St David’s are laying claim to another Logic Premier Division title after Bailey’s Bay blew the chance to inflict a first loss on the East Enders in last weekend’s top-of-the-table clash.

St David’s won at Sea Breeze Oval in a must-win match for the home team and now could extend their lead even further when they play Cleveland County while Bay face another tough home match against Southampton Rangers.

Bay, who were expected to battle St David’s in a tight title race, lost valuable ground to their Eastern Counties rivals when they crashed to a 28-run defeat, their second defeat in the league to St David’s this season.

Bay must now beat unpredictable Rangers, the defending champions, in order to keep the race alive. Otherwise St David’s could win the league with a couple of games to spare.

St David’s travel to Wellington Oval to play Cleveland, knowing they have the inside track in the title race. They also meet Cleveland in the second round of the Eastern Counties next month.

“We’re not going to lose to those weaker teams,” George Cannonier, the St David’s coach, said.

“It could be a situation where we could even relax a little bit later in the season because we could have already won it before the season is over.

“We’re playing against Cleveland and this same spirit is going to run through that game, too, so we expect to win that game. Our batting is our stronger point, but our bowlers can also bat so we have a long tail.”

Bay, despite their batting depth, failed to reach their target after their bowlers restricted St David’s to 175. Bay, 63 for two at one stage, could only manage 148 in reply. Bay had their recent match against Rangers abandoned because of rain as their opponents looked set to post a formidable total during an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 92 between captain Janeiro Tucker and Alex Dore.

Rangers were 148 for three with 15 overs still left in their innings when rain ended the match.

This weekend’s games are being overshadowed by the build-up to Cup Match with the final trial matches on Saturday.

Western Stars, who ended a six-game losing streak with victory over Cleveland last weekend, can move further away from the bottom two places with another home win over bottom team Willow Cuts.

The Colts Cup Match is also scheduled for Sunday at Somerset Cricket Club as Somerset and St George’s do not have league matches this weekend.

n The Twenty20 finals, which were postponed in May, have been rescheduled for September 11 as a double-header at a venue still to be confirmed. Somerset and St George’s will meet in the First Division final while champions Bay will take on Rangers in the Premier Division final.