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Double triumph for Rangers

Lindos Twenty20Game One - Southampton Rangers, 207 for two, beat Warwick 81 for nine, by 126 runsGame Two – Southampton Rangers, 151 for eight, beat Somerset 120 all out, by 31 runsSouthampton Rangers got their Twenty20 season off to a comfortable start with two easy victories at Southampton Oval today.A crushing 126-run demolition of Warwick was followed by a relatively easy 31 run win over Somerset, and they can complete a whitewash of First Division teams when they take on Flatts tomorrow morning.While Warwick's defeat was by far the heaviest, Somerset's was the more disappointing, simply because they gave themselves a chance to win.Restricting any side to 151 at the Oval takes a fair bowling effort, and Somerset, who opened with national squad players Jordan Desilva and Joshua Gilbert did a fine job.Gilbert accounted for Dion Stovell and Kwame Tucker in his second over, and with Desilva bowling a tight line, Rangers were 27 for two from the opening five overs.In the end it fell to Janeiro Tucker (49) and Shannon Rayner (27) to rescue the situation, and after the loss of Alex Core, they got their side to 110 before Tucker became the first of Shaquille Jones' two victims.Somerset skipper Jekon Edness did well rotating his attack, which made the First Division side's approach to their run chase all the more confusing.The situation required Edness and his men to hit Ranger hard from the off, instead they sent out Tony Cheeseman and Jermaine Warner to open, and had lost before they'd even started.Warner stayed at the crease for almost 14 overs, managed just 21 runs in that time, and scratched around so badly it was painful to watch. Cheeseman didn't last nearly as long, but his replacement, Andrew Taylor, was little better.Between them, Taylor and Warner ate up eight overs, scoring just 33 runs, and by the time Taylor was out, Somerset's task was too big.The man who should have opened, Reid Jones, finally came in at four, and was out trying to hit the ball out of the ground in a desperate attempt to kick start the innings.Janeiro Tucker was the pick of the Rangers bowlers, taking four wickets for 23 runs, including two in two balls to dismiss Desilva and Gilbert. He was ably supported by Dornielle Farrel, who took three wickets against Somerset, to add to the three he picked up against Warwick in the first game.Rangers also batted first in that match, the highlight of which was the unbeaten 125-run partnership between Curtis Jackson (84) and Shannon Rayner (46).The pair came together with the score at 82 for two in the 10 over, and tore Warwick apart in the second 10. Brendon Simmons took one wicket, but also most of the punishment, conceding 55 runs off his four overs.Warwick were never likely to threaten Rangers' total, and they did well to survive their 20 overs, even if they did lose three wickets in the last over.Farrel and Stovell both picked up three wickets, while Ryan Belboda and Shannon Rayner also weighed in. Andre Burgess (20) was Warwick's top scorer, with Hoytz Zuill grabbing a quick-fire 15 in the middle order.