work of Bay on Sunday at Somerset Cricket Club, where they restricted them to 123 in 41.4 overs, despite the absence of Malachi Jones, the captain, who is abroad.

Kamal Bashir and Deunte Darrell both claimed four wickets as Bay slumped to 37 for five after just 15 overs and never adequately recovered, although Coolidge Durham and Kyle Hodsoll did add 50 for the sixth wicket in 12 overs.

Durham hit three fours and a six in his top knock of 32 before he was run out, while Hodsoll offered some resistance at No?7 with 17. Bashir was used in three spells and finished with four for 16 from 8.4 overs while Darrell claimed four for 26 off ten. Spinner Kevon Fubler, who shared the new ball with Bashir, had figures of one for 20 from six overs.

“At the moment we’re not playing our best cricket, but that’s sport and we’ll stay as a unit and I’m quite confident in the near future things will turn around for the good,” Outerbridge said.

“We haven’t had the rub of the green at the start of the season and we are short in some areas, but I’m still confident in the guys who are playing. It’s just a matter of the guys putting their hand up and saying, ‘I’m here to play cricket’.

“It was a really good wicket to bat on and you can’t have excuses. Our batting has been quite weak for the last few games, including last season. We’ll put in a performance next weekend at home, hopefully get the supporters behind us, and pull off a victory.”

Bay were without the likes of David Lovell, wicketkeeper Sinclair Smith and Lateef Trott, requiring Ryan Steede to open the batting with Chris Smith Jr, who became Bashir’s first victim when the score was 18.

Rodney Trott, Steede, Outerbridge and Cal Dill fell relatively quickly as Bay slumped to 37 for five and with a long tail. Burton Outerbridge, who scored 11, was the only tailender to reach double figures.

Sheroy Fubler supported Bashir and Darrell with a good spell in which he conceded only 13 from six overs.

Outerbridge took his mind off Bay’s early woes to compete in the half-marathon yesterday, then it is back to training this week to try to put things right. “I’m looking for a top-ten finish,” he joked before completing the 13.1-mile course in 2hr 14min 14sec, good for 475th.

“I did it once before when I was 21, when I was really fit. There will be a few guys from the club running; Coolidge Durham as well. He has been working hard for the team. Nobody works harder than him, and you will see him improving. That’s all I can ask of the players. I know eventually things will come back in our favour.”

Cuts, one of the pre-season favourites for the league title, were disciplined in their batting, as they reached their target with only the loss of Ricardo Bramgman for 30 after he put on 72 for the first wicket with teenager Shaquille Jones.

Brangman hit four fours and a six in his knock before Jones, who just transferred from Somerset, carried the team to victory with 58 not out, his first half-century for his new club. It included eight fours and two sixes as he struck some delightful boundaries, including fours through the off side to bring up his fifty and then the victory off the Bay captain. He and Chris Foggo added 53 for the unbroken second wicket.

“It’s long overdue,” the 19-year-old left-hander said. “I’ve had a few hard outs in the past weeks and I’ve been waiting for this.”

Jones has set himself a target of 500 runs this season, but said that he is not thinking about Cup Match right now.

“This is my first season with them [Cuts] and I just want to get myself in the team,” he said.

Rodney Trott was the pick of the Bay bowlers, going for just 29 off ten successive overs after opening the bowling with Kyle Hodsoll.