TEENAGE prodigy Liam Dawson, 14, showed he has as much promise with the ball as he does the bat after helping the visitors to a vital six wicket victory.

The win leaves Chippenham almost certain of avoiding relegation after rivals Knowle lost again.

Dawson, playing just his third game, had a less successful time with the bat, scoring 3 before being stumped. But with Ilminster shedding wickets and stumbling to a total of 133, the youngster was handed the ball by stand-in captain Richard Bates.

He answered the call by taking 2-21 from six overs.

"He bowled exceptionally well and showed no nerves whatsoever,'' said Bates.

"The conditions suited a slower bowler and he did his job well. He kept a line and length and just let the batsmen make mistakes.

"It wasn't a case of him just coming in to mop up at the end of the innings, Ilminster could have made another 50 runs if we hadn't got it right.''

Bates and spin partner Jason Searle had already done the damage by the time Dawson came on.

Bates too 2-23 in 15 overs, six of them maidens, while Searle took 3-23 off 15 overs, including five maidens.

The turning wicket made life difficult for the home batsen and they never got to grips with the Chippenham attack.

Captain Craig Rice made 30 before he was caught by Mark Hunt off Searle's bowling and Jon Dalwood nevcame Dawson's first victim for the club when he was bowled for 25.

The only late resistance came from Neil Barrows who ended up unbeaten on 25.

Ilminster's 133 never looked enough although Bates was not going to be complacent.

"We are adept at throwing situations like that away so we were taking nothing for granted,'' he said.

He led the way before being bowled off his pads by Crossland just two short of his half century.

"I didn't know what score I was on to be honest but I was still disappointed, it was not a good shot played,'' he said.

Australian Jace Lawson helped Chippenham take control after Hunt departed for 19, caught by Rice off the bowling of Dalwood.

Dawson's stumping was a disappointment for the youngsters, who had opened with Bates.

"He swung at a shot and fell forward on to the ball,'' said Bates. "He will learn from that and many better batsmen have been out the same way.''

Lawson's unbeaten 42, supported briefly by Paul Bates, 6, and Jack Humphrys, 8, saw Chippenham home to a crucial win.

Said Bates: "We played very well again we deserved it. They didn't bat well and were either trying to hit the ball out of the ground or block, they didn't seem to have a plan.

"We showed great confidence and it was nice to get the win and take the pressure off ourselves.''

Chippenham are at home to leaders and championship favourites Glastonbury on Saturday.

"That will be an interesting test,'' said Bates. "We can measure how far we have come. We will go into it relaxed because we aren't under pressure but we still need to put in a performance.''

He will not be calling the toss as regular skipper Trevor Lloyd is due back from holiday and Bates, a reluctant captain, will be glad to hand the responsibility over.

"I've won two out of two so I can tell him I've done my bit,'' he joked. "I don't like being captain but I didn enjoy it more on Saturday.''