Southampton (PHC won toss) PHC, 218-9, beat Southampton Rangers, 217-7, by one wicket.

When the time comes to write a history of Southampton Rangers' season, the most telling sentences in the entire tome will begin: PHC beat Southampton Rangers by.....

Having taken the Belco Cup and Western County trophy out of Rangers' hands already this year, PHC were at it again yesterday, ripping the league title from their rival's grasp.

How the West End club must be sick of the sight of Kyle Lightbourne's men. And if they thought the previous two occasions were painful, it was nothing compared to the misery heaped on them by a one-wicket defeat which came from the penultimate ball of the game.

To make matters worse, Rangers were entirely the masters of their own destruction, from dropped catches, to some baffling bowling changes, PHC had absolutely no right to win yesterday. They shouldn't even have come close.

Victory would have taken the league leaders a giant step closer to the title, defeat means that they must now beat second-placed Bailey's Bay at Sea Breeze Oval next weekend, and after this there will be a big question mark hanging over there ability to do so.

For PHC meanwhile they have all but secured a place in the top four, earning them the right to defend the Belco title they won in such dramatic fashion at the start of the season.

Drama though is becoming something of a defining feature of games between these two clubs, and it was no truer yesterday than it has been on any other occasion.

Lightbourne's side were dead and buried, on the verge of a humiliating defeat at 64 for six, and Rangers, with two hands on the league title, were already uncorking the celebratory champagne.

Even a stand of 91 between Clevie Wade (49) and Hasan Durham (29) should have proved no more than a minor irritant. Certainly it made Rangers nervous, especially when Wade started carting the ball for six on a regular basis, but once both batsman had fallen to the excellent Quinton Burch, PHC were back in trouble at 189 for eight, still needing 59 runs from 48 deliveries.

Rangers though had already made their first mistake, Jason Simons dropped Cal Wadron first ball on the deep mid-wicket boundary, and it ultimately cost his side the game. No more so however than Leverock's decision not to bowl Burch out.

After claiming the wickets of Fiqre Crockwell and Dean Richards in consecutive balls at the start of the innings, and returning to remove Wade and Durham, Burch was then sidelined when he still had two overs left to bowl.

In his absence Waldron, ably assisted by David Adams (nine) and Kevin Tucker (nine not out), set about the Rangers attack, smashing them to all parts of the ground and using improvised shots to get the ball to boundary. One such effort saw him use the bat like a tennis racket, performing an overhead smash to send a Stephan Dill bouncer for four.

However, with 24 balls remaining, PHC were 192 for nine, still needing 26 runs for the most improbable of victories. They still needed 21 runs to win two overs later. Then Waldron smacked Leverock's final over for 12, and with a six balls to go, and nine runs needed, the game had changed again.

Three of Dill's first four balls went for singles, that left six off two, and Waldron stranded at the non-striker's end, unbeaten on 37 and powerless to do anything but hope. He needn't have worried, last man Kevin Tucker calmly launched the penultimate delivery for a straight six and stood, arms aloft, as PHC's players and fans went wild.

The joy on PHC faces was mirrored in the desolation on Rangers' faces, especially given the way they had rescued a game that at one stage seemed over before it had started.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl on a damp pitch and with plenty of cloud cover, PHC quickly reduced Rangers to 29 for four, as Kevin Tucker produced the sort of spell that has cemented his place in the national team.

Tucker took three of the first four wickets to fall, and when Jason Simons got himself run out, Rangers were in disarray.

Not for the first time though Janeiro Tucker came to the rescue, steadying the innings with a typically brutal 58, as he and Andrew Raynor (13) put on 33 for the fifth wicket. By the time Janeiro Tucker was eventually out, Rangers were in the much healthier position of 138 for six. And it was about to get better.

Shannon Rayner produced the kind of innings he has been threatening all season, he clattered PHC around and, more –often than not, out of Southampton Oval in a destructive display of batting that took the breath away.

Every PHC bowler suffered under his 62-ball onslaught, and at the end of it, Rayner was –95 not out, had hit eight sixes, and five fours, taking 19 runs off the final over alone.

With one hand on the league title at the interval, Rangers quickly had a very strong grasp of it as Ryan Belboda and Burch reduced PHC to 46 for four. Belboda grabbed the important wickets of Jason Anderson and Dean Stephens, and also bowled four consecutive maidens in a spell of eight overs, four maidens, two wickets for just 14 runs.

With Dion Stovell running out Kamau Leverock, and Janeiro Tucker getting Lightbourne out cheaply, it only seemed a matter of time before Rangers could start celebrating as champions.

But then came Wade, and Waldron, and now Bailey's Bay wait too see if they can become the latest side to snatch a trophy from underneath Rangers' noses.

Devonshire Rec.178-8

Somerset 146

In a rain affected match at Somerset Cricket Club, Devonshire Rec. took a major step in their quest for survival, beating Somerset by 32 runs to leave both clubs level on points with two rounds to go.

Batting first the visitors posted 178 for eight in their alloted 30 overs, with Stephen Bemar jr. top scoring with 31, while Chris Foggo (30), Ricky Brangman sr. (29), and Sinclair Gibbons (25) all contributed valuable runs.

Youngster Marcus Johnson took two wickets for 31 runs for Somerset.

In reply, the hosts were bowled out for 146, with Dwight Basden the only Somerset batsman to put up any resistance, scoring 54.

Wilbur Burt was the key Devonshire bowler, taking three wickets for 41 runs.