Bourton Vale Vikings made it five wins out of five in the Cheltenham Premier T20 with another impressive victory last night.

They swept aside Cheltenham Civil Service Sixers by seven wickets to open up a two-point gap at the top of the eight-strong division.

It is their first season in the competition and they are well placed to make it all the way to the final on Friday 18^th July, a final which will be played at Cheltenham College on day two of the Cheltenham Cricket Festival.

Bourton lost the toss against Civil Service but still managed to dismiss the visitors for 123 in 19.5 overs, with left-arm spinner Max Shepherd again leading the way for Bourton with 4-15.

Liam Webb claimed 3-19 while skipper Darrel Williams chipped in with 2-15, and Williams then led the run charge as Bourton knocked off the runs in 12.5 overs.

Williams made an unbeaten 40 from 26 balls, sharing in an unbroken partnership of 78 with Oli Lockey, who also made 40 from 26 deliveries.

Next up for Bourton is a trip to Hatherley Hurricanes, who slipped to their first defeat of the campaign against Cheltenham Spartans at the Victoria Ground last night.

Hatherley won the toss but were bowled out for 121 with two balls remaining, with Jack Cherrington the most successful of the home bowlers with 3-17. There were also two wickets apiece for Josh Breed, Hassam Dahar and Mateen Mohammed.

Skipper Breed then took charge with the bat. Opening the innings, he made 61 from 49 balls before being dismissed at the start of the 17^th over with the scores level.

Cheltenham’s four-wicket success was their first in the competition this season, while Hatherley slipped to third behind Dumbleton Dynamite on net run rate after last season’s cup winners made it four victories in a row with a 12-run success at Tewkesbury Royals.

Lewis Rollinson top-scored with 45 in Dumbleton’s 134-6 and then opening bowler George Garratt took 2-7 in his four overs as Tewkesbury, who remain fourth, lost eight wickets in their unsuccessful run chase.

In the other game, University of Gloucestershire Giants beat Charlton Super Kings by 18 runs after posting 146-9. Charlton Super Kings were dismissed in the 18^th over with Ryan Kilmister and Justin Murphy claiming three wickets apiece.

It was fifth-placed Giants’ second win this season and the bottom five clubs are separated by just two points with all of them still in with a chance of making the play-offs.

Bourton have booked their place in the play-offs while Dumbleton and Hatherley are almost there - the play-offs take place in the first two weeks of July – but fourth spot is very much up for grabs.

The final round of league fixtures will be played on Tuesday 24^th June, with the play-offs getting under way on Tuesday 1^st July, with Qualifier 1 between the top two teams and Eliminator 1 between the third and fourth-placed sides.

The winners of Qualifier 1 will go straight through to the final while the losers will play the winners of Eliminator 1 on Tuesday 8^th July for a place in the showpiece final.

“It’s very exciting, it’s all to play for,” said Sathya Prakash Timmaraju, the driving force behind the Cheltenham Premier T20.

Remaining league fixtures, Tuesday 17^th July: Hatherley Hurricanes v Bourton Vale Vikings, Dumbleton Dynamite v Cheltenham Spartans, Charlton Super Kings v Tewkesbury Royals, University of Gloucestershire Giants v Cheltenham Civil Services Sixers.

Tuesday 24^th July: Bourton Vale Vikings v University of Gloucestershire Giants, Dumbleton Dynamite v Hatherley Hurricanes, Tewkesbury Royals v Cheltenham Civil Service Sixers, Cheltenham Spartans v Charlton Super Kings.