Willow Cuts, 292 for eight, beat PHC, 262 for nine, by 30 runsWillow Cuts skipper Dexter Basden led from the front as his team put an end to PHC’s reign as Western Counties champions on Saturday.Basden scored 115 and shared in an opening stand of 137 with Chris Douglas (58) as Cuts took the initiative early on at Somerset Cricket Club and never let it go.PHC rarely looked like winning the encounter, and even though Jason Anderson’s unbeaten 94 took them close, their batting and bowling just wasn’t good enough to beat Basden’s men.The defending champions didn’t help their own cause with some mistakes early on, but that shouldn’t distract from a Cuts triumph that could prove to be a springboard to greater things this season.Basden said before the game that his team had shown they could beat anyone on the Island on their day, and while they didn’t have to be at their best to beat PHC, maybe this win, coupled with the defeat of St David’s the previous weekend, will finally convince all his players of that fact.PHC, meanwhile, can now fully concentrate on trying to stay in the Premier Division, but they will need to do something about their approach to their bowling attack if they are to avoid a return to the First Division.In a side that boosted the not inconsiderable talents of Kamau Leverock and Joshua Gilbert, in as one of four guest players, the cup holders instead opted to open the bowling with Keishon Wilson and Cal Waldron.While Wilson and Waldron are both good bowlers in their own right, neither are likely to strike fear into the hearts of batsmen, especially two as talented as Basden and Douglas. The Willow Cuts pair negotiated the opening 10 overs without really getting out of first gear, and had scored 72 before Gilbert got his hands on the ball.The Somerset spinner took some punishment as well, especially from Douglas who hit him for a steepling six early on, and as the score passed into three figures it seemed ike Cuts would easily make 300.Despite Gilbert eventually making the breakthrough, trapping Douglas lbw, and even with Deunte Darrell following soon after, at 164 for two, Cuts were still in the driving seat.Basden’s departure though changed things and from 219 for two, Cuts slumped to 260 for eight. Wilson took two wickets in that time, while Waldron, who had already accounted for Darrell, got rid of the dangerous George O’Brien.Leverock’s introduction gave the PHC attack a bit of bite and his first wicket got rid of Reid Jones, whose 25 in the middle order would prove invaluable to Cuts.It wasn’t Jones’ innings that ultimately took the game away from PHC, however, rather it was the ninth wicket stand of 32 between Sheroy Fubler (20) and Jermaine Trott (11) who took Cuts to within touching distance of 300 and thrawted all PHC’s attempts to bowl them out.Chasing 293 to win was always going to be a tall order for PHC, who found themselves on the back foot almost immediately with O’Brien sending openers Jermaine Warner (five) and Tre Manders (15) back to the pavilion in quick succession.Anderson and Ricardo Brangman (39) briefly rallied their side and put on 71 for the third wicket, before Brangman tried to get after Kevon Fubler and was caught by Ryan Shepherd. Fubler didn’t bowl especially well on Saturday, going for 79 off his 10 overs, but breaking that partnership probably sealed the win for Cuts.From then on PHC were fighting a losing battle, and while Anderson remained steadfast at one end, wickets fell all too regularly at the other. Darrell ripped the heart out of the middle order, accounting for Mark Smith, Clevie Wade and Joshua Gilbert, and although Hasan Durham (24) managed to stick around for a while, as PHC put on 44 for the eighth wicket, they struggled to keep up with the required run rate.O’Brien returned to remove Durham, and Kevin Fubler had the final say, bowling Waldron at the death as Cuts claimed the Western Counties trophy.