Thame Town were rueing missed chances as they lost by four wickets at home to Basingstoke & North Hants in the Home Counties Premier League Division 2 West.

The hosts dropped eight half-chances that could have affected the outcome of this well-contested encounter.

Having been asked to bat on a pitch still drying out from Tuesday's flooding, Thame were indebted to Manoj Parmar, who was once again the bedrock of the innings with a fine 77.

There were other useful contributions, including a late fourish from Luke Merry, as Thame reached a respectable 214-5 in their 60 overs. Hampshire contracted player Mitchell Stokes bowled throughout the innings.

An important factor was that Basingstoke completed their overs by 3pm at 24 overs per hour, ensuring that they would have at least 60 overs in reply.

The visitors responded positively on a pitch that had lost its earlier assistance for the seamers.

So Thame turned to the in-form Jaydeep Bhatti and Michael Higgs.

Finding it difficult to score, the Basingstoke batsman had to hit the ball in the air. Thame dropped eight difficult chances with their normally reliable young fielding side.

Basingstoke, with 60 overs to get the runs, worked the ball around the infield and eased home with plenty of time to spare.