BASINGSTOKE and North Hants are looking to pick up the pieces after a weekend which saw them convincingly beaten by ECB Southern Premier League heavyweights St Cross Symondians and knocked out of ECB national club championships at Bath.

They lost by 107 runs at title favourites St Cross and were beaten by six wickets by WEPL powermen Bath.

"They were two of the strongest club sides we could have played but we got ourselves into good early positions in both games," reflected Basingstoke skipper Joe Oates.

"We've got to remember we've gone up a level into the top tier of ECB cricket so it's going to take time to adjust.

"It doesn't help not having Brad Neal at the moment, but it's all good experience for the lads. We could do with a win at Alton on Saturday."

Basingstoke had 2022 Premier Division champions St Cross in early strife at 46-4 after being put into bat at May's Bounty - the out-swing of Oates (4-27) accounting for two of the three wickets to fall with the visitors' total stuck on 46.

Left-hander Charlie Gwynn (50) and Guernsey all-rounder Matt Stokes, with 72, turned things around in a near-century fifth wicket stand which eased St Cross to 141-5.

Gwynn, with two sixes and six boundaries, was going nicely until he slapped a head-high catch to Matt Donaldson at mid-wicket to give Dubs Wood (3-41) a scalp.

But Stokes quickly found an ideal partner in emerging teen prospect Ben Foster, who went on to score a maiden Premier Division fifty. Stokes sent a return catch to Ash Neal at 207-5.

That gave centre stage to Foster, who played some handsome shots - he struck a six and five boundaries in a run-a-ball 51 - before holing out on the boundary. St Cross closed at 254-9.

Basingstoke slipped to 33-3 - Gwynn twice taking catches off Stokes (2-36) - but were revived by an enterprising stand between George Metzger (49) and Dubs Wood (35), who added 71.

But with the Basingstoke reply at 104-3, a misunderstanding led to Wood being run out. Any prospect of a Bounty win, however unlikely, disappeared.

Spin pair Callum Willock (3-35) and Gwynn (2-22) sliced through the Stoke lower order to leave the Bountymen 147 all out and nursing a heavy defeat on their Premiership return.

Basingstoke twice had promising positions wrested from them at North Parade, where Ash Neal (40) and Alex Bovill, grandson of past Bounty captain and opening bowler Michael Bovill, produced a 60-run start.

Metzger (40) eased the total past the 100-run mark, but when three middle-order wickets fell for nine runs, any hope of a competitive total disappeared. Donaldson hit thee sixes in a quick-fire 27 before the innings closed at 157.

Hauled out of early retirement, Ryan Connor struck twice with the new ball to have Bath wobbling at 24-3 - but that was as good as it got for Basingstoke.

Dorset's Sam Young unleashed a boundary barrage, hitting eight sixes and six fours in a blistering 83, scored in a flowing 149-run stand with Tim Rouse, who finished 58 not out. Bath won with 19 overs to spare.