Justin Pitcher, the St David’s captain, has challenged his side to maintain the pressure on Premier Division Twenty20 leaders Southampton Rangers ahead of their top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.

With Rangers preserving their perfect record with a thrilling six-run over St George’s at Wellington Oval on Sunday, it was imperative for St David’s to secure a third victory of the campaign and prevent their title rivals from opening up a 20-point cushion at the summit.

They prevailed in doing so with a with a 28-run victory over Bailey’s Bay at Somerset Cricket Club on the same day to ensure the deficit at the top of the league remained at ten points ahead of a mouth-watering meeting between the two sides at Wellington Oval this weekend.

“Getting a win against Bay was crucial with Rangers being in the form they are in at the moment,” said Pitcher, who scored a quickfire 19 runs from 11 balls and took a wicket in the victory over Bay.

“It was especially important ahead of a game against them. We have to build on the victory and bring our A-game against them.

“We have to keep pushing forward and give ourselves the biggest chance possible of beating them.

“We really needed the win to keep the pressure on Rangers. All we have to do now is focus fully on the game against them and keeping pushing on.”

As well as keeping Rangers within reach, Pitcher was also delighted to secure the bragging rights over their rivals in which St David’s set Bay a target of 178 for victory, before restricting the opposition to 149 for five from their allotted overs.

“It’s always nice to get a victory over Bay who are our closest rivals,” added Pitcher. “We could have done better in certain areas of the game but it is what it is and thankfully we got the victory in the end.

“The matches are always a learning process but the most important thing was the victory which allows us to keep moving forward.”