SRI Lankan Thulina Dilshan made an unbeaten 61 from as many balls as Werrington moved off the bottom of the table with an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Truro at Ladycross.

The visitors looked well-placed to push on at 78-2 after 22 overs, but the home bowlers fought back brilliantly as Jordan Duke (3-32) and director of cricket Adam Hodgson (5-27) shared eight wickets.

Dan Barnard had earlier dismissed the dangerous Scott Kellow for 17, but Duke’s left-arm swingers accounted for Harry Phillips (17), Charlie Kent (27) and Ted Phillips (17) to leave the city outfit at 90-4.

Hodgson returned for his second spell and ran through the middle and lower order, including bowling Indian professional Akhilesh Sahani for 19, as Truro were dismissed for a well below par 142.

Needing less than three an over, Werrington played positively.

Sam Hockin was caught off Rob Harrison for six, but John Moon took a liking to Sahani’s pace as his five overs cost 33.

Moon became Harrison’s second victim when he went for 33 from just 32 balls.

But Dilshan, who had earlier bowled 10 overs of leg-spin for just 29 runs, survived an early chance before stroking 10 elegant boundaries.

Hodgson provided the glue with 21 before departing to teenage off-spinner Jack Ivamy, which allowed Mark Gribble (7no) to help Dilshan finish the job.

An ecstatic Nick Lawson told the Post: “It was fantastic to get our first home win of the season and for me, the most pleasing thing was the way we batted in the chase. To get it done in just over 25 overs and only lose three wickets was extremely pleasing.”

Lawson chose to field upon winning the toss and added: “We lost at home to Redruth having made 260-odd and with the pitch becoming really good and there usually being a short side, it can be really difficult place to defend a score.

“On Saturday we also were without one of our frontline spinners in Ben (Smeeth) so I wanted us to restrict them, which we did superbly, and then try to knock it off.”

Lawson also praised Duke and Hodgson, the latter who is the leading wicket-taker in the division with 15 from just five outings.

He continued: “Dukey has earned the right at the moment to be first change.

“He picked up two big wickets at Grampound Road and then got three of their top four batsmen out on Saturday.

“As for Hodgy he just keeps doing what he’s been doing. When he came back on they still had some decent batsmen left, but to take five and dismiss them for 142 was a superb effort.”

Werrington fell to the bottom after losing to Helston the previous week, but Saturday’s victory, plus defeats for St Just and Grampound Road, saw them climb to seventh.

He said: “It’s still early days and with everybody beating everybody, a couple of good results can put you up the table pretty quickly.

“We know we face a difficult challenge at Penzance on Saturday, however, both they and Callington have been knocked over twice so far this season which not many people would have expected.

“They’ll obviously start as favourites but we’ll just go down there and see what happens.”