LYMINGTON took full advantage of home comforts and bounced back from their recent slump to record a six-wicket victory over Totton & Eling.
Ali Jaffer’s side bowled their visitors out for 113 and beat the ticking time bomb that was the weather to trump Totton’s total in 21 overs.
The win brought to an end a run of six defeats in seven timed matches and saw Lymo leapfrog their opponents in the Premier Division standings.
Returning seamer Dave Kidner (2-32) teamed up with Matt Metcalfe (3-40) to stifle Totton’s total as James Haggaty (31) and Tom Arnold (27) posted the only significant tallies.
Lymo’s Darren Cowley (4-12) then stepped up to the plate and demolished the tail-end as Tom Beresford fell by the wayside before Nigel Bungay, Luke Mooney and Harry Henley-Smith were all dismissed for ducks.
However, the hosts’ race for runs got off to the worst possible start when opener Scott Henry was seen off by Darron Augustus (3-55) before Jaffer departed without score.
But despite the demoralising start, Simon Beetham (27) contributed well alongside Glyn Treagus (24) to put 50 runs on the board before Cowley grasped the nettle with an unbeaten 30 off just 20 balls to see his side over the winning line on 114 for four.
And although Jaffer admitted his side had enjoyed the rub of the green, the Southampton Road skipper praised his team’s composure to register a much-needed success.
Jaffer told the Daily Echo: “I was very happy to see us get back on track. We always said things would change if we performed a little better but we were also very fortunate that everything went in our favour.
“We won the toss, which was quite important on our pitch, and they (Totton) went about their business in a strange fashion. They were very aggressive up front and were taking chances.
“They read our pitch wrong. You have to be selective and play with patience but they went for some big shots and never gave themselves a chance.
“We have been poor for the past six or seven games but I was pleased that a slightly different combination worked well for us.”
“Our lads needed that ahead of some very important games and hopefully we can stay in the right frame of mind for the rest of the season.”
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