Joe Oates held the middle-order together as Basingstoke & North Hants almost allowed a promising position to slip from their grasp at Southern Premier Division 1 newcomers Hambledon, writes Mike Vimpany.

He made a crucial 75 and shared an important stand with youngster Neil Shelar (35) as they recovered from an uncertain 138-5 to post a match winning 262-8, writes Mike Vimpany.

Basingstoke went on to restrict the Dons to 191-8 and record a second consecutive win by 71 runs.

Matt Deadman (23) and Dubs Wood (22) provided Basingstoke with a solid start after the visitors had surprisingly been put into bat in the Ridge Meadow sun shine.

South African Justin Behrens, who finished with 4-40, made a couple of breakthroughs, bowling Dean Nurse and then Brad Neal (27), who had begun to kick start things alongside Oates.

It was the 83-run partnership between Oates and Shelar that asserted Basingstoke’s position – the teenager, whose unbeaten 59 did much to secure the previous week’s win over Ventnor, dropping a firm hint for a higher slot in the batting order.

The pair perished within one run of each other leaving New Delhi leg spinner Aarav Garg (20) and Laurence Benge (14) to add a precious unbeaten 40 for the ninth wicket.

Hambledon made an encouraging start through the Marshall brothers James (34) and George (22), only to fall away once Wood (3-24) had dismissed the siblings.

Behrens, who enjoyed a splendid winter season for Western Province CC in Cape Town, made 44 but  Jonty Oliver was to all intents and purposes left marooned as he struck an unbeaten 50 in a losing cause.

Basingstoke’s four-pronged spin attack is going to be a handful for opposing sides this summer and both Ash Neal (3-34)and Alistair Brown (2-33) made inroads as Basingstoke clinched their second win.