BASINGSTOKE and North Hants recorded their first win of the season on Sunday, beating Epsom by nine wickets in the Evening Standard Trophy.

The victory wiped out the disappointment of losing by 134 runs to visiting Home Counties League leaders Henley on Saturday.

Basingstoke skipper Lee Nurse is now looking for his side to latch on to the winning bug. Yesterday they faced Eastcote in the Bertie Joel Cup before returning to league action on Saturday at Finchampstead.

Nurse said: "It is good to win, even if Epsom were a weak side, and that is what we have to build on, especially when we go to Finchampstead on Saturday."

Sunday's victory over Epsom was an all-round team performance. The home side struggled from the start as all five Basingstoke bowlers took wickets.

Julian Wood, in his Basingstoke re-appearance, took the opening two in a seven-over spell that cost just nine runs.

Then a direct hit run-out from Mitchell Stokes left the home side on 25-3.

Dean Nurse snapped up the first catch of the day to give Chris Chandler his only wicket with no addition to the score.

Jon Govett (2-13) and James Morris (3-16) ripped out the middle order and Stokes concluded the innings at 65 with only his second ball of the day.

The target in 50 overs was never going to be a problem, and Ian Maynard and Wood put on 54 for the first wicket before Maynard was bowled for 19.

That was the only wicket to fall as Wood ended on 36 not out and Stokes was unbeaten on 10.

The victory set up an away tie at Cheam on a date to be arranged.

Saturday was a different story as David Taylor, a winter signing from High Wycombe, scored 120 as Henley posted an impressive total of 269-6.

Taylor shared a century fourth-wicket partnership with opener David Allaway (41) which moved the score on to 157-4.

Then Taylor, along with former Zimbabwe Test star Brian Murphy (50 not out), added another 72 together.

Basingstoke started their reply well with an opening stand of 43 between Nurse (24) and Maynard (23).

After that only Morris, with an innings top score of 57, which included 12 fours, made any runs.

Once again the middle order failed as Murphy claimed three wickets before Hamid Sanna, a winter signing from Reading, ended Basingstoke hopes, taking four wickets in his opening two overs without conceding a single run.

His spell of only 20 balls ended up yielding him figures of 5-7 as Basingstoke slumped from 105-6 to 135 all out.

Nurse said: "We were doing alright up until lunch, but David Taylor came in and scored 120 off 100 balls and took the game away from us."

He added: "The only bright spot in the game was the batting of James Morris and he put together an excellent innings."