Southampton Rangers 133; Social Club 135 for six

Social Club put the finishing touches to an unprecedented double when they defeated Southampton Rangers by four-wickets at Devonshire Rec. on Saturday to lift a maiden Premier Division championship during the final round of the 2007 season.

Kevin Hurdle's mesmerizing five-wicket haul helped restrict Rangers to a modest total off 28.3 overs before a classy Ricky Hoyte half-century propelled the newly crowned hampions to victory with 108 balls to spare.

The historical triumph gave the Central Counties champions their second trophy of the season and finally pulled the curtains down on what has been one of the closest races for the title in recent memory.

"This is a great victory for Social Club and to win the championship we had to beat last year's champions (Rangers) which made this achievement even more sweeter," stated jubilant Social Club player/coach Charlie Marshall.

Hurdle gave Social Club early momentum with the new ball, claiming three for 37 off his first spell, as Rangers quickly slipped to 12 for four after electing to bat first on a strip offering a pinch of sideways movement and generous bounce to the bowlers.

Exploiting the new ball with lethal effect, Hurdle struck in the first over when he had opener Keith Wainwright (nought) taken at second slip with only one run on the board. Curtis Jackson (eight) then became Hurdle's second victim in the 15th over when the veteran batsman was bowled playing down the wrong line.

Rangers' World Cup pair player/coach Janeiro Tucker (39) and Malachi Jones (41) staged a middle order revival.

But it was Hurdle who again applied the shackles when he had Tucker snapped up at second slip before snaring two additional wickets during a second spell to finish with overall figures of five for 39 off 9.3 overs with three maidens as Rangers' last four batsmen fell in the space of 29 runs.

Seamers Jeff Tyrell and Jaymo Durham also took advantage of bowler-friendly conditions to provide good support and finish with two for 16 and two for 34 respectively.

"Our bowlers bowled extremely well and I have been very impressed with them all season," Marshall added.

"When we lost the toss we knew what exactly what we had to do."

The stage was now set for Hoyte, making only his second Premier Division appearance for the season, to anchor his team to victory with a timely unbeaten half-century while wickets tumbled around him.Coming in at number four, Hoyte lashed 58 off 64 balls in a fine knock spiced with nine fours and a six and shared in two crucial stands that eventually took the match away from Rangers and sent the coveted league title on its way to Angle Street.

Fast bowler Traddie Simpson and left -arm spinner Dwayne Leverock made the initial breakthrough to have Social Club tilting at 36 for three earlier during their reply as Rangers threatened to make a fight of it.

But the unflappable Hoyt provided the impetus needed to steady the ship, adding 44 for the fifth-wicket with player/coach Marshall (19) and another 29 runs with Hurdle (11) during a sixth-wicket partnership that carried the hosts to the threshold of victory before a large crowd at the Den.

The veteran left-handed batsman manufactured a series of well calculated shots on both sides of the stumps and reserved harsh treatment for seamer Ryan Belboda who was ruthlessly dispatched to the fence on three occasions in the 16th over as Social Club continued their march to victory.

Hoyte flirted with disaster when he gave a difficult chance at point on 42.

But the son of former West Indies Test wicketkeeper David Murray quickly regained his footing and fittingly hammered the winning boundary off Simpson to ignite celebrations around the ground before being mobbed by ecstatic supporters.

Leverock, who often beat the bat and had a few chances go begging in the field, finished with economical figures of three for 32 off nine overs but received little in the way of support from his fellow team-mates who struggled to make inroads with the ball.

"We knew we only had 134 runs to get but a lot of the guys didn't apply themselves," Marshall conceded.

"We lost a few early wickets but Ricky came through for us in the end."