WELLINGTON gained their third successive victory in the Somerset Division of the West of England Premier Cricket League when they beat lowly Shapwick & Polden by seven wickets at the Playing Field.

Victory enabled Wellington to move up to sixth in the table, while Shapwick remain one off the bottom with only one win all season.

Shapwick, who chose to bat after winning the toss, were in all sorts of trouble against Wellington’s opening attack of Toby Stirzaker and Luke Desave.

They slumped to 49-6 before Paul Kemp-King came to the rescue with an unbeaten 83, his patient knock coming off 125 balls. He shared in a seventh-wicket stand of 45 with Jack Broughton (14), an eighth-wicket partnership of 65 with Alex Scott (37) and a 35-run stand of 35 with Joe Mason (6) for the ninth wicket.

Shapwick were eventually bowled out for 213 in 46.1 overs with Stirzaker taking 4-33, Desave 2-32 and Lakshan Edirisinghe (2-34), while there was a wicket apiece for skipper Arron Campbell and Andy Hurry. The visitors’ last four wickets yielded 164 runs.

Wellington lost Nathan Roberts in the first over without scoring, but Desave and Jacob Hurry (6) shared in a second-wicket stand of 83.

Desave was out LBW following a third-wicket partnership of 26 with Edirisinghe, having scored 88 off 62 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes.

Edirisinghe was joined by Alex Sparks, who has not been available very much this season, and these two knocked off the runs for Wellington to earn a comfortable success. The Sri Lankan all-rounder was 55 not out, his innings containing seven fours and one six, while Sparks’ unbeaten 51 included seven fours and two sixes. Liam Gilbert snapped up 2-34 while James Hayman took 1-54.

Taunton Deane are the new leaders of the division after they beat bottom club Butleigh, who have yet to win a game this season, by 166 runs.