A young Bashley 3rd team made the short trip to local rivals Bransgore 1sts and on losing the toss were asked to bat first.

Despite the loss of an early wicket, Bashley were scoring briskly but the loss of Tom O’Sullivan (16) and Harry Anstey (27) left them at 58 for 3 after 10 overs. Arno Hattingh and Michael O’Sullivan batted cautiously at first against the accurate Bransgore bowling attack on a very dry wicket with uneven bounce. They then started to take control and built an impressive 102 run partnership with Hattingh particularly severe and on any loose deliveries. When Hattingh was eventually caught for an excellent 61 and O’Sullivan caught soon after for 36, Bashley were well placed at 166 for 5 with ten overs remaining. Late over flourishes from Sam Scott (18), James Edmonds (11), Jack Harris (16 not out) and Sean Read (15 not out) took Bashley to a challenging 224 for 8 at the end of their 45 overs. For Bransgore, Thomas (4 for 45) and Page (3 for 31) were the successful bowlers.

After tea, Sean Read (1 for 37) struck in the first over to make an immediate breakthrough for Bashley. Tom Harris (1 for 43) bowled well in his opening spell together with Toby Mills but several Bashley fielding errors and dropped catches allowed Bransgore to mount a recovery. Rouse (61) and Jones (62) took full advantage of their reprieves and they took Bransgore to a strong position of 167 for 2 after 36 overs. Bashley fought back with wickets for Sam Scott (2 for 44) and Michael O’Sullivan (2 for 37) to build pressure and leave Bransgore needing 10 runs of the last over for victory. However a boundary off the last ball took Bransgore to a 3 wicket win in an exciting match played in good spirits by both sides.