Basingstoke & North Hants got their Southern Premier Division 1 season off to a winning start with a 78-run victory over Ventnor.

The Bountymen were struggling at 104-7 when Neil Shelar and Matt Donaldson came together, but the eighth-wicket pair put on 85 runs to help Basingstoke post a total of 221-8.

Aarav Garg and skipper Joe Oates then shared seven wickets to bowl Ventnor out for 147.

"This was a perfect start for us, but so much was down to Neil and Matt, who batted responsibly at a crucial stage of the game," Oates said.

"It's always important to win your first match. This is going to be a very competitive league with arguably six sides capable of winning it – and beating each other along the way.

"I'd like to think Basingstoke will be in the mix, but we need to win at Hambledon this Saturday to maintain momentum."

Although Ash Neal (30) and Oates (25) made decent starts, Basingstoke found the going tough after being put into bat and lost wickets all along the way.

But teenager Shelar, with an SPL best 59 not out, and Donaldson (40) turned the tide dramatically with what proved a match-changing partnership.

Two early blows by Oates (4-25) immediately put Ventnor on the back foot, but Sri Lankan Dineth Thimodya (31) and Martin Blackman (25) remained a massive threat – until Dubs Wood (2-27) removed them both.

Equally important was the dismissal of Tom Friend (13), who has re-joined Ventnor from Bashley (Rydal), as Ventnor lost four wickets for 15 runs, debutant Aarav Garg (3-25) breaking through.

Ben Attrill (25) rallied but the damage was done and Ventnor, despite a late recovery, were dismissed for 147.