WARMINSTER’S title chances suffered a setback as they were beaten by 42 runs on their trip to fellow high-flyers Chippenham.

Tom Davie’s men headed into the weekend 13 points off top spot but have now fallen 26 points off the pace set by leading duo Chippenham and Rockhampton following the defeat.

Things looked good for Warminster early on as the impressive Rory Cullinan (1-21) dismissed home opener Tom Young without a run being scored.

Brandon Ward (1-19) then picked up a wicket himself but a 117-run stand between Darryl Losper (74) and Owen Alsop began to take the game away from Warminster, before both were sent back to the pavilion by Graham Cuthbertson (2-36).

Bradley Dawson and Denson Narayan then provided some late hitting to see Chippenham to a respectable total of 224-7, although Warminster would have been pleased to keep their hosts under the 250 mark and would not have been daunted by the target set.

However, their run chase ultimately came up short as plenty of batsmen got themselves in but no one was able to go on and make that big score which would have been crucial.

Peter Hickerton top scored with a valiant 43, while skipper Davie, Desmond Kruger, Brandon Ward and David Bateman also all made starts before perishing.

John Powell was the last wicket to fall for Warminster, with the visitors only able to reach 182 before the innings subsided. Tom Young’s 3-11 played a key role in keeping the reply in check.

Warminster will be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday, although a close battle is expected when they play host to fourth-in-the-table Swindon.