Claverham's hopes of winning the Bristol & North Somerset title may be over but they could still have a big impact in the race for the championship.

The Yatton-based outfit suffered a mid-season slump after losing only once in the first half of the summer.

They remain fifth, only three points adrift of leaders Chipping Sodbury, following Saturday's victory over Old Bristolians Westbury.

"Sodbury have won nine matches and we have won seven. It's still very close," said skipper Matthew Davis.

"We face Frenchay and Congresbury in our last two matches. I don't think we can win the title, but we can definitely have an impact on the title race. We have not given up by any stretch.

"We had a great start to the season, but then stumbled a bit and I cannot put a finger on what went wrong.

"We won a lot of close matches in the first half of the season but things started to go against us."

The club visit Congresbury for a derby match a week tomorrow before finishing off their campaign at home to Frenchay on August 29.

"Congresbury is always an interesting game because they are only just down the road," added the skipper.

"Everyone looks forward to that match and both sides are chasing top-half-of-the-table finishes.

"The Frenchay match will be a big game for us. We had a close game with them last time around.

"They finished three runs short when chasing our total of 220. We got a couple of early wickets and put some pressure on them.

"But Wayne Kylander batted well and scored 108 for them. Frenchay looked like they were going to make it until we got Wayne out and then the match swung back in our favour."

Davis believes his squad have performed well this summer even if their recent form has dipped slightly.

Opening batsman Richard Horton has remained one of Claverham's star performers this term, having cracked six fifties and a hundred.

Davis added: "We all believe we have taken a step forward this summer. The lads that have come into the side have established themselves and gained a lot of confidence.

"We are not looking too far ahead. You never know what might happen. If a couple of results go our way then we could be back in contention this season."