Kyle Hodsoll led a remarkable fightback in the field to guide Bailey’s Bay to a 21-run victory over champions Southampton Rangers in a thrilling Premier Division Twenty20 Final at Sea Breeze Oval yesterday.

After being put to the sword earlier with the new ball, Hodsoll turned the match on its head when he claimed three wickets in his third spell charging in from the southern end of the ground, including the prized scalp of Janeiro Tucker that virtually signalled the end of the visiting team’s run chase.

With Rangers closing in on their target at 107 for three in reply to Bay’s 141 for eight, Hodsoll was brought back into the attack at the start of the seventeenth over and struck a telling blow when he had Tucker, the Rangers captain, caught at square leg to ignite a slide from which the visitors never recovered.

With the threat of Tucker back in the pavilion, Hodsoll then tightened the screws as he uprooted Derrick Brangman’s off stump with a yorker with his next delivery to put himself on a hat-trick.

The seam bowler, who went for a costly 21 runs in his second over, was ultimately denied the rare feat but still managed to help Bay make further inroads after bowling Rohan Simons with a slower delivery the batsman failed to pick.

This left Rangers wobbling at 114 for six which soon became 117 for seven when Malachi Jones, the former Rangers player, bowled Ian Armstrong who never got going at the crease.

Rangers, who played a man short, required another 26 runs from their final two overs with two wickets in hand. But with all of their heavy hitters back in the pavilion the task proved well beyond reach as tail-enders Vernon Eve was run out and last man Delani Richardson was bowled by Nairobi Charmichael, who sealed Bay’s hard-fought victory with three balls remaining.

Hodsoll had figures of three for 50 while Jones, Bay’s most economical bowler, and Ricky Hoyte took two wickets each.

Janeiro Tucker struck 39 from 27 balls, Kwame Tucker 29 from 23 and Shannon Raynor 25 from 21 for the losing team.

Earlier, a vital 61-run partnership between Terryn Fray and Dennico Hollis laid the foundation for Bay’s winning total after the home team lost their first two wickets cheaply.

Fray scored 46 from 35 balls and hammered two sixes, and as many fours, before he was bowled by Janeiro Tucker who opened the bowling with Dion Stovell, the off-spinner.

Hollis was dropped in the deep early in his innings, a mistake which came back to haunt Rangers as the batsman cut loose and kept the scoreboard ticking over with some brutal stroke play.

The all rounder thumped 41 from 28 balls, including three sixes and three fours.

Hollis was particularly harsh on Stovell who he carted outside for three consecutive sixes in the sixteenth over before going for one too many big hits and giving a comfortable catch at backward square.

Stovell struck again with his next delivery when he had Irving Romaine caught down the ground to place himself on a hat-trick, which he was denied as Jones got off the mark with a single.

Bay’s run rate dipped considerably once Fray and Hollis were back in the pavilion and although they lost four additional wickets for 31 runs the damage had already been done as costly overs from Stovell and Derrick Brangman, who went for 17 and 15 runs in the sixteenth and seventeenth overs, ultimately took their toll.

Stovell led the Rangers attack with four for 31 while Tucker had two for 26.