LECHLADE batsman Brad Dial admits there is a feeling of relief around the Manor Ground after they were able to put some distance between themselves and the bottom two with a surprise victory over Clevedon.

Having struggled for consistency all summer in Premier One, Lechlade have stumbled on some form at just the right moment, having now won their last three outings.

And Saturday was probably the most rewarding of the lot as they were able to restrict second-placed Clevedon to just 136 in their innings before chasing down the target with two wickets to spare.

With 18 points now separating Lechlade and the bottom two in the division, with Corsham all but confined to relegation, 45 points adrift at the foot of the table, Dial admits they can breathe a bit easier.

“Yeah, we’re a little bit relieved,” he said. “It was a good game and good to be a part of.

“I was a little bit nervous at the beginning of their innings because they had a bit of a partnership going at the beginning.

“Once we claimed the wicket of Marc Lezar, who was scoring a large proportion of their runs, they kind of just fell apart.

“We thought that it was going to be an easy chase but we started to lose wickets regularly and thank goodness for Benny Ellis.

“Benny is unbelievable and he has been fantastic in the last two games he has played.

“Looking at the table, it looks a lot better for us now and we are extremely relieved at the moment.”

The visitors won the toss and elected to bat, with Joe Breet claiming the early scalp of opening batsman Masoor Khan for just nine, caught behind by Dial.

Jacob Lintott, who made his debut for Hampshire the previous night, took the score on with a knock of 25 before Gloucestershire’s Jack Taylor took his wicket.

Marc Jenkins and Marc Lezar then proceeded to put Clevedon in a strong position at 119-2 off 30 overs before the reintroduction of Ellis changed the game completely.

Ellis took 6-5 in 27 balls, including the crucial wicket of Lezar (56), then hit an unbeaten 56 to steer his side home which left Taylor to mop up the tail, with the last eight wickets falling for just 17 runs.

With a modest target of 136 to chase down Lechlade got off to a shaky start as they were soon on 29-5 off just 8.3 overs.

Fresh from his bowling heroics, Ellis and skipper Freddie Martin looked determined to build a partnership and the two managed to take the score to 73 when Martin (10) was adjudged LBW to Lintott, not playing a shot.

With Christopher Harwood and Harvey Jupp going cheaply, Liam Smith (31 not out) was able to partner Ellis (56no) over the line to secure the win.