PHC Field (Southampton won toss): Southampton Ranges beat Warwick by six wickets

Malachi Jones had an impressive knock of 112 against his former club but could not prevent Warwick from losing to a determined Southampton Rangers side who claimed the points with just seven balls to spare.

The match saw BCB officials watching on with staff of sponsors Athene, who have put up prize money for the top-three teams in both divisions.

There was an unsavoury incident at the end of the first over when the Warwick bowler, Torleair Caines, was sent off the field by his captain for allegedly spitting at Rangers batsman Dion Stovell at the bowler’s end.

Stovell, too, left the field to allow the situation to cool down and returned at the fall of the third Rangers wicket to lead his team to victory with 49 not out.

Warwick had posted a challenging 169 for six from their 20 overs thanks to Jones’s century at the top of the innings, hitting ten fours and four sixes as he shared in an opening stand of 70 in ten overs with Jacobi Butterfield.

Warwick had just ten fielders for most of the innings as Rangers found gaps on the big field to hit boundaries and stay within the required run rate.

Rangers reached their target in 18.5 overs, with Stovell left on 49 not out, but happy to see the team to their first win after last weekend’s loss to St George’s.

“He spit at me with one ball left in the over, but it’s all good,” Stovell said of the incident.

“To be honest, I thought we could have won the game with at least four or five overs to spare if we ran our doubles hard.

“I thought we didn’t capitalise on the singles and doubles.

“Me coming back and batting was more about mental toughness, just to see Rangers over the line.

“We speak every week about our batting and bowling plans.

“Hats off to ‘Mally’, [Malachi Jones] he got a hundred but what was better is we won with his losing hundred as he is one of our ex-players.’

Stovell added: “I thought at certain times we lacked concentration but at the end we overcame and beat them by six wickets and with almost two overs to spare.”

Stovell wasn’t bothered by failing to reach his 50, the win for the team being more important.

“Forty nine not out is not about me personally but the team getting over the line,” he said.

“I’m not really worried about me getting 50 but us getting points.”

Warwick’s performance with the bat was a big improvement on their recent Western Counties match against Rangers when, after Rangers posted 358 for eight, they managed just 43, that after winning the toss and sending Rangers to bat.

This time Rangers won the toss and didn’t hesitate to send Warwick in, though the visitors early success with the bat suggested an upset could be on the cards.

Jones, wearing a designated lime-green cap after his top knock of 65 last weekend in the win over Somerset, completed his 50 in the eleventh over and in the thirteenth the team brought up their 100 with only one wicket down.

Jones was out in the first ball of the penultimate over at 158 for five after Stovell picked up two wickets in two balls, having Kyle Swan caught and then bowling Caines first ball.

Janeiro Tucker claimed two for 26 from his four overs while Stovell took two for 39 from four to lead the Rangers bowling.

The 170 to win represented a challenging target, but Rangers paced their innings well after Najiyah Raynor and Charles Trott put on 41 for the first wicket following Stovell’s brief exit.

They lost two more wickets on 64 and 71, with Trott departing for a well-played 28 after being caught by Jodi Maronie off his own bowling.

That brought Stovell back to the crease and, after veteran Janeiro Tucker departed for 13 — another Maronie wicket —Stovell and Jaloni Albuoy took Rangers to brink of victory with a fourth wicket stand of 75 between the ninth and 17th overs.

The pair took the score to 146 when Albuoy was out for a useful 37.

Captain Dalin Richardson helped see Rangers over the line with 13 not out and he and Stovell scored the remaining 24 runs for the win.

Maronie was the pick of the Warwick bowling attack with figures of three for 36 from his four overs.

Warwick

M Jones c Stovell b Mills 112

J Butterfield b Tucker 12

*C Burgess c Simons b Richardson 5

K Swan c Jacobs b Stovell 6

T Caines b Stovell 0

J Stovel b Tucker 9

†A Lee not out 2

Extras (2b, 3lb, 15w) 20

Total (6 wkts; 20 overs) 169

A Ible, R Richardson, J Maronie and K Butterfield did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-123, 3-158, 4-158, 5-158, 6-169

Bowling: N Mills 4-0-31-0; D Stovell 4-0-39-2; C Trott 4-0-36-0; J Tucker 4-0-26-2; D Richardson 4-0-32-1.

Southampton

D Stovell not out 49

†N Raynor c Stovel b Maronie 13

C Trott c and b Maronie 28

J Tucker c Burgess b Maronie 13

J Albuoy c Jones b K Butterfield 37

*D Richardson not out 13

Extras (2b, 3lb, 6w, 1nb) 12

Total (4 wkts, 18.5 overs) 170

G Simons, S Raynor, N Mills, V Eve and M Jacobs did not bat

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-64, 3-71, 4-146

Bowling: T Caines 1-0-7-0; J Stovel 2.5-0-34-0; J Maronie 4-0-36-3; M Jones 4-0-20-0; K Butterfield 4-0-34-1; C Burgess 3-0-35-0.

Umpires: C Brangman and A Knight

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