Cleveland County 213

Police 214-7

Premier Division newcomers Police continued their impressive start to the season when they added the scalp of previously unbeaten Cleveland County to their growing list of casualties on Saturday.

But they were made to work for the win, eventually sealing a three-wicket triumph with 17 balls to spare at Police Field.

Police had their opponents on the ropes at 74 for four after pacer George O'Brien ran through the top order but failed to capitalise as player/coach Clay Smith (67 not out) dropped anchor and along with tailender Tamauri Tucker (13) added a vital 33 runs for the last wicket that carried their team past the double-century mark.

Again sloppy fielding was to blame as Police dropped Cleveland skipper Jason Simons ¿ who hit a brisk 42 ¿ and veteran Smith early in his innings before a tidy second spell from Traddie Simpson (two for 32) ended the resistance.

Pacer O'Brien wreaked havoc with the new ball and peppered the batsmen with a barrage of bouncers during two fiery spells that yielded outstanding figures of four for 31, while off-spinner Anderson Cumberbatch had two for 31.

Cleveland's twin spin attack of Dwayne Leverock (three for 15) and Tucker (two for 44) shared five wickets between them to keep their team's victory hopes alive.

But Police received solid contributions throughout the order with Winston Bradshaw leading the way with a well-played 38 followed by equally vital knocks from skipper Garvin Aparicio (36), Dennis Archer (28 not out) and national team batsman James Celestine (22).

Young Men's Social Club 349

Devonshire 193

Defending Premier champions Young Men's Social Club put a toothless Devonshire attack to the sword at Devonshire Rec. before storming to an emphatic 156-run triumph over their landlords.

Powering Social Club to their big total was middle order bat Nakia Smith, who banged a team-high 74, while Damon Robain (58) and number seven Nelson Bascome jr (53 not out) chipped in with half-centuries and player/coach Charlie Marshall added 47 to further compound Devonshire's misery.

Opener Robain made the hosts pay heavily after being dropped three times and when he was eventually dismissed the runs kept flowing freely as Devonshire's bowlers toiled with little success.

Ricky Brangman jr was the pick of the Devonshire bowling, claiming two for 70, while there were 45 extras.

Having been asked to score at nearly seven runs per over, Devonshire came up well short in their reply with Stephen Bremar jr (48), Oldapo Fredericks (46), Ricky Brangman Jj (28) and Ricky Brangman sr (26) offering some resistance to the onslaught before they were eventually dismissed in the 38th over.

Seamer Jaymo Durham led the Social Club attack, claiming two for 44, and he received solid support from Jeff Tyrell who had two for 52.

St.George's CC 188

Southampton Rangers 157

Southampton Rangers slumped to their first 50-overs loss of the season at Southampton Oval on Saturday as St.George's all-rounder Troy Hall turned in a man-of-the-match performance to inspire his team to a 31-run triumph.

The ex-senior national football team goalkeeper struck a timely 36 to rescue the East Enders after they had slipped to 92 for six after electing to take first strike on a pitch possessing few demons.

Hall then ripped the heart out of Rangers' middle and lower order on the way to superb figures of three for 21 that helped St.George's avenge a heartbreaking two-run Belco Cup final loss to the same opponents six -days earlier at Lords.

St.George's found themselves in a ticklish situation after seamers Malachi Jones (four for 21) and Jason Wade (three for 27) made the breakthrough. But middle order bat Hall and Rudell Pitcher were equal to the task, adding 78 runs for the seventh wicket to steer their team to a respectable total that ultimately proved beyond their hosts' reach.

Picking up where he left off the previous weekend, Pitcher hit a team high 53 that took the sting out of a Rangers' attack, missing veteran all-rounder and player/coach Janeiro Tucker.

St.George's skipper Oronde Bascome and ex-skipper Ryan Steede contributed useful knocks of 25 and 22 respectively.

Southampton lost early wickets in reply but appeared to be on course for a second straight victory over the East Enders as Keith Wainwright (53) and Andrew Raynor (34) steadied the ship.

Hall, however, had other ideas and proved to be the catalyst for a major collapse that saw Rangers lose their last six wickets for the addition of 62 runs.

Supporting with the ball were the father and son combination of Herbie and Oronde Bascome who claimed two wickets each.

St.David's 146

Somerset CC 122

Off-spinner Delyone Borden produced a devastating spell to spur St.David's to a narrow 24-run win over Somerset at Lords.

The national team cricketer had little margin for error having been given a modest total to try and defend but proved up to the task as Somerset folded chasing what on paper seemed an achieveable target.

Borden bamboozled the batsmen on the way to superb figures of four for 39 to re-affirm his status as one of the premier spinners on the Island before Somerset were eventually dismissed in the 26th over.

Brothers Arthur and Justin Pitcher also came good with the ball, claiming three for 31 and two for 37 respectively.

Only four Somerset batsmen managed double figures, with youngsters Jordan DeSilva and Maurico Bassett scoring 16 apiece while Dwight Basden added 13 and skipper Jacobi Robinson 11.

Earlier, Islanders' skipper Lionel Cann led by example by slogging a team-high 30 while Chris Pitcher contrinbuted with 26 and Borden 25.

Joshua Gilbert, who represented an Americas Select in the Caribbean earlier this year, was the most successful Somerset bowler as he seized four for 31 to force the Islanders on the back foot while all-rounder Shane Hollis snared two for 27.