BASINGSTOKE and North Hants managed to pluck defeat out of the jaws of victory on Monday, as they lost by one run to Eastcote in the first round of the Bertie Joel Cup.

The May's Bounty side - former winners of the trophy - looked set for victory at 120-5 as they chased 176 for victory with 18 overs to go.

Then two wickets in consecutive balls saw Jon Govett (5) caught in the slips and Nigel Williamson caught behind to start the slide.

With opener Ian Maynard (57) at the crease, Basingstoke still had the upper hand. But he was caught in the slips in the 33rd over to leave Basingstoke on 137-8.

Keith Harris came out to join Chris Chandler and the seasoned campaigners showed their experience as they gradually chipped away at the target.

Just when the winning line looked in sight, Chandler (28) was caught out with the home side 11 runs short of their target.

Last man Charl Willoughby, in an eventful final over, dispatched the opening delivery, which was a no-ball, to the boundary for four.

Three balls later, the South African again found the boundary rope with a straight drive and a single through the slips brought Basingstoke to 174.

The final ball of the seven-ball over saw Harris get a faint touch on the ball and the visiting wicketkeeper gleefully took the catch, leaving Basingstoke beaten by a single run with six overs left of their innings.

Earlier in the contest, Willoughby took four wickets in his final over of the Eastcote innings to claim figures of 5-34 as the visitors were bowled out for 174.

Basingstoke's reply did not get off to the best of starts, as Lee Nurse was out in the first over for a duck, but Maynard, Julian Wood (16) and James Morris (33) moved the score at 97-3.

Chris Froud (0) and Dean Nurse (4) both went cheaply but Basingstoke still looked in a good position at 120-5.