AFTER four straight losses, Rowledge secured their first Southern Premier League win of the season – and it came in an outstanding game as they beat Division One leaders Basingstoke by seven runs at the Recreation Ground.

Ben Wish opted to bat first against Basingstoke, who had lost to Liphook the week before, and this bold decision was rewarded as Nick Morant and Tom?Gleave gave the home side a fantastic start with 71 for the first wicket.

Morant hammered ex-Hampshire paceman David Griffiths with a series of sumptuous drives and then a fearless pull shot.

However, Rowledge went from 71-0 to an alarming 71-3 in the space of five balls. The unlucky Gleave was run out backing up and Tom Treble and Joe Randall between them lasted four balls, both falling to Matt Thankachan as Basingstoke took the pace off the ball.

With the score 84, Morant also fell to Thankachan for an excellent 54, of which 44 came in boundaries.

This brought in new recruit Sam Plater, a sports coach at Charterhouse, to join Ian Metcalfe and, with consolidation required, the pair took the score to 110 before Metcalfe was lbw to Chris Jolley sweeping. Steve Martin and Ben Wish were then adjudged leg before to Ryan Connor and, at 135-7, Rowledge looked to have blown their chances.

At that vital stage, Plater and Jake Wish added an unbeaten 60 for the eighth wicket. Teenager Wish took the bowlers on with 33 off 31 balls, while Plater, who formerly played for Vauxhall Mallards in the East Anglia League, made a composed and assured 51 not out on debut, and Rowledge ended their 50 overs on 195-7.

Thankachan finished with 3-28 off 10 overs and skipper Mitch Stokes conceded just 21 runs from 10 miserly overs of off- spin.

Basingstoke’s top order took an aggressive approach and at first rode their luck on the aerial route. But with 42 on the board, the in-form Dan Belcher was undone by George Keeley and was caught by Treble in the covers.

Martin came into the attack and cleaned up the marooned Joe Oates, but Stokes was in no mood to hang around and threatened to take the game away from Rowledge as boundaries flowed from his bat.

At 120-2 after 22 overs, Basingstoke were in the driving seat, but then came the turning-point of the game as Stokes, having raced to 60 off 38 balls, holed out to the returning Chris Yates, Morant taking the catch on the long-off boundary.

Now the pressure was on young keeper George Metzger and it proved too much as Yates had him caught by Randall on the drive.

Dean Nurse continued to attack, though, and the score moved past 150 before the seam-spin combination of Randall and Keeley gave Rowledge renewed hope.

Randall had Nurse caught by Ben Wish, standing up to the stumps, and slow left-armer Keeley had Scott Dyer caught by Metcalfe at midwicket before trapping Martyn James plumb in front next ball.

Basingtoke had gone from 157-4 to 161-7. Time was still on their side, but Rowledge were in the ascendancy.

A disgruntled Randall was in the groove and comprehensively bowled Jolley (178-8) and when Martin returned to castle Thankachan, the visitors were 188-9 with number 7 Griffiths still there and eight runs required from eight overs.

Randall bowled five dot balls at the former county pro. Off the sixth, Griffiths top-edged an attempted pull and Martin took a well-judged catch.

A superb team effort from Rowledge and they will be keen to build further momentum when they travel to fifth-placed Portsmouth this week.

On Sunday, Rowledge visit I’Anson side Blackheath in the Watsons Village Cup Surrey Group final.