PURTON stand-in skipper Callum Wright says his side’s bid to avoid relegation from WEPL Wiltshire is in their own hands after a vital 11-run victory over Potterne 2nd.

The table dwellers navigated their way towards 219 on Saturday, courtesy of the skipper’s 86, as Joshua De Souza took four Purton scalps.

With a modest total on the board, the visiting bowlers toiled away to give themselves a chance of victory and Patrick Whittaker took 5-40 to clean up the Potterne tail.

Some late hitting from Milan Perera caused Purton to sweat slightly, but once he was removed by Whittaker, victory was assured for Wright’s men.

Wright’s namesake, England international Luke, would have been proud of the Purton skipper’s contribution, but Callum Wright insists Whittaker and the other bowlers should take the acclaim.

“I gave us an opportunity and something to defend with the bat, but it was a great performance by our bowlers, especially Patrick Whittaker,” said Wright.

“The young man really outdid himself with his five-wicket haul.

“To give him the ball when Potterne only needed 23 runs to win before then getting hit for two sixes, he showed great character. He did us proud and we got that final wicket.

“Patrick has been involved with the first team for a number of years after coming through the Wiltshire system. He’s really starting to shine and come through as a regular in the first team.

“We have really high hopes for him.”

Following successes for three of the bottom four teams at the weekend, Purton’s victory came at an important time as they closed the gap on those above them and now sit on three wins, alongside Potterne and Hinton Charterhouse.

With regular captain Tom Whittaker set to return after a four-game absence, Wright believes his side are beginning to turn things around just in time to complete their great escape.

He said: “Both teams were very competitive last weekend in what was a bottom-of-the-table clash, so it was nice to come away with the win.

“It’s definitely put us back into contention for survival.

“There are a number of teams that are getting pulled back into this fight, and although results at the weekend didn’t go our way, we’ve given ourselves a chance now with games coming thick and fast.

“It is within our own hands and we know what we’ve got to do.”

Elsewhere, Royal Wootton Bassett claimed an important victory in their derby match against Swindon.

Scoring just 112 after opting to bat first, Bassett’s bowlers produced a heroic performance to skittle Swindon out for 110.

Hinton Charterhouse also picked up a win as Calne were reduced to 220 all out, thanks to Henry Haydon’s 6-27, before Henry Cheal struck 96 not out as Charterhouse cruised to victory with six wickets remaining.

Warminster cruised to a seven-wicket win over Devizes.

Despite Joseph Moloney’s 42, Devizes were only able to drag themselves up to 109 before being bowled out, while Warminster wrapped up victory inside 18 overs.

Marshfield continued their winning run in a low-scoring success over Westbury.

The home side crept up to 103 all out before Jeremy Bond’s five-for wrapped up a 14-run victory.