TROWBRIDGE kept themselves in with a fighting chance of survival in WEPL Premier Two Glos/Wilts after a shock four-wicket victory over Goatacre on Saturday, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

Goatacre won the toss and opted to bat, much to home captain Tom Weaver’s surprise, but aside from opener Jack Haines (57), the visitors struggled to cope with a damp County Ground surface as they were bowled out for 136.

In reply, Trowbridge’s Harry Veal backed up his 4-28 with the ball by striking 46 with the bat to help see his side over the line.

But despite victory at the weekend, Weaver’s men still find themselves second bottom of the table with six fixtures remaining.

Nonetheless, Weaver remains confident that momentum is swinging back in favour of his side just in time for a miraculous revival.

He said: “We’ve known for the past couple of weeks that we’ve been building towards a performance like that.

“The boys have been putting the effort in on the training field and we’re starting to gel as a team as we come into the second and most important half of the season.

“We’re optimistic that once you start winning, you learn to win, and you can take that momentum into the next couple of games.

“Obviously, winning against Goatacre – one of the best teams in the league – is always a good result.

“They’re a fantastic team with some very good players, and it just shows what the boys can do when we stick to our plans and put a team performance in.

“It wasn’t just one player, it was all 11 that contributed to the result, which makes it even better.”

Elsewhere, it was a near faultless weekend for the home sides in the division.

The only home team to suffer defeat was Biddestone as they fell drastically short of Dumbleton’s 211-9.

Naeem Khan took 5-30 for Biddestone, but that was as good as it got for Tyrone Isitt’s team as they were skittled for 89 after tea.

Burbage & Easton Royal did secure a home victory as a strong all-around bowling performance saw Stroud dismissed for 170 after the hosts had initially posted 199-9.

Corsham opener Charley Reed made a wonderful 101 to set his team up for a 46-run victory over high-flying Chippenham.

The hosts made 294-8 before Chippenham’s Adeesha Nanayakkara (92) led the reply.

However, Tom Smith’s figures of 6-49 proved too much for Chippenham as Corsham claimed a vital victory.