Banbury stormed back to the top of the Home Counties Premier League when they demolished leaders High Wycombe by 148 runs at White Post Road on Saturday.

Previously unbeaten Wycombe, weakened by the absence of five regulars, were outclassed in every department during a one-sided encounter.

The home side, put in to bat on a pitch which seamed all day, dominated the match from the start as openers Craig Haupt and Andrew Sabin put on 117 for the first wicket in 36 overs before both departed at the same score.

Haupt, who hit 15 fours, was the dominant partner with 70, while Sabin, who broke a toe while batting, made 38. With David Taylor, fit again after his back problem the previous week, also departing at 117, Banbury were halted in their tracks.

Six runs came from ther next ten overs, before promising 17-year-old debutant Tim Smith and Mark Barratt broke the ice by taking 16 runs from Jamie Bovill's final over. Barratt hit two huge sixes in his 40.

With further lusty blows from Neal Radford, Shahbaz Ali and Mark Rorich, Banbury added added 130 from the last 19 overs to finish on a formidable 253-7 from their 66-over allocation.

The Banbury seamers then showed the Wycombe bowlers how to use the helpful track. The underrated Rorich gained movement and bounce to capture the first four wickets - a haul that included the current Bucks captain Paul Atkins for a ten-over duck, plus his two predecessors Tim Scriven and Jason Harrison, who fell to a low, diving slip catch by Sabin.

There was no way back from 33-5 for the young Wycombe side as Radford and Taylor each claimed a couple of wickets.

With the field crowded around the bat, Wycombe were just able to creep to three figures before Jason de la Pena finished it off with two wickets in two balls with 19.1 overs to spare.

The only blot on the Banbury performance were their excessive 'verbals', which led to the umpires talking to skipper Neil Megson.

On this display, Banbury should just let their cricket do the talking.