SKIPPER Lee Nurse takes his Basingstoke and North Hants side to Banbury tomorrow, aiming to secure the victory that he believes will guarantee their league status.

A comprehensive win over Finchampstead at May's Bounty last Saturday brought a vital 25 points Basingstoke's way to banish fears over their Home Counties division one position.

A repeat showing tomorrow in Oxfordshire is the task Nurse is setting his side ahead of their longest trip of the season.

The opening batsman said: "I think one more win is all we need to make sure we stay up, and I want us to get it at Banbury.

"They have a big player in Paul Taylor, who has played for England and is in good form, so we need to get him out early. If we do that, we'll be in a good position."

Nurse was pleased his team stepped up to the challenge against Finchampstead and won only their second match of the campaign.

"It was important we didn't let the loss of Charl Willoughby affect us negatively," said Nurse. "Chris Chandler was excellent, getting five wickets, even though he was injured, and we deserved to win because it was a good team display."

Nurse names the same team as last week with the exception of Scott Dyer, who is unavailable for the rest of the season, and Daniel Leese, who is replaced by Rob Bowen.

"We needed to bring another bowler in," explained Nurse. "Losing Scott is a shame but I'm not sure what the reason is."

Basingstoke II slipped back into the relegation zone of Thames Valley League division one after losing by nine wickets at Cove, where their 242-8 proved insufficient.

Marlow Park leapfrogged them with a four-wicket win at Harefield. Basingstoke aim to bounce back tomorrow when Amersham visit May's Bounty.

Basingstoke V picked up 14 points in their promotion push in division 7a. Cove failed to chase their target of 202-8, reaching 89-8 from 48 overs.

The chief Basingstoke wicket-takers were Ken Goddard (3-17), Rowan Simpson (2-8) and Jamie Gray (2-21).

In the Basingstoke innings, Mark Darmody top-scored with 54, while Chris Heeps (32) and Bob Froud (20 not out) made useful contributions.