HIMLEY skipper Greg Wright says his side can be proud of their attitude as they halted a run of five consecutive defeats.

The vital win over Moseley moved Himley off the foot of the Birmingham Premier League table, though they remain in the bottom two.

It followed two consecutive one run defeats after a nightmare month for the Stourbridge Road outfit.

Wright admitted the win came as a relief but says the club must continue to stick together if relegation is to be avoided.

He said: “The club has stuck together and we can be really proud of that.

“If we are going to survive it’s really important we continue to show the right spirit.

“Losing two games on the bounce by a run, you can’t really make that kind of thing up.

“On Saturday we bowled really well and took our chances. The batting started a little tentatively, as you might expect, but we pulled through.

“We need to keep putting in this kind of performance.”

After winning the toss and deciding to bowl, Himley struggled to make a breakthrough before TP Singh removed Ali Awan for 27.

Chris Tranter’s tight bowling epitomised the Himley attack as they forced the hosts to work for every run. There was also a three wicket haul for newcomer Robert Pearce as Moseley reached 160-7 from 55 overs.

In reply, Harshad Patel and Daniel Bassett made a steady if unspectacular start before Bassett went for 25.

Patel proved to be the anchor of the innings as he crafted an unbeaten 55 from 140 balls as wickets fell around him, including that of former Worcestershire skipper Ben Smith, who fell for 10 on his Himley debut.

At 109-5, Patel was joined by Bilaal Hussein and the youngster hit an unbeaten 36 off 28 balls to see the visitors home.

Wright hailed Hussein while also revealing Smith, who is still on the county’s books, has signed for the rest of the season.

He said: “It was a great innings from Bilaal, he showed great character at a time when the game was still in the balance.

“The arrival of Ben Smith really gave us a boost. We found out he was available and signed him up.

“He is a really good player and it’s great to have someone with that experience on board.

“It was also great to see Robert Pearce do so well. He is another really experienced player who I have known for a long time.”

Himley now travel to Barnt Green on Saturday.