LEE Nurse has vowed his Basingstoke and North Hants team will end a depressing sequence of league defeats that has started their season.

After a third successive Home Counties League defeat on Saturday at High Wycombe he said: "It's got to come together soon. We will turn it around."

At unbeaten High Wycombe his team were eight-wicket losers after losing the toss and being forced to bat on a wet wicket.

Nurse thought Basingstoke were punished too harshly by the umpires with six lbw decisions going against them.

"I don't want to make excuses but half of them weren't just," said the Minor Counties player.

His line-up was hit by injuries to three key batsmen - Ray Pavesi, who has just had a knee operation, Andy Giles and Russell Droy, who both have finger injuries.

Basingstoke committed the cardinal sin of not batting out their overs. They were bowled out for just 154 in 56.1 of the 66 overs available to them.

Nurse was the first to go after playing second fiddle in an opening stand of 35. His dismissal was the first of the six lbw decisions with paceman David Taylor claiming his scalp for four.

Ian Maynard, Nurse's opening partner, fell shortly after to another lbw decision, this time to Adam Cole, the fastest of an all-seam attack. Maynard's 41-ball 35 included five boundaries.

Scott Dyer became Cole's second lbw victim when he went for seven but Ross Hunter broke the pattern when he was caught for 14 off the bowling of Taylor.

The wicket brought together Dean Nurse and Jon Govett, who put on 22 together before Govett was bowled for two by left-armer Paul Sawyer.

Nurse went on to compile the Basingstoke top score of 36, sharing the best stand of the innings with Keith Harsham, one of the players called up from the second team.

Together they put on 37 for the sixth wicket before Nurse was bowled by Paul Woodroffe, who in midweek had helped the Thames Valley League representative side to victory over the Bedfordshire County League.

Nurse's patient innings lasted 83 minutes and included two boundaries from the 70 balls he faced.

Harsham continued to resist in partnership with 15-year-old West of England player Mitchell Stokes, who was called up for his league debut. The youngster made six before he became the fourth lbw victim.

Harsham was the next man out after making a 55-ball 18 in 69 minutes which included three boundaries.

Cole claimed the wicket and then polished off the Basingstoke tail with two more lbw decisions, removing South African Paul Harris for eight and Keith Harris, one run later, for two.

Cole finished with figures of 5-38 while Taylor and Woodroffe shared four wickets.

Conditions had eased when High Wycombe batted and their task of scoring 155 in 63 overs demanded nothing spectacular.

They had the benefit of an opening stand of 62 before Taylor fell for 46 when slow left armer Paul Harris had him caught behind.

The only other wicket taken by Basingstoke was that of fellow opener Mark Eyles, who had made 69 against Basingstoke a year ago. He fell for 17 this time with Govett claiming the seventh lbw decision of the match.

High Wycombe skipper Jason Harrison was joined by Greg Pooley, who shared an unbroken stand of 83 to see up victory with more than 18 overs remaining.

Paul Harris was the pick of the Basingstoke bowlers, claiming 1-21 from his 10 overs, which included two maidens.