ST AUSTELL skipper Alex Bone hailed his side’s ‘best bowling performance of the year’ as they saw off fellow title hopefuls Wadebridge by 58 runs at Wheal Eliza on Saturday.

In a game reduced to 40 overs, Dan Jarman provided the glue to make 61 as the Saints reached 173-7 after choosing to bat, a target that proved far too many for the visitors who were dismissed for just 115 as Liam Watson (3-19) and Andrew Libby (5-15) shared eight wickets.

With Penzance overtaking Redruth to go top, the Saints sit just five points off the lead.

A delighted Bone told the Voice: “It was a really solid and professional performance, and even though the openers didn’t get us off to a flyer, it would of been easy to be 20-3, so they really set the platform along with Dan Jarman to set a really good score.

“It was a really tough pitch, but the work of the middle-order allowed us to push hard in the last five overs to get up to a score we felt was probably 20 over par.

“We then put in the best team bowling performance we have all year to bowl out a really strong Wadebridge side.

“We knew what firepower they had, so we knew we’d have to go out there and bowl really well.

“Liam Watson set the tone early on, and then Libbs, Snowdy (Adam Snowdon) and Gary (Bone) bowled really really well to make it hard to score.”

The Saints like to bat first when possible, and Bone felt it was the right way to go.

He said: “The pitch was a couple weeks old, and even though the covers were on all week, we wanted to look to bat and set a decent score as we knew with the bowlers we have, it wouldn’t be a fun chase.

“We love to bat first at home and it’s something we have done well for years.”

St Austell have yet to win the title since the Premier League was formed in 2001, but they are right in the mix.

However, if they are to do so they’ll need to improve their record against the sides in the bottom half having lost to Truro and St Just.

The Saints head up to North Cornwall on Saturday to take on Werrington who are joint bottom following a 12-run defeat at St Just.

Bone expects a tough challenge at Ladycross, adding: “Even though Werrington have started slowly we know what a good side they are, they have some excellent players and they’re a team that goes right to the end.

“They won’t stop until the game is done so it’s crucial for us to go there and make sure we’re really up for it.”