Lord’s (St David’s won toss): St David’s beat Southampton Rangers by 140 runs

Allan Douglas Jr smashed a season best 122 as St David’s scored another convincing win over the league champions yesterday to remain at the top of the Logic Premier Division.

Douglas, who has had knocks of 34 not out, 46 and 51 not out since joining St David’s on a late transfer after hitting 42 and 72 in his two matches for Cleveland, is earning a reputation as a devastating batsman late in the innings.

He tore into the Rangers bowling, smashing 13 sixes and a four after coming to the crease in the 27th over at 126 for four.

When Douglas was dismissed in the 49th over, stumped by Ricardo Brangman off Hasan Durham, he had shared in a century stand with Shannon Raynor, who was 20 not out, taking the score from 183 to 284.

St David’s just missed posting another score in excess of 300 against Rangers, although the 294 they put up proved more than enough after they restricted the league champions to 70 for four after 29 overs before Rangers ended their 50 overs on 154 for seven.

Openers Delyone Borden and Ajuan Lamb gave St David’s a start of 39 in seven overs before Fiqre Crockwell, batting at three, kept things going with a knock of 53, with Dion Stovell chipping in with 29 against his former club. At Crockwell’s dismissal at 126 for four in the 27th over, Rangers must have been confident of keeping St David’s to a reasonable total. However, a stand of 57 for the fifth wicket between Stovell and Douglas changed things as the runs began to flow late in the innings with 158 coming in the last 20 overs.

“I’m happy up to now, I love to watch a good game of cricket and these young men, I love to see them bat,” George Cannonier, the St David’s coach, said.

“I just mentioned how much these guys have listened and learnt from young Stovell while ‘Dougie’ brings an energy. He came to me and said he just wanted to win the league with a good team, but I tried to talk him out of coming because I knew he was sacrificing a position in the Eastern Counties [with Cleveland].

“He played a couple of games against us in the Twenty20 and then just beat the late transfer deadline. I was most surprised [when he pursued the late transfer], but I tell him all the time, that if ‘you came here to win the league then you’re going to have to be a big help. If this is what you promised yourself then lets do it’.”

Ryan Belboda was the pick of the Rangers bowlers, taking two for just 30 off his ten overs, while Hasan Durham claimed two for 61. Three other bowlers, Janeiro Tucker, Micah Wellman and Vernon Eve all went for more than 50 runs in their spells.

The Rangers reply started slowly with only two runs coming by the fifth over when Kwame Tucker pulled a short delivery from Cejay Outerbridge straight to Ajuan Lamb at short mid-wicket. Curtis Jackson and Alex Dore threatened briefly with a second-wicket stand of 37 in six overs, which was filled with boundaries and took Outerbridge and Rudell Pitcher out of the attack.

However, second-change Delyone Borden had Dore stumped with his second delivery, ending a knock of 20 which came from five fours.

St David’s never loosened their grip after that. Jackson departed for 25 at 55 for three and when captain Janeiro Tucker fell to a running catch at long on by Outerbridge, it represented the last of Rangers’s hopes, although Ricardo Brangman and Andrew Raynor did add 64 for the fifth wicket.

There were only six overs left in the match when Raynor was trapped lbw for 33 by Outerbridge, now back for a second spell at the club end.

Brangman departed two overs later when Outerbridge bowled him for 45 after the bottom of his bat hit his front boot as he played forward to a well-pitched delivery. His innings contained four fours.

Outerbridge finished with four for 40 from ten overs while Borden had impressive figures of two for 19 from ten.