Basingstoke & North Hants raised batsman Max Harsham has notched his first century in senior club cricket - in soaring temperatures in South Africa's Cape province.

Barely a week after arriving in Cape Town for the second half of the Western Province 'winter' season, Harsham strapped on his pads for the first time in over four months and promptly hit the first ton of his fledgling career.

The 23-year old, who spent his formative years as a junior at May's Bounty, was making his debut for the city's northern suburbs side Victoria, with temperatures touching the mid-nineties.

Harsham scored extactly 100, sadly in vain as Victoria's fell an agonising six runs short of Cape Town CC's 232-8 in a 50-over WPCA Premier Division match.

He batted all 50 overs of the Victoria innings, but the energy sapping heat gradually got the better of him and the side was only able to hit two boundaries in thge last 15 overs of their reply.

"It was pretty demanding stuff. I've played a few games in the West Indies before, but never in heat like that. It must have been touching on 100 fah in the morning, so fielding was gruelling as well," Harsham said.