GOATACRE skipper Ed Wilkins says local knowledge played its part in his side’s 17-run win over Gloucester City Winget as the villagers started the Premier Two Glos/Wilts campaign in style.

The home side were struggling at 100-8 before Rob Murphy (62 not out) teamed up with number 10 Matt House (45) to put on 78 for the ninth wicket to take the home side to 203 all out.

Wilkins’ contention that it was a defendable total was borne out as Jack Haines (3-49) bagged both Winget openers and House’s 4-38 as well as wickets for Giorgio Rigali and Jonathan Wilkins saw the visitors dismissed for 186 in the 39th over.

Skipper Wilkins said: “We tend to always struggle at the start of the season and end up chasing ourselves from there on in, so to get off with a win was really good, especially the way we did it.

“We were struggling with the bat – eight down for not many – and then a good partnership between Rob Murphy and Matt House and to restrict them to under 190 was good.

“We thought we had a chance of defending 200 because we know our ground pretty well. We just had to get a couple of early wickets.

“With Goatacre being a small ground teams tend to think you need a really big score there but we know that 200 is a pretty good total and that we can defend it.

“We just want to win four out of the first five and set ourselves up and there is no reason why we can’t finish in the top two or three this year.’’ Burbage & Easton Royal also made a winning start, securing a 49-run success over Thornbury.

Having been inserted, scores of 73 from Bevan Small and 66 from Jonathan Chandler formed the backbone of the visitors 249-6.

Tom Wallbridge (3-38) and Oliver Lavis (3-30) ensured Thornbury could only finish on 200-9 after 40 overs, having been set a revised 228, Luke Davis scoring 55 for the hosts.

Chippenham saw their bowling plundered by the Lechlade batsmen as they were hammered by 181 runs in their opener at Hardenhuish Park.

Brad Dial (112) shared partnerships of 122 with Joe Breet (83) and 100 with Benny Ellis (53 not out) as Lechlade amassed a huge 335-3 from their 50 overs, having won the toss and elected to bat.

Chippenham were never truly in the hunt as Liam Smith took 5-34 in eight overs, Will Couzens (32) and Todd Richardson (31) providing late resistance after skipper Aaron Merryweather had scored 29, but Tom Barnes’ 3-13 ensured they finished 154 all out.

Biddestone’s match at Cheltenham was abandoned because of a thunder storm, Biddestone having just started their pursuit of the home side’s 284-5.