Southampton Rangers, 191 all out, beat Devonshire Rec, 129 all out, by 62 runs

Southampton Rangers skipper Dion Stovell hailed his team’s performance following their crucial away victory over Devonshire Rec on Saturday.

Stovell lead from the front, stroking 105 at the top of the Rangers order to guide them to their total of 191, before swinging the game in the favour of the visitors with the ball, claiming four wickets for 33 runs.

Rec skipper Derrick Brangman took two wickets to lead his side’s bowling attack, while also made 29 in the loss.

It was a must win for Rangers, who were six points behind their opponents with only a handful of games left in the league.

The win puts Rangers above Rec and St George’s, who lost to bottom club PHC, and in the hunt for a Belco Cup spot if they finish in the top four.

In a further boost, Rangers will be awarded a default victory for yesterday’s scheduled game against Young Men’s Social Club, who withdrew from the league in June.

Stovell believes no one wants to play his side as they come into their own in the closing weeks.

“It was a huge win for us, everything is happening in our favour right now and I’m pleased with the result,” said Stovell. “The win was a must for us because we needed to get ahead of them and then look to our game against PHC.

“We are targeting a place in the Belco Cup and at the moment we are there so as the season comes to a close it will be interesting to see where we end up.

“We still have a lot of work to do and still have PHC and Willow Cuts to come, so we can’t take anyone for granted right now.”

It wasn’t too long ago that the side was about to be written off in the survival race, but they are now sitting pretty in the standings with games against PHC and Willow Cuts remaining.

While admitting his side aren’t out of the doghouse just yet, Stovell acknowledged the season will only get more interesting as the weeks dwindled down.

“I don’t know who is going down right now but it’s interesting and setting up to be a crucial run-in with a number of teams close to relegation, but I know that no one wants to play us right now because we have found our form with both the bat and ball.

“There’s everything to play for and even St George’s are in the thick of the relegation race with their loss, so it’s all to play for and it will be a fascinating finish to the season.

“From the standings you can see who is safe and who can be dragged into the battle for the other two drop spots, we are clear for now, but we can go along with PHC, Devonshire Rec, Willow Cuts, and St George’s, and they all have to play each other so it will go down to the wire.”