HORSPATH seamer Mohson Rana’s career-best and Home Counties club record figures of 7-31 clinched an emphatic 108-run victory at Falkland in Division 2.

Rana’s brilliant bowling at the tree-ringed Newbury venue sent the hosts crashing to 102 all out in reply to Horspath’s 210-8 after the visitors had been put in to bat.

It saw second-placed Horspath strengthen their promotion push as they opened up a 33-point gap over nearest pursuers Shipton-under-Wychwood.

Making the most of the humid conditions, Rana, whose return beat the 7-68 that Pat Foster took for Horspath at Amersham three weeks earlier, got good seam movement off a straw-coloured pitch to rip through the Falkland batting.

Skipper Will Eason made the breakthrough when Bruce Martin fell to a juggling catch at point by Kit Cutter.

Rana produced a cracking delivery to bowl David Bloor, before trapping former Hampshire all-rounder Hamza Riazuddin lbw first ball.

He then removed James Bloodworth, Mark Foster and Theo Cooke to finish his first spell with 5-16, leaving Falkland in disarray at 33-6, and their supporters sat outside the adjoining Bowler’s Arms pub in a gloomy mood.

Craig Williams and Rehan Akram took the score to 70, but Rana returned to have the former caught at short leg.

Debutant teenage left-arm seamer Graham Beer bowled Hasnein Akram.

Rana claimed his seventh victim by having Rehan Akram caught at mid-off by Mark Skelton, and Adam Krol beat last man Nigel Trumper with a bit of flight to wrap up the victory.

Earlier, Horspath had battled hard to set a challenging total.

Jimmy Phillips completed back-to-back half-centuries with six fours in his 55 off 126 balls.

That set the stage for Dean Conradie to smash an unbeaten 58 from 44 deliveries.

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