AN EXCELLENT bowling performance earned Basingstoke and North Hants maximum points from their third win of the Home Counties League season.

Victorious skipper Lee Nurse won the toss but opted to bat first on a slow, damp pitch.

Bicester were set a target of 151 from 62 overs, a total that looked difficult to defend.

Nurse decided to open with former skipper Keith Harris bowling his slow off-breaks and he was rewarded with an early wicket.

Charl Willoughby, who finished with his third six-wicket haul of the league season, removed danger man Rod Davison, caught down the leg-side by wicketkeeper Ross Hunter after scoring eight.

Harris' strike meant Bicester were in trouble at 14-2 but skipper Darryl Woods and Rob Williams dug in to take the total on to 86 before Woods was bowled to become Willoughy's second victim.

Willoughby made it a double breakthrough just before tea when he had new batsman France caught at short leg by Russell Droy off one of his spinners.

The destruction continued after the break when Jon Govett removed France's replacement Kennedy, to become the second nought on the Bicester scorecard.

Willoughby then bowled the left-handed Savin, again without scoring to put Basingstoke on top.

It didn't matter that Williams was still there holding down one end because he was only able to add ones and twos until a final flourish near the end.

A cover drive for two by wicketkeeper Connor O'Brien brought up the 100 for Bicester but next ball Willoughby had him caught behind for five.

The South African then switched back to pace, digging one in short to have Simpson caught off a top edge to leave the home side in a seemingly hopeless position at 110-8.

The next over Govett, continuing his lengthy unchanged spell with Willougby, removed Stanway without scoring.

It was now 111-9 but Williams wasn't going to go down without a fight. He hit Govett twice to the boundary in a single over with pulls and then repeated the treatment with two more fours in Govett's next over, with a straight drive and a cut.

Govett, however, had the final say, when he claimed the last wicket when he had Jeacock caught behind to sew up victory by 11 runs with more than three overs to spare.

Skipper Nurse afterwards praised Govett and Willoughby. "They bowled a lot of overs between them but shared nine wickets. It was good to beat Bicester because they humiliated us at home earlier in the season."

Earlier, the Basingstoke total had been boosted by a splendid 30 from Russell Droy. His innings was ended when he was caught at short leg off the spin bowling of Australian all-rounder Davidson.

Dean Nurse was among the runs for the second week running with 21 before he became another of Davidson's four wickets when he was caught at cover.

And Govett had started his succesful day with an unbeaten top score of 37.