BRIDESTOWE & Belstone took a step in the right direction up the A Division table with a seven-wicket win over Thorverton.

The Moorlanders went into the game one place and six points ahead of Cullompton in the second relegation place. Thorverton occupied the other one.

Bridestowe & Belstone are still only six points above the drop spots but will be encouraged by a first league win in four starts.

Luke Vukusic top scored with 89 for Thorverton in a 50-over total of 247 for eight. He shared stands if 76 with Lihan Laubusher (19) and 71 with Shane Yelverton (27) before Shaq Glasgow spun him out.

After a brief slow down mid-innings, Bobby Heard (33) got Thorverton going again. He was one of two wickets taken by Callum Mallett (2-56).

B&B won it in the final over when skipper Tallan Burns hit Yelverton for four.

Men of the moment for B&B were opener Ryan Dennis (82) and Kian Burns (100), whose third-wicket stand of 163 put them in the driving seat. Leon Horn (25) took the chase within 13 runs of the target.

Getting there wasn’t straightforward for B&B: Yelverton’s five-for-29 return ensured they had a battle on their hands. George Daldorph (10-1-36-0) kept it tight.

Skipper Burns said irrespective of what the table says, this was an important win.

“Thorverton are way stronger than their league position suggests and this was a big confidence boost ahead of some tough fixtures coming up, said Burns.

“Despite some rusty bowling and fielding, we were pleased to keep them to a par score.

“You always need a big partnership chasing a score like that. Luckily for us Ryan and Kian did just that.

“Ryan dug in early, getting us through a difficult patch and then reaped the rewards later on in his innings. Kian looked back to his best swinging the game in our favour.”