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Skipper Smith leads St. George's victory charge

St. George's 117-4 St. George's remain tied on points with Willow Cuts at the top of the Premier Division Open Championship after victory over neighbours St. David's at Lord's...despite the loss of three-and-a-half hours at the start.

The match was delayed to allow time for the wicket to dry, having been dampened by the weekend downpours.

But St. George's always had victory in their minds despite not beginning their own innings until 5.48.

They dismissed St. David's for 113 with captain Clay Smith taking five for 22 from 7.2 overs and spinner Eugene Foggo claiming three for six from 10 overs with seven maidens.

Smith was later to top score for St. George's with an unbeaten 51.

Foggo bowled his overs in three spells. His first three overs were maidens and yielded two wickets before he was switched to the other end where he bowled five more overs in his second spell and picked up another wicket.

Opener Eddie Lamb, who went off with a foot injury after just seven minutes, finished as high man for St. David's with 35, most of which came with a runner after he returned at 54-4. That was in the midst of a slump which saw St.

David's fall from 41 without loss to 54-5 in quick time.

Dean Pitcher was next high man for St. David's with 20 while captain Shea Pitcher scored 16 and Reginald Pitcher offered some resistance in the middle order with 14.

St. David's enjoyed some early success in the field, taking the wickets of Troy Hall and Dean Minors in the fourth and fifth overs as St. George's fell to 18-2. But Clay Smith and Jason Lewis (24) added 38 for the third wicket before Smith contributed another 51 for the fourth wicket with Lewis Foggo (15) to lead the victory chase.

The win was achieved with three overs remaining in the final 20 overs, with Smith completing his 50 with two fours off the first three deliveries of Jonathan Santucci's sixth over.

Bailey's Bay 236-8 Southampton 163-5 National team discard Glenn Blakeney blasted 110 not out at Southampton Oval to go with his 85 the previous weekend, but for the second straight match Bailey's Bay had to settle for a share of the points.

Losing 43 minutes at the start, Bay made a bold declaration at 4.15 only to see Southampton Rangers reply with 163-5 at the close, thanks to Janeiro Tucker's 89.

After an opening stand of 49 between captain Roger Trott and Cal Dill, Bay also enjoyed good partnerships for the second and third wickets between Trott and Blakeney which brought 59 and then another 49 between Blakeney and captain Charlie Marshall for the third wicket.

Blakeney's 110 included eight fours and five sixes while Trott, batting for 127 minutes, added 44 with four boundaries. Dill scored 27 and Marshall 18 but no other batsman reached double figures before the declaration.

Gary Crofton took four for 67 from 12.3 overs to lead Rangers' bowling.

Janeiro Tucker's marathon 25 overs brought just one wicket, for 61 runs, when he trapped Marshall lbw.

Then after losing their first two wickets (Olin Jones and Sheridan Ming) in the first two overs with just one run on the board, Tucker led the fightback with a dashing 89 which included five sixes and eight fours. He and Keith Wainwright (33) put on 111 for the third wicket which effectively ended any Bay hopes of victory while Darren Burchall offered further resistance in the middle-order with 26 which came in a stand of 43 with Tucker for the fourth wicket.

Corey Hill, sharing the new ball with Clarkie Trott, claimed three for 45 from 14 overs for Bay.

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