Lord’s, St David’s (Flatts won toss): Cleveland County beat Flatts by ten wickets

Q'shai Darrell claimed a wicket and dominated a match-winning partnership as Cleveland County thrashed Flatts in a lopsided Athene T20 First Division clash between the Eastern Counties rivals.

The all-rounder was one of five Cleveland bowlers taking a wicket as Flatts were restricted to 71 for six after electing to take first strike in a contest reduced to 18 overs.

Top-order pair Keegan Jones (19) and Dajon Carey (10) were the only Flatts batters offering any real resistance as their fellow colleagues found runs hard to come by before the overs ran out.

Jelani Richardson (one for seven) was Cleveland’s most economical bowler, with Dion Stovell, Jabari Darrell and captain Mackih McGowan all claiming a wicket.

Darrell then led the chase with an unbeaten 29, from 41 balls, which contained three fours, to cap a fine all-round display.

He added 72 with fellow opener Treadwell Gibbons that carried Cleveland safely across the line with 34 balls to spare and all of their wickets intact.

Gibbons chipped in with a more aggressive 27 from 33 balls that included a six and a four.

Jones was the most economical bowler for Flatts who leaked 16 runs in extras, including 14 wides.

National Sports Centre, North Field (Somerset Bridge won toss): Somerset Bridge beat Devonshire Rec by 39 runs.

Somerset Bridge claimed their first Athene T20 First Division win of the season, when they manoeuvred past fellow strugglers Devonshire Rec.

In a match in which bowlers ruled, the west end team surged to a 39-run triumph on the basis of disciplined bowling and flawless out-cricket.

“It’s always good to get a victory and Devonshire Rec didn’t make it easy for us, but at the end of the day we persevered, put in a good fight and got the result we wanted,” said Bridge captain Adrian Burrows, finally able to enjoy the spoils after losing a pair of competitive matches to start the T20 phase of the season.

“Early on in our innings we didn’t know what the wicket was doing, but as it dried out it began to play better and we were able to adapt.”

The skidding pitch served to befuddle batters with only Joshua Gilbert demonstrating the batting technique and placement required for scoring runs on a field of larger confines.

Bridge had to come from the depths to set a defensible target after an early batting collapse triggered by Rec’s seam tandem of captain Lamont Brangman and Shaquille Pitcher, who shared in the seizure of the first four wickets for a paltry 16 runs.

Opener Neil Thakur saw just one ball, offering an early prod to a slow one from Pitcher, which castled him for a golden duck.

His replacement’s fate was similar and swift, with Pitcher removing Jason Smith with his third ball, trapping the No. 3 lbw without scoring.

Khymai Richards (5) and Shawn Riley (4) failed to resist, but Bridge were launched to a measure of respectability by a pair of partnerships that accounted for 57 runs.

Donnie Charles (12) and captain Adrian Burrows (20) managed 16 for the fifth wicket, before the former dug in with vice-captain Joshua Gilbert (32 not out), together adding 41 for the sixth and making three figures a possibility, with Bridge ending at 106 for eight.

Devonshire promised to deceive in their chase, sprinting to 23 in the first three overs, benefiting from eight wides, before fortunes turned dramatically once Ankoma Cannonier was caught off the bowling of Shawn Riley.

The home team lost wickets with rapidity, collapsing to 48 for six in the 14th over, with he required run rate mounting and their probability for success waning.

A rush through the tail led by Donnie Charles’s three for 10 and Cadence Douglas’s three for 12, together with a brace by Noel Woods, put an end to Devonshire’s misery,as they were eventually dismissed for 67.

When spoken to afterwards, captain Brangman indicated a lack of preparation and planning as key to the club having to endure a fruitless season.

“From the administration on down, it all starts from the top,” said Rec’s captain indicating administrative shortcomings as an influential contributor to on-field failures.

“If the head isn’t right, what’s going to happen to the rest of the body?

“Today, we put on 20 in two overs and then what, but it all goes back to the head not being right.”

Southampton Oval: (Warwick won toss) Warwick beat Southampton Rangers by five wickets

Zeri Tomlinson and Malachi Jones starred with the bat as Warwick chased down a total of 120 against Rangers.

Tomlinson fell just four runs short of his half-century after hitting 46 off just 25 balls, with Jones unbeaten on 39 as Warwick reached their target off just 16.3 overs.

Warwick had put their opponents into bat and made an early breakthrough when Luke Fulton bowled opener Keishon Wilson without the batsman having troubled the scorer.

That brought Alex Dore to the crease and he proceeded to became Rangers’ star, hitting an unbeaten 51, including five fours and two sixes. He was ably assisted by Rangers captain Dalin Richardson, who made 28 before being bowled by Jones, and Najiyah Raynor (18) who made a quickfire 18 off ten balls before becoming Fulton’s second victim.

Rangers finished on 120 for three but Warwick were always ahead of the run rate with openers Kwasi James and Jones, who had played for Bailey’s Bay in the Eastern Counties a day earlier, on the attack from the off.

James made 26 before being caught behind by Nacori Smith off the bowling of Dalin Richardson but No 3 Tomlinson picked up where James left off, hitting three fours and three sixes in his knock.

Despite losing Corey Burgess, Staphen Dill and Luke Horan cheaply after Tomlinson departed, Jones steered his side to victory with nearly four overs to spare.