PHC 174

Southampton Rangers 146

The Western Counties Cup changed hands for the second time in as many weeks at White Hill Field on Saturday after PHC handed previously unbeaten Southampton Rangers a slim 28-run loss in front of a large gathering at the spacious grounds.

Galvanised by a pivotal seventh-wicket partnership between guest player and colt Winston (Herb) Trott and Kyle Lightbourne and a devastating bowling spell from Jamaican-born Neil Anglin, PHC upstaged a watered down Rangers outfit to avenge last year's humbling defeat against their nearby rivals at Southampton Oval.

Trott (49) and Lightbourne (13) came together at the crease with PHC wobbling at 113 for six after 35 overs and plundered exactly 50 runs in eight overs, while Anglin steamrolled through Rangers' early and middle order to claim man-of-the-match figures of five for 27 ? including two maiden wicket overs ? bowling unchanged from the northern end of the grounds.

"I've played this game for so long that I always have confidence in myself," the 45-year-old seamer told afterwards.

"When my skipper gave me the ball I knew I had to make the big breakthrough, and I did it. And I'm really happy we won. I really feel as though I'm 20 years old today."

After Rangers, asked to score at three runs per over, had raced to 30 without loss in only three overs, Anglin came on as first change for Kevin Tucker and made the crucial breakthrough with the penultimate delivery of his second over to have Curtis Jackson ? struck in the head moments before by a rising Tucker delivery ? caught at short long off by Ellsworth Bean after scoring 19 runs off 28 balls.

Anglin struck another telling blow two overs later when stand-in skipper Sheridan (Baldy) Ming held a sharp catch at extra cover to send Keith Wainwright (14) marching back to the pavilion before the wheels really fell off Rangers' wagon when the veteran bowler added the scalps of Stevie Lightbourne (4) and Rohaan Simons (0) to the casualty list within the space of five balls in the 14th over to leave the cup holders reeling at 60 for four.

Anglin then put the finishing touches to yet another mesmerising display of bowling when he pushed back Olin Jones' (7) off-stump with the first delivery of his ninth over, before passing the baton on to Lightbourne and Tucker who prevented Rangers' tail from wagging in taking two for 26 and two for 33 respectively.

Apart from a 43-run opening stand between Jackson and Wainwright and a spirited top knock of 43 by Rangers player/coach Clevie Wade off 65 balls, the remaining Southampton batsmen fell victim to poor shot selection and a dubious leg before decision. Wade hit six fours during a 107 minute stay at the crease.

Guest player Dennis Pilgrim (ten) and team stalwart Ryan Belboda (ten not out) were the only other two Rangers bats managing double figures on an uneven batting strip that saw some deliveries pop up from a good length and others stay low.

Rangers slumped from 43 without loss to 90 for six before finally being dismissed 28 runs shy of the target with 25 balls to spare.

"Our bowling was a bit shaky in the beginning, but I guess in the end our team harmony pulled us through," commented PHC regular skipper Bean, who handed over the reins to Ming for the day.

Bean also held his end of the bargain by taking three fine catches fielding at both long-off and in the covers.

"This was a good all round performance and our guys dug down and did what they had to do," he added. "Now we have to work even harder to keep the cup in the next round."

Earlier, having loss the toss and been sent into bat by the champions, PHC got their innings off to a reasonably good start with Ming (19) and Gerald Simons (35) adding 39 runs for the first wicket before the latter's brother Rohaan darted from long off to extra cover to catch a ball that found a thick edge off Ming's bat.

PHC then lost a second wicket in the space of one run when Kenny Mills went for a four-ball duck after holing out to Simons in the deep, giving Gary Crofton his sole wicket with the fifth ball of his seventh over.

Seemingly destined for a big knock, Gerald Simons' innings came undone at the seams when he played back to a Jones delivery that stayed low after stroking six fours off 74 balls in 100 minutes.

However, a 38-run stand between colt Jekon Edness (25) and Jeremy Fray (12) added much needed stability to PHC's innings, and set the foundation for Trott's fireworks lower down the order. Edness hit three fours off 59 balls in 77 minutes.

Strolling out to the middle in the 38th over following the dismissal of Bean (one), Trott clobbered ten runs off the first two deliveries he faced from Jones and Pilgrim to set the tempo for an electrifying 39-ball knock containing four fours and three sixes before he became the ninth and final PHC wicket to fall in the 50th over, caught by Simons at long on off the bowling of Wainwright one shy of a deserved half-century.

PHC will now defend their crown against Somerset Bridge in the third round on August 6 at White Hill Field.