Wellington Oval (Southampton Rangers won toss): Rangers (10pts) beat St George’s by six runs

Southampton Rangers survived a scare after edging St George’s by six runs in a tight Premier Twenty20 contest at Wellington Oval yesterday.

The home side required 11 runs off the final over with last pair Gianni Santucci and Rohan Richards at the crease and ultimately came up short to slip to their third defeat of the season.

Rangers seam bowlers Lamont Brangman and Nirobi Mills inflicted the heaviest damage with the ball during their second spells to trigger a massive slide that led to St George’s losing six wickets in the space of 12 runs and 19 deliveries.

St George’s were restricted to 143 for nine in reply to Rangers’s 149 for six, with Brangman leading the visiting side’s attack with three for 28 and Mills three for 32.

“I thought in the middle overs Nirobi [Mills)] bowled well and also Charles [Trott] and Janeiro [Tucker] to peg them back,” said Dion Stovell, who led Rangers in the absence of captain Malachi Jones. “Monty [Brangman] then came in and did an excellent job.

“Even though we were in a position [of difficulty] it’s a position we’ve been in many times before where our senior players stay calm and pull us through.”

St George’s were firmly in the driver’s seat at 104 for three in the twelfth over.

However, the momentum swung in Rangers’ favour after Treadwell Gibbons and Macai Simmons were dismissed in the space of three balls.

Gibbons, who added 70 for the first wicket with wicketkeeper Temiko Wilson to get the St George’s reply off to a flying start, topped the home side’s batting with 50 from 40 deliveries, including three sixes and two fours. Wilson was next high man with 32 from 27 balls.

Earlier, Rangers got useful contributions from their top and middle-order batsmen to post a respectable total after losing the early wicket of Stovell in the power play.

Trott led the way with an unbeaten 39 from 28 balls, including fours sixes and two fours, to continue his fine form with the bat, while Tre Manders stroked a fluent 31 from 24 balls.

Najiyah Raynor, the wicketkeeper, scored 20 from as many balls, opener Shannon Raynor 13 from 22 and player-coach Tucker 14 from 17.

Middle-order pair Trott and Tucker added what proved to be a vital 38 runs for the fifth wicket. Paynter and Simmons were the pick of the St George’s bowling with two for 15 and two for 21, respectively.

Leaders Rangers remain unbeaten after four games this season.

Southampton Rangers

*D Stovell lbw Smith 15

S Raynor b Gibbons 13

T Manders c Simmons b Paynter31

†N Raynor c O Bascome b Paynter 20

C Trott not out 39

J Tucker cwk Wilson b Simmons 14

J Albouy c O Bascome b Simmons 0

G Simons not out 2

Extras (6w, 3nb, 6 penalty runs) 15

Total (6 wkts; 20 overs) 149

K Astwood, L Brangman, N Mills, T Smith did not bat

Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-56, 3-75, 4-88, 5-126, 6-127

Bowling: D Smith 3-0-23-1; M Simmons 4-0-21-2; T Gibbons 4-0-50-1; O Bascome 4-0-27-0; N Paynter 3-0-15-2; R Richards 2-0-7-0

St George’s

T Gibbons c Manders b Stovell 50

†T Wilson c Albouy b Stovell 32

N Paynter c&b Brangman 17

*O Bascome b Mills 0

M Simmons c Brangman b Trott 17

D Bascome b Brangman 8

D Smith cwk N Raynor b Mills 1

C Foggo b Mills 0

J Carlington lbw Brangman 1

G Santucci not out 3

R Richards not out 1

Extras (9w, 1nb, 3lb) 13

Total (9 wkts; 20 overs) 143

K Wilson did not bat

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-95, 3-104, 4-127, 5-127, 6-136, 7-138, 8-139, 9-139

Bowling: N Mills 4-0-32-3; D Stovell 4-0-28-2; C Trott 4-0-28-1; J Tucker 4-0-24-0; L Brangman 4-0-28-3