BASINGSTOKE and North Hants face a crunch Southern League Division One encounter on Saturday, as they look to keep up the pressure on leaders Calmore Sports.

The Bountymen last weekend, slipped from the summit to third after a five wicket loss at home to Rowledge.

This weekend, they travel to second place Bournemouth with both sides knowing a loss will serious dent their hopes of the title.

The Bountymen will be without Matt Thankachan, Brad Neal and Matt Deadman, so Richard Vinn, Colin Jolley and Max Harsham come into the line-up.

Looking ahead to the game, against a side they beat at May’s Bounty earlier in the season, Basingstoke captain Mitch Stokes said: “We normally do well against the top teams so hopefully we can carry this on and we need to win it is big game for both sides.

Last weekend, in a rain interrupted game at May’s Bounty, Basingstoke scored 159.

The visitors were then given a revised total of 132 to chase in 34 overs and got home 16 balls to spare.

Brad Neal with an excellent 41 not out from 48 balls top scored was the Bountymen's top scorer.

The Rowledge reply struggled to 49-5, as David Griffiths took 3-25.

However, an unbroken partnership worth 83 between David Lloyd (43) and Steven Martin (35) saw them home.