Southampton Rangers 329-8

PHC 216-9

PHC learned a harsh but valuable lesson at White Hill Field on Saturday – drop catches and you will lose matches.

And so it was for the challengers who spilled vital catches at crucial points in this Western Counties second round clash to enable cup holders Rangers to recover from a precarious 144 for five and pile up a colossal total that ultimately proved too steep a mountain for the men in black to climb.

Half centuries from skipper Malachi Jones, Rohaan Simons and Dion Stovell compounded a sluggish display in the field by a PHC side who gave up 50 runs in extras before off spinners Keith Wainwright and Stovell sealed Rangers' emphatic 113-run win by picking up two wickets each.

But in truth had the challengers taken their chances, the outcome could have been totally different.

PHC's decision to insert the cup holders in to bat rather than take first strike on a batsman's paradise eventually backfired. Still, skipper Kevin Tucker stuck to his guns even in defeat.

"I made that decision because I felt that my bowling attack could bowl Rangers out," he said.

For Rangers skipper Jones, losing the toss proved to be a blessing in disguise. "I was totally surprised that PHC sent us in on such a good batting strip," he said. "Sending us in to bat was really a blessing for us."

PHC made the breakthrough as early as the fourth over when teenage colt Keishon Wilson opened his Western Counties account by claiming the scalp of opener Keith Wainwright who never looked comfortable at the crease.

Wainwright was held at mid-wicket hitting across the line but PHC's joy would be shortlived as opening bat Stovell and number three Curtis Jackson put Rangers firmly in control with a 107-run partnership.

Stovell dominated the stand, thumping a belligerant 67 off 54 balls in a knock that contained 12 fours and a six while a more watchful Jackson hit 38. The aggressive Stovell brought up his half-century in the 15th over off 44 balls in 90 minutes with a sweetly timed sweep over the mid-wicket boundary ropes for six.

But an innings that promised so much came to screeching halt ten balls later when Daniel Caines plucked a sharp catch at mid-on off the bowling of left arm spinner Kyle Lightbourne to trigger a collapse that saw Rangers surrender four wickets in the space of 23 runs to put PHC back on top.

That PHC regained control of proceedings owed much to the disciplined bowling of former pro footballer Lightbourne and off-spinner Sidney Simmons who together made life very uncomfortable for the Rangers batsmen pitching it down a nagging line and length on a pitch offering a bit of bounce to the bowlers.

After watching Lightbourne pick off the threatening Stovell, veteran Simmons stole the limelight orchestrating from the southern end of the ground, claiming the prized scalp of Rangers player/coach Janeiro Tucker (0) who was caught in the very next over to give wicketkeeper Ricardo Brangman the first of three catches behind the stumps.

Simmons then added the wickets of Jackson and Andrew Raynor (three) in quick succession and suddenly Rangers found themselves in a rather sticky position with most of their recognised bats now back in the hutch.

But with the champions wobbling, PHC missed a golden opportunity to tighten their grip on the match when assistant coach Mark Smith dropped Jones at long on. The 2007 World Cup player lived a charmed life as he gave another chance off the bowling of Hassan Durham and was put down again at mid-crease after seamer Shoron Hunt and wicketkeeper Brangman collided chasing after a skied ball.

These missed chances came back to hurt PHC big time as Jones and Simons shared in a record 163 -run sixth-wicket stand that ultimately put the match beyond the challengers' reach.

"Had we caught Malachi when he had only scored four runs the game might've been ours. I felt we could've bowled Rangers out had we taken our chances," Tucker lamented.

Once Rangers had seen off the threat of spinners Lightbourne and Simmons, who bowled their allotted overs unchanged, Jones and Simons took full advantage of some porous fielding and wayward bowling.

Both batsmen scored 80 runs in somewhat contrasting styles as Jones' runs arrived off 66 balls. The all-rounder, who stroked an unbeaten century in the first round exactly seven days earlier, smashed ten fours and two monstrous sixes and took only 67 minutes to reach his half-century off 51 deliveries before he went for one boundary too many and skied an easy catch to Hunt fielding to his own bowling.

A slightly more subdued Simons hit six fours and two sixes during his unbeaten 82-ball knock, reaching his half-century in the 44th over off 67 balls in 95 minutes.

Simmons was the pick of the PHC bowling with outstanding figures of three for 41 off ten overs while Hunt had two for 49 off seven. Lightbourne was also economical, taking one for 38 with two maidens during his ten-over spell.

The same, however, cannot be said for the trio's team-mates, skipper Tucker in particular, who went wicketless for 82 runs during a costly eight-over spell. The PHC skipper bore the full brunt of Jones' onslaught being carted for 44 runs in the first two overs of his second spell as Rangers cut loose towards the end of their innings.

With an asking rate of 6.5 runs per over, PHC's reply never really got going despite first cousins Sheridan Ming (50) and Smith (22) sharing in a 62-run opening stand that gave the challengers a promising start.

Ming led PHC's resistance with a 69-ball knock that included seven fours. Middle order bats Caines (34), Lightbourne (41) and Durham (18) also made good starts but in the end their useful contributions were still not enough to prevent the match from slipping away as the required run rate swelled as high as 15 runs per over.

Wainwright made amends for having earlier misfired with the bat by taking two for ten while Stovell capped off another fine all round performance by snaring two for 26 off ten overs with two maidens.

Southampton will now meet Warwick in the third round at White Hill Field on August 9.