CAPTAIN Jake Wakelin believes the last two weeks have shown that Witham Cricket Club's blip in Marshall Hatchick Two Counties Championship division one form last month was possibly a "blessing in disguise".

Witham were in dominant mood last weekend in beating Haverhill by ten wickets in a one-sided match and that followed an eight-wicket win against Coggeshall the week before, so will head to Woolpit on Saturday in a buoyant mood.

However, the latest two victories came as Witham had to pick themselves back up following the disappointment of two rained off fixtures and defeats at the hands of Halstead and Hadleigh during a frustrating May.

But far from dwelling on those setbacks, Wakelin said they may have been good for his team as he felt they focused their players' minds on what was required for success in an incredibly competitive top flight this year.

Wakelin said: "The last couple of weeks have been very good after having had a couple of defeats.

"Looking back, I think those defeats could have been a blessing in disguise.

"I think they showed that you can't take anyone for granted.

"We know anyone can beat anyone in this division this year and I'm not saying that we were complacent, but since getting beaten twice we have been doing the right things, putting in the effort in training and people making sure they are available.

"Maybe those defeats were a kick up the backside for us.

"We are a team who would not hide from anything any we knew the performances in those games where we got beaten were not good enough.

"We're a better side than what we showed in those games.

"No-one was hiding behind those defeats and we're a team who play for each other so we've just wanted to right the wrongs."

After the win against Haverhill, Witham now face a trip to Woolpit on Saturday and while there are players throughout the club pushing for spots in the first team, Wakelin feels it may be difficult to make changes to the line-up.

"I think we are in a very good place at the moment," he added.

"We have players like Ben McKendry and Ollie Cooke who have bowled very well in the seconds, but we may be unchanged in the firsts because of the form that people are in.

"It's hard to leave people out when we're playing like we have in the last two weeks.

"The only thing I can see is that our batsmen may not have had a huge amount of time in the middle as we've got to totals with few wickets down in the last couple of games.

"You're not going to turn down the chance to chase only 75 and get there with no loss like we did last week, but people haven't had a chance to bat because of that and it may make it more difficult.

"However, I know we have a fantastic middle order and I can't see it being an issue for us."