Southampton Rangers extended their unbeaten run after beating Willow Cuts in a rain-hit contest at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday.

The visitors took full advantage of some loose bowling and poor fielding by their hosts which ultimately proved to be the difference between the two sides.

The match was reduced to 25 overs per side due to a lengthy rain delay.

When play resumed Cuts did well to keep the run rate down, restricting Rangers to 90 for two with just five overs remaining in the innings.

However, dropped catches, misfields and poor bowling at the death enabled the visitors to post a challenging total with Janeiro Tucker, the Rangers skipper, and Dion Stovell featuring in an unbroken 89-run fourth-wicket partnership that proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The swashbuckling Tucker dominated the stand, thumping three sixes and four fours in a dashing knock of 42 from 16 balls.

Stovell was just as aggressive as he gathered 39 from 21 balls and helped himself to six boundaries.

Kavon Fubler, the Cuts left arm spinner, bore the brunt of Rangers’ late fireworks display as he went for 18 and 19 runs in successive overs before being removed from the attack.

Seamers Kamal Bashir and Micah Simons also came in for some stick as they went for 19 and 16 runs in the 23rd and last overs as Tucker and Stovell cut loose.

The 36 runs Cuts leaked in extras, including 23 wides, also did them no favours.

Curtis Jackson and Shannon Rayner each scored 31 higher up the order and added 70 runs for the second wicket after the visitors lost opener Oronde Bascome cheaply in the fifth over of the innings after being sent in to bat.

Cuts made a promising start to their reply with Dwight Basden, the Cuts skipper, adding 37 runs for the first wicket with Ryan Shepperd.

Ryan Belboda, the veteran Rangers bowler, made the breakthrough in seventh over when he trapped Shepperd lbw.

Belboda struck again two overs later when he rattled Basden’s stumps and when Derrick Brangman, the Rangers left arm spinner, trapped Deunte Darrell lbw, the writing was on the wall.

The tail did wag, however, with Kavon Fubler putting on 32 runs for the eighth wicket with Bashir before he was caught in the deep by Stovell off the bowling of Tucker.

Bashir added a further 16 runs with Simons before he was taken in the deep off the bowling of Hasan Durham, the Rangers left arm spinner, who made amends after going for a costly 17 runs in his first over.

Last pair Simons and Kevin Fubler were at the crease when the overs expired with Cuts well shy of their target.