ROYAL Wootton Bassett will maintain their WEPL Wiltshire status next season after mathematically avoiding relegation with a game to spare.

Sam Lawro’s men might have lost to Potterne 2nd on home soil by 37 runs on Saturday, but the eight points they picked up for their efforts in the field and at the crease placed them 30 points clear of second-from-bottom Hinton Charterhouse.

Bassett braced themselves for the worst after losing their first seven games of the season, but skipper Lawro praised the attitude and application of his players and the club as a whole after picking up the points required to enter the final weekend with the pressure off.

Lawro said: “We were really up against it after losing seven games.

“But the whole team – and the club – pulled together, and I couldn’t ask for anymore from any members of the squad, to be honest.

“They’ve all done what I wanted them to do, and we finished the job that we needed to do on Saturday.

“Standards had to improve throughout the club. If things were below standard, I would tell those responsible about it.

“Everyone took on board what I said, and it resulted in everyone wanting to play for the badge.

“We played like men, and our winning mentality in the last three months has got us over the line.

“It’s great to see, and pleasing after the start we had.”

Lawro opted to field after winning the toss, knowing bonus points could be picked up in the game’s first half to reach safety from relegation.

And exactly that happened as Ian Lancaster, Tatenda Chiradza, Charanveer Chahal, Asanka Vithanage and Lawro shared seven wickets between them.

Potterne set Bassett 275 to win and while opener Darren Beasant (59) and Lawro (51no) hit half-centuries, their target couldn’t be reached as they were only on 237-6 after 50 overs.

Regardless, Lawro was particularly pleased with the efforts of club youngster Euan Burk, who hit an impressive 43 in what was only his third first-team appearance.

He said: “Euan (Burke) works as hard as anyone at the club, and has delivered a few impressive knocks lately.

“I was chuffed for him to score 43, he played well against Marshfield before too. Things are looking positive.”

Elsewhere, Swindon leapfrogged Westbury into second place after defeating Hinton Charterhouse at home by 16 runs.

Skipper Marc Williamson hit an outstanding century (107) as the hosts set the opposition 250 for victory.

Hinton fell short of their target, and were eventually bowled out for 233 as Conor Taylor picked up 4-32 with the ball.

There was however disappointment for Purton as they remain under threat from relegation following a seven-wicket loss at Devizes.

After Purton were bowled out for 141, Devizes eased to a winning 142-3 with 19 overs to spare as Joe Wookey hit 59.