Wellington Oval (Bailey’s Bay won toss): Bailey’s Bay beat St George’s by five wickets

Rodney Trott starred with bat and ball to guide Bailey’s Bay to a comfortable Logic Premier Division victory over St George’s yesterday.

The all-rounder hit an unbeaten 50 from 61 balls as Bay made light work of the home side’s 137, completing the job with more than nine overs to spare thanks largely to his partnerships with Stephen Outerbridge and Calvin Dill.

Earlier, Trott had taken four for 26 with his spin bowling to put the visiting side in command, with Kyle Hodsoll also picking up three and Ryan Steede two in a rain-hit St George’s innings.

Wet weather reduced the game to 37 overs each, but St George’s could not make it past 34.5 of their allocation, with nobody able to stick with opener Misheal Paynter, who collected a patient 35.

St George’s were given hope when Herbie Bascome took two early wickets as Bay made their reply, and Bascome’s son, Onias, then removed Sinclair Smith to leave the visiting side wobbling on 29 for three as Trott entered the fray.

Outerbridge and Trott both survived early aggressive appeals for leg-before, but that turned out to be as good as it got for St George’s, as the experienced pair combined good running between the wickets with a flurry of boundaries to build a match-changing partnership of 47.

The fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth overs of Bay’s innings went for a total of 24 runs, with Outerbridge in particular beginning to look rampant.

However, the strokeplayer, having made 37 from 41 balls, including three fours and a six, was then sharply caught by Ronald Gibbons.

Almost immediately, new batsman Dill was surprisingly dropped by Troy Hall — the fielder had earlier held a much more difficult-looking low catch from Christino Smith — and it was to prove a crucial miss.

Dill played a chiefly supportive role as Trott increased his tempo, the pair putting on 54 for the fifth wicket without ever seeming in too much danger.

Dill was finally out leg-before to Ronald Gibbons for 18, allowing Hodsoll to join Trott to see Bay over the line. Eventual victory came as a result of two no-balls from the otherwise tidy Paynter.

Paynter had been the rock of the St George’s batting, eventually climbing to 35 from 68 balls, despite being easily outscored at one point by his partner Onias Bascome in a third-wicket partnership of 48.

But Bascome, who had 22 from 29 balls when he was trapped in front by Burton Outerbridge, was one of a succession of home players who failed to build on useful starts.

Macai Simmons made 19 from 22 balls, and Gibbons 17 from 20 balls; both were caught by Lateef Trott off the bowling of Steede.

Charles Marshall Jr, batting at nine, hit 19, but Trott’s wily spin ensured that the ran out of partners before he was able to drag St George’s to a more competitive total.