WERRINGTON skipper Nick Lawson praised his troops after they bounced back from successive defeats with a 25-run success at Wadebridge on Saturday in the ECB Cornwall Premier League.

A rain-affected clash saw Werrington post an impressive 215-6 with Sam Hockin (72) and Thulina Dilshan (54) both making half centuries.

Werrington were 64-2 after 19 overs before a rain delay reduced the game to 38 overs per side, but after the set batsmen upped the ante, it was Mark Gribble’s 45 from 29 balls that provided the impetus.

Lawson said: “It was a funny old game. We lost the toss and were put in, and we’d probably have bowled first as well with the weather around.

“But after the early wickets, Sam and Dilshan set a platform which allowed Gribby to come in and stamp his authority on the game like he did down at Helston. That innings really tipped the game in our favour.

“That said, we lost wickets at the back end which in hindsight affected our Duckworth Lewis score and is something we’ll learn from, but we were happy with the way we batted.”

Lawson was also pleased with his bowlers who kept Wadebridge to 149-5 from 30 overs as they were set 227 from 38 overs, and latterly after another break, 175 from 30.

He said: “At the break we felt we were in a good position and Wadebridge’s heads were a bit down when coming off.

“We knew a couple of early wickets would put them in trouble, but when (Kevin) Renecke and (Matt) Rowe were going, they were comfortable.

“But obviously the rain came in and we bowled well to finish the game.

“It’s brilliant to get another win, and we seem to play well against Wadebridge.

“It’s a funny league this year where a couple of wins can put you right back up there.

“We’ve done well away from home with three wins from four, but we’ve lost two from two at home where we’re normally really strong, so we’re looking to change that as soon as possible.”

Lawson knows his side, who are now seventh, have a tough task on Saturday when Penzance visit (1pm).

He said: “They’re still a very strong side on paper with arguably seven or eight matchwinners.

“We know they’ll come up here and make it difficult for us, so we’ll have to play well, but we’ll look forward to it.

“So far we’ve been a bit reliant on two or three individuals with the bat, so we need a bit more from a couple of individuals, including myself.

“But bowling wise we’ve done really well recently, and although we know the batting has let us down so far at home, we’re hopeful of putting it right.”

Werrington have plenty of options across their team as Lawson explained.

He said: “We’re lucky we can be quite flexible as we have a number of players who can bat in the top three.

“Sam (Hockin) showed that last year in the T20 games that he can be really useful in the powerplay, and after his knock against Callington in the Hawkey Cup the other week, I thought you’ve got to get your in-form players up the order as much as possible.

“It didn’t quite come off at St Austell but he batted really well on Saturday.

“As for Thulina, he’s clearly a very good batsman but it’s going to take him time to get used to Cornish conditions.

“He needs to be a fraction more patient early on in his innings and get through that initial spell, but on Saturday he showed us what a talent he is.”

The two clubs’ also met in the Cornwall Women’s Development League on Sunday and Werrington came away winners by 55 runs. Emma Horrell made 72 not out for Werrington in their 148-6 from 30 overs, before Molly Curtis (3-29) and Grace Kirby (3-8) shared six wickets as Wadebridge were dismissed for 93.