INTERIM skipper Simon Watkins piloted Bashley to victory over rivals Lymington before revealing he had the backing of previous captain Richard Morris.

Newbury-based Morris quit the role last week due to increased work commitments with Watkins taking the reins on temporary basis.

Bashley are likely to finalise their skipper plans in the coming days and the 26-year-old Watkins is set to be among those considered.

He told the Daily Echo: “Rich made it quite clear that I was who he was going to recommend for the captaincy.

“I think it’s most likely it will be shared through the season and then it will be looked at again at the end of the year.

“We are all fairly relaxed about the situation and it looks like it will be sorted out this week.”

Watkins, who captained Bournemouth earlier in his career, saw Bashley secure a three-wicket triumph over Lymo with two and a half overs to spare at BCG.

The visitors’ 192 did not quite prove enough as Watkins (21*) and Sam Thomson (27*) got Bashley across the line.

Watkins added: “It always looked like the run rate wasn’t going to be an issue, it was just about the wickets in hand and we were very happy with the overall performance.

“I always had a feeling we would win it although we have been known to throw matches away from those sort of positions before.

“I was pleased how we controlled the game in the second half of their innings and also that everyone chipped in with the bat.”

Lymo skipper Simon Beetham was left to rue a batting display that he admitted had fallen marginally short. But Beetham revealed that there was little point in a prolonged focus on the result.

He said: “You can’t dwell on these things too long otherwise they ruin your week! We will live to fight another day.

“It’s always close with Bashley given our rivalry and this game was no different.

“We didn’t quite put together a big enough score and they chased it down quite well, although we almost took it from them.

“The pitch was very dry and slow with semi-variable bounce. They played quite a few spinners and only a couple of seamers, whereas we only had the one spinner.

“I wasn’t overly disappointed with 192 but in hindsight we were about 20 runs short. That’s just how it goes.”

Lymo chose to bat first and suffered an early body blow when Ben Rogers (5) was caught by Morris off the bowling of Sean Reid.

Ryan Scott and Hampshire ace Lewis McManus steadied the ship before the former was caught by Thomson for 12.

McManus soldiered on to 34 before the quick thinking of Bashley wicketkeeper Tom Jacques saw him stumped.

By that time Felix Ambrose had come to the crease and his partnership with left-hander Darren Cowley added nearly 50 runs to the total.

Cowley was caught for 26 and Matt Metcalfe (3) swiftly followed after being bowled by Watkins, leaving Lymo on a useful 130 for five.

It was not long before it was Ambrose’s turn when he was run out by Nash for 47 and Kieran Moors lasted just four balls as he managed a single run.

Beetham continued his good work at the crease with 39, only to be caught by Michael Porter, before Lymo finished the job.

Watkins ended with three for 29 and Josh Digby three for 38. Nash bowled four maidens in eight overs and took one for 20.

In reply, Bashley were put in early trouble when Porter and Neil Thurgood were dismissed for the gain of just 16 runs, both bowled by medium-pacer Ben Ashkenazi.

But brothers James Morris and Richard Morris improved to 63 the total before the former was stumped by McManus.

The partnership between Richard Morris (38) and Tom Andrews was also effective, with the latter eventually making 59.

Alongside him, Thomson and Watkins were the most significant contributors and Bashley reached their target just in time.

For Lymo, the inform Ashkenazi secured figures of four for 25.