Southampton Rangers 305 and 208-4 declared

St.David's 213-7, 80-5

Southampton Rangers and St.David's played to a tame draw as the bat dominated ball in the first Premier Two-Day League match at Southampton Oval over the weekend.

The home team's decision to bat out 69.5 overs on Saturday came back to haunt them late yesterday afternoon as the Islanders exited the Oval with their pride intact after the match was called at 6.45 p.m. due to failing light.

St.David's were hobbling at 80 for five after being asked to score 300 in 31 overs just after the tea break.

Led by the free-scoring bats of Lionel Cann (77), skipper Janeiro Tucker (65), Keith Wainwright (61) and Stevie Lightbourne (38), Rangers made their opponents pay a high price for spilling several chances in the field en route to amassing a formidable 305 in their first innings.

Cann again provided the big bat, smashing a whirlwind eight fours and six sixes off only 38 deliveries, including three successive boundaries off OJ Pitcher's second and final over.

The former St.David's all-rounder added 97 runs for the eighth wicket with skipper Tucker who managed six sixes and a four.

Opener Wainwright stroked seven fours and a six, Lightbourne three fours and two sixes, while deputising wicketkeeper Rohaan Simons (22) remained unbeaten at the crease when Rangers innings finally came to a close one ball shy of the tea break.

Arthur Pitcher jr, Loren Marshall, Sammy Robinson and Angelo Cannonier each took two wickets apiece for an Islanders team missing Dean Minors, George O'Brien jr and skipper Clay Smith.

In reply to Rangers' mammoth total, St.David's could only muster 213 with in-form batsman Chris Foggo leading the way with a polished knock of 88.

After quickly digging in at the crease, Foggo launched a brutal assault on Southampton's diluted bowling attack with some excellent strokeplay on both the front and back foot. The national team standby carved 13 fours and a six before he was bowled pulling across the line of Cann's very first delivery 12 runs shy of what would have been a deserving third century of the season.

St.David's also received useful contributions from Arthur Pitcher Jr (24) and Del Hollis (21 not out) with OJ Pitcher and Delyone Borden each adding 18 runs.

Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock simply on top of his game, returning incredible figures of five for 68 off a marathon 33 overs including 11 maidens. Cann accounted for the remaining St.David's wickets at a cost of 24 runs.

Rangers began their second innings with a comfortable 92-run lead and were never really bothered at the crease as openers Wainwright (47) and Curtis Jackson (32) put on 73 runs for the first wicket while Cann kept the scoreboard ticking over with an unbeaten 61 (five fours and three sixes).

Skipper Tucker scored 36 as Rangers declared their innings just after tea, leaving St.David's with the almost impossible task of scoring over 300 runs from 186 balls.

Delyone Borden led the Islanders' attack with respectable figures of three for 60 from 19 overs.

Foggo could only manage 18 runs during St.David's second innings before Tucker had him bowled while Loren Marshall hit five fours during an unbeaten knock of 32.

Tucker and Ryan Belboda each took two wickets while Leverock pegged the Islanders batsmen back on his way to stingy figures of none for two from six overs, including four maidens.

St.David's also lost OJ Pitcher to a suspected groin injury, the player retiring hurt on four.

St.George's 329

Willow Cuts 163 and 150

Defending two-day champions St. George's got the new campaign off to a flying start at Wellington Oval with a crushing innings victory over Willow Cuts.

Batting first on Saturday morning, the hosts' openers Eugene Foggo (74) and Detroy Smith (71) put on 154 for the first wicket, setting the tone for the entire weekend's proceedings.

While Cuts' Trevor Corday (three for 92) and Reggie Tucker (five for 56) did their best to disrupt the flow, a spirited partnership down the order between Travis Smith (36) and Allan Douglas jr (72) pushed St. George's' score above the three hundred mark in nigh on 70 overs.

Under pressure from the get-go, Cuts were blown away by the medium pace of veteran Herbie Bascombe, who bulldozed through the visitors' top-order and recorded the impressive figures of six for 73 off 16 overs.

While Dexter Basden (38), Ryan Shepard (40), Reggie Tucker (30) and Dwight Basden (29) all got useful starts, none went on to register the big score which their predicament clearly required.

Following on 166 runs behind, Cuts were seriously up against it. But even with so many overs to get the job done, it was somewhat of a surprise to those watching that St.George's took so long to go for the jugular and crowd the bat with spinners from both ends.

Even still, Cuts did not put up much of a fight and were dismissed 16 runs short of making St. George's bat again.

On a pitch increasingly taking turn, left armer Wilbur Burt was in his element, snaring five victims for only seven runs in a devastating eight-over spell. Offspinner Travis Smith chipped in with three wickets of his own.

Bailey's Bay 261 and 38-5

Devonshire Rec 155 and 142

Despite an alarming wobble on Sunday afternoon, hosts Bailey's Bay defeated Devonshire Rec. by five wickets at Sea Breeze Oval.

Set only 38 to win, having made the visitors follow on 129 runs behind, complacency quickly set in and Bay found themselves in a spot of bother at six for three.

However, in the face of some tight, competitive bowling from Dean Stephens and Omar Amory, Bay clung on to seal the victory with the help of a determined 11 not out from Roderick Masters.

On Saturday, Bay batted first and looked to be setting a solid platform at 53 for one. Omar Amory (four for 66) had other ideas, however, capturing a clutch of Bay middle order wickets to leave the hosts struggling on 127 for seven.

However, an important half century from Ryan Steede (57) - whose good form with the bat will do his chances of making the starting eleven for the national team this summer no harm at all - pushed Bay's total above 250, giving it an air of respectability.

But while opener Ricardo Brangman (58) registered a good fifty at the top of the Rec batting order, no other batsman reached 30 and they were ultimately forced to follow on. Bay's talented young offspinner Rodney Trott took four for 37 off his 14.1 overs.

Rec could only muster a paltry 142 at the second time of asking, with Ryan Steede (three for 42) claiming a batch of top-order wickets. Wendell Swan top-scored for the visitors with 29 not out.

Social Club 140 and 158

Western Stars 177 and 124-2

Keen to halt their recent losing streak, Western Stars opened the two-day tournament with a comprehensive victory away to Social Club.

Playing at Devonshire Recreation Club, the home side were routed for 140 in their first innings to which Stars replied with 177, to grab a handy lead of 37 runs. In their second turn at bat, Social Club fared little better posting 158.

This left the opposition with 122 to win and Stars duly romped home at 124 for two with veteran Albert Steede and skipper Justin Robinson shepherding their side to the target.

“There was a lot of unity in our team. Everybody contributed in batting, bowling and fielding,” said Robinson.

“We were on a losing streak and we've got that off our backs. Hopefully we're back to our winning ways now.”