Somerset Cricket Club (Somerset won the toss): Willow Cuts beat Somerset by 34 runs

Bottom teams Willow Cuts and Somerset Cricket Club produced a high-scoring derby match at Somerset yesterday as the host club fell just short of the highest run chase of the season.

Willow Cuts posted an imposing 341 for nine from their 50 overs, but their neighbours took on the challenge as openers Chris Douglas and Matt Watson laid the foundation with an opening stand of 165 in 23.4 overs as Cuts replied with 307 in 46.3 overs.

Douglas was dismissed for 103 to a catch behind by Shaquille Bean on the next delivery after hitting Deunte Darrell for a boundary to bring up his hundred in 72 balls. He hit nine fours and seven sixes in his boundary-filled knock.

Fellow opener Matt Watson, a player in the Evening League with CV Chargers, played a good supporting role, reaching 50 during the stand off 69 balls and going on to score 71 from 95 balls before he was fourth out on 211, trapped lbw by spinner Joseph Basden.

After Jerez Eve and Alje Richardson went cheaply, Willow Cuts began to take the upper hand as they also removed captain Greg Maybury and Isaiah Richardson cheaply to make it 242 for six in the 38th over.

However, Somerset had one last key batsman at the crease, with Dominic Sabir adding a valuable 33 runs for the seventh wicket with Jermel Proctor before Sabir fell for 49 to a catch by Joseph Basden off Herbie Bascome to make it 275 for seven.

Sabir faced 37 balls and hit six fours and a six to keep Somerset’s hopes of victory alive. Somerset did have enough batting to bring up the 300 but not quite enough left in the tail end to threaten the Cuts total after Sabir departed on the first ball of the 43rd over. Cuts clinched victory with 3.3 overs remaining.

Bascome, who shared the new ball with Micah Simons, led the Cuts bowling with four for 44 from 4.3 overs, making up for an expensive first spell with four wickets late in the match.

Willow Cuts scored their runs at almost seven runs an over with middle-order batsman Deunte Darrell their top scorer with 74 from 60 balls with seven sixes and two fours.

Next high man was Chakote Basden with 66 off 45 balls, hitting ten fours and two sixes as he shared in a boundary-filled 100-run stand in exactly ten overs with Darrell for the seventh wicket.

The pair took the score from 173 to 273 between the 34th and 44th overs as they kept their team on course for a total in excess of 300.

Darrell was the seventh wicket to fall with Basden then adding 58 for the eighth wicket with Micah Simons who scored 28 not out. There was also 45 extras in the Cuts innings, including 25 wides.

Earlier Joseph Basden scored 48 off 31 balls at No 5 while opener Dwight Basden contributed 22. Captain Greg Maybury claimed two for 55 off eight overs while Azar Morrissey took two for 26.

Willow Cuts

R Solomon Burrows c Caesar b Maybury 2

D Basden c Douglas b Sabir 22

A Darrell run out 14

* K James c and b Morrissey 15

J Basden c Watson b Morrissey 48

D Darrell lbw b Caesar 74

†S Bean lbw b Watson 17

C Basden c and b I Richardson 66

M Simons not out 28

K Fubler b Maybury 0

H Bascome not out 10

Extras (9b, 9lb, 25w, 2nb) 45

Total (9 wkts; 50 overs) 341

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-45, 3-52, 4-98, 5-132, 6-173, 7-273m 8-331, 9-331.

Bowling: Maybury 8-1-55-2; Richardson 8-0-42-1; Sabir 10-0-58-1; Caesar 9-1-51-1; Proctor 5-0-40-0; Morrissey 2-0-26-2; Watson 8-1-51-1.

Somerset

†C Douglas c Bean b Darrell 103

M Watson lbw b J Basden 71

J Eve c and b Fubler 9

A Richardson b J Basden 10

D Sabir c J Basden b Bascome 49

*G Maybury c Simons b A Darrell 10

I Richardson run out 4

J Proctor c C Basden b Bascome 14

S Caesar not out 10

M Fullerton c James b Bascome 0

A Morrissey b Bascome 5

Extras (5b, 2lb, 12w, 3nb) 22

Total (46.3 overs) 307

Fall of wickets: 1-165, 2-182, 3-198, 4-211, 5-234, 6-242, 7-275, 8-293, 9-293

Bowling: Simons 8-1-44-0; Bascome 4.3-0-44-4; James 8-0-45-0; Fubler 10-1-50-1; Basden 4-0-32-2; A Darrell 10-0-70-1; D Darrell 2-0-14-1.

Umpires: J McKirdy and D Smith