White Hill Field (Willow Cuts won toss): Southampton Rangers (10pts) beat Willow Cuts by seven wickets

Leaders Southampton Rangers cruised to a seven-wicket win over Willow Cuts at White Field yesterday to keep their Premier Division Twenty20 title defence on track.

Seam bowlers Nirobi Mills and Charles Trott bagged seven wickets between them while Janeiro Tucker’s team got solid contributions from their top order to reach their target with 11.5 overs to spare.

“It was a good win,” Tucker, the Rangers player-coach, said.

“We did what we had to do. It was a good performance in all departments.”

Cuts fancied their chances after electing to bat but found runs hard to come by and eventually lost wickets in bundles at regular intervals as they tried to accelerate as the overs ticked away.

Trott led the Rangers attack with an impressive haul of four for 18 while new-ball bowler Mills took three for 20.

Kwasi James (22), Joseph Basden (21) and Micah Simons (17) led the Cuts resistance before their innings closed at 106 for nine. Dion Stovell led the Rangers run chase with 37 from 16 deliveries that included five fours and two sixes.

Allan Douglas hit 19 from six balls with three sixes before Tre Manders and Trott carried Rangers across the line with plenty of wickets and overs to spare. Manders struck 24 from 17 balls and hit three fours while Trott smashed a four and a six in the only two balls he faced.

Meanwhile, Brian Hall produced a fine all-round display at Lord’s to help St David’s get back to winning ways courtesy of a six-wicket win over St George’s in the top flight.

The all-rounder claimed two for ten off seven deliveries after being brought into the attack and then struck an unbeaten 14 from 23 balls, which included three fours, in a match-winning partnership with fellow all-rounder Derrick Brangman.

St George’s went into the match looking for the league double over St David’s having won the first encounter between the two sides last month.

However, coach Wendell Smith’s team found themselves in early trouble at 29 for four after electing to take first strike and never recovered as they were dismissed for a 72 in 16.1 overs.

Chare Smith led the St David’s attack with three for 18 while the returning George O’Brien Jr picked up two wickets in his second spell to finish with figures of two for 12.

The home side suffered an early setback in their reply as opener Dean Simons was dismissed for a golden duck.

However, a second-wicket stand of 33 between wicketkeeper Ricardo Brangman, playing his first game back from a two-game suspension, and all-rounder Smith got the St David’s run chase back on track before Hall and Derrick Brangman finished the job.

The pair added 38 runs in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Brangman leading the charge with a team high 21 from as many balls with three fours and a six. Oronde Bascome was the pick of the St George’s bowlers with two for 17.

Willow Cuts

R Burrows lbw b Trott 7

*K James b Jones 22

S Raynor lbw b Trott 4

J Basden c Albuoy b Mills 21

K Bashir c Albuoy b Trott 0

†S B Bean c Smith b Trott 3

B Spencer run out 10

M Simons c Tucker b Mills 17

T Bean not out 2

S Gomes c Tucker b Mills 0

Extras (w 10, nb 2, b 1, lb 7) 20

Total (9 wkts; 20.0 overs) 106

A Darrell, F Swan did not bat

Fall of Wicket: 1-39, 2-45, 3-55, 4-55, 5-59, 6-72, 7-100, 8-106, 9-106

Bowling: Stovell 4-0-18-0; Mills 4-0-20-3; Jones 4-0-18-1; Trott 4-0-18-4; Brangman 4-0-24-0

Southampton Rangers

*M O Jones lbw b James 11

D C Stovell b Sher-Maur Gomes 37

T Manders not out 24

A C Douglas c James b Swan 19

C Trott not out 10

Extras (w 7, lb 1) 8

Total (3 wkts; 8.1 overs) 109

†J Albuoy, J J Tucker, K Astwood, L Brangman, N Mills, T Smith

Fall of Wicket: 1-17, 2-76, 3-95

Bowling: Simons 3-0-31-0; James 2-0-27-1; Swan 2-0-37-1; Sher-Maur Gomes 1.1-0-13-1

Lord’s (St George’s won toss): St David’s (10pts) beat St George’s by six wickets

St George’s

†T Wilson b Brangman 2

T Gibbons run out 6

*On Bascome c Simons b Smith 3

M Simmons b Smith 1

O O Bascome b Smith 15

Mishael Paynter c Crockwell b Hall 13

N Paynter b Pitcher 1

O s Bascome st Brangman b Hall 15

K Wilson b O’Brien 0

D Smith b O’Brien 0

J Carlington not out 4

Extras (w 2, nb 1, b 4, lb 5) 12

Total (10 wkts; 16.1 overs) 72

Fall of Wicket: 1-3, 2-10, 3-18, 4-29), 5-40), 6-43, 7-65, 8-67, 9-67

Bowling: O’Brien 4-0-12-2; Brangman 3-0-12-1; Pitcher 4-0-11-1; Smith 3-0-18-3; Hall 2.1-0-10-2

St David’s

D Simons lbw b Smith 0

†R Brangman c Wilson b O O Bascome 14

C S Smith b O O Bascome 10

*Justin Pitcher b Simmons 5

B Hall not out 14

D L Brangman not out 21

Extras (w 8, lb 4) 12

Total (4 wkts; 12.5 overs) 76

S Somersall, G H O’Brien, K Hurdle, M Lowe, M Crockwell

Fall of Wicket: 1-0, 2-32, 3-34, 4-38

Bowling: Smith 2-0-10-1; Paynter 1-0-13-0; Simmons 3.5-0-20-1; O O Bascome 3-0-17-2; Gibbons 3-0-12-0