Janeiro Tucker smashed a whirlwind century and Derrick Brangman claimed four wickets as Southampton Rangers made light work of challengers PHC in Saturday’s opening round of the Western Counties Cup.

Rangers wracked up 365 for six in their 50 overs, and then skittled PHC out for just 113 as they won by a hefty 252 runs.

Tucker, the Rangers captain, led from the front with an unbeaten 112 that contained 15 fours and six sixes.

The experienced all-rounder decorated the scoreboard with some powerful strokeplay, punishing anything loose with authority, as he carried his bat through the end of the innings after the cup-holders were sent in to bat.

Tucker took only 28 balls to reach his fifty with the century arriving off a further 25 balls, as the PHC attack was ruthlessly put to the sword.

The Rangers captain added 76 runs with Dion Stovell for the fourth wicket and 80 for the eighth with Rohaan Simons, the wicketkeeper, to keep PHC chasing leather all around the ground.

Also making a considerable contribution to Rangers’ massive total was Curtis Jackson, the opening bat, who cracked 93 from 80 balls before falling shy of a deserved century.

Jackson, whose half-century came from 42 balls, belted eight fours and four sixes.

The aggressive batsman added 43 runs for the first wicket with Kwame Tucker and a further 86 for the second with Shannon Rayner before he was trapped by Ellsworth Bean, the PHC spinner.

Rayner weighed in with 47 from 32, while Stovell hit 42 from 53 balls before throwing his wicket away.

Bean and Dante Wellman led PHC’s attack with two wickets each.

Despite PHC having Cup Match pair Tre Manders and Fiqre Crockwell in their line-up as guest players, scoring at nearly eight runs an over was always going to be a difficult task for the challengers, and in the end it proved well beyond their reach. Rangers struck at regular intervals after making the initial breakthrough in the third over.

PHC’s batsmen failed to come to terms with the bowling, with lower-order bat Marcus Simmons leading the challengers’ resistance with an aggressive 25 from 21 balls that included three fours and one six.

Simmons added 25 runs for the tenth wicket with Bencroft Haughton — PHC’s highest partnership — before he was last man out in the 28th over.

Brangman, the slow left-arm bowler, led the Rangers attack with four for 43, ably supported by Ryan Belboda, the evergreen seam bowler, who claimed three for 28.

Dalen Richardson also held up his end of the bargain, claiming two for 20.