George Wilson (left) and Bradley Currie, whose ninth-wicket stand set up Bashley's 62-run win at Basingstoke.
Bashley (Rydal) require 33 points from their last three matches of the season to secure the ECB Southern Premier Division title for the first time.
That target figure will diminish if defending champions St Cross Symondians, currently in second place, fail to take maximum points from their games.
Bashley have home matches with Lymington (Saturday) and South Wilts (August 31) either side of a visit to Bournemouth.
Those 33 points should comfortably be within Bashley’s reach, but if Michael Porter’s side thought the title was already in the bag, they got a rude awakening at May’s Bounty.
They eventually won there by 62 runs – but only after ninth-wicket pair Brad Currie and George Wilson had spared their batting blushes.
Put into bat in blustery bowler friendly conditions Bashley lost early wickets to Chris Jolley (3-42), before Michael Porter (28) and Tom Friend initiated a recovery.
Friend (35) took a particular liking to Ash Neal, dumping the young off-spinner out of the ground three times in one fateful over, which cost 23 runs.
Neal took some consolation by catching Friend soon after as Bashley lurched from 92-4 to 107-8, Kieron Wood, son of Julian, taking 2-11, his first SPL wickets.
Bottom-of-the-log Basingstoke were sniffing only a third win of the season, only to have their prospects blown away (quite literally) by Bashley’s ninth-wicket pair George Wilson (45) and Bradley Currie (40), who turned the game with a 73-run partnership.
Only opener Max Harsham (31) made his mark as Basingstoke sank to 55-7 in response, Currie (4-17) and George Pardoe (2-19) slicing through the top order.
It took a second consecutive half-century by young Joe Oates (56 not out) and a tenth-wicket stand of 56 involving Lawrence Benge (20) to get Basingstoke to a relatively respectable 137 all out.
Basingstoke, 51 points adrift at the bottom, will be relegated if they lose at Alton on Saturday.
That target figure will diminish if defending champions St Cross Symondians, currently in second place, fail to take maximum points from their games.
Bashley have home matches with Lymington (Saturday) and South Wilts (August 31) either side of a visit to Bournemouth.
Those 33 points should comfortably be within Bashley’s reach, but if Michael Porter’s side thought the title was already in the bag, they got a rude awakening at May’s Bounty.
They eventually won there by 62 runs – but only after ninth-wicket pair Brad Currie and George Wilson had spared their batting blushes.
Put into bat in blustery bowler friendly conditions Bashley lost early wickets to Chris Jolley (3-42), before Michael Porter (28) and Tom Friend initiated a recovery.
Friend (35) took a particular liking to Ash Neal, dumping the young off-spinner out of the ground three times in one fateful over, which cost 23 runs.
Neal took some consolation by catching Friend soon after as Bashley lurched from 92-4 to 107-8, Kieron Wood, son of Julian, taking 2-11, his first SPL wickets.
Bottom-of-the-log Basingstoke were sniffing only a third win of the season, only to have their prospects blown away (quite literally) by Bashley’s ninth-wicket pair George Wilson (45) and Bradley Currie (40), who turned the game with a 73-run partnership.
Only opener Max Harsham (31) made his mark as Basingstoke sank to 55-7 in response, Currie (4-17) and George Pardoe (2-19) slicing through the top order.
It took a second consecutive half-century by young Joe Oates (56 not out) and a tenth-wicket stand of 56 involving Lawrence Benge (20) to get Basingstoke to a relatively respectable 137 all out.
Basingstoke, 51 points adrift at the bottom, will be relegated if they lose at Alton on Saturday.
