LEAGUE leaders Marshfield cemented their position at the top of WEPL Wiltshire table thanks to a 14-run victory against Westbury, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

In a low-scoring affair on Marshfield’s Broadleys pitch, the home side were inserted into the middle first and appeared to be up against it as they were dismissed for 103.

Jack Grant’s 21 was as good as it got for the hosts as Richard Oakley caused havoc with figures of 4-26.

But superb bowling from Marshfield’s Jeremy Bond (5-15) helped dismiss the majority of Westbury’s top seven cheaply and reduce the visitors to 89 all out.

Marshfield captain Patrick Grieshaber admitted he felt the game might have been beyond his side at the interval, but after another battling victory, the skipper feels the title is almost within reach.

Reflecting on Saturday’s performance, Grieshaber said: “At the halfway point, we were thinking it was going to be a bit of an early finish.

“But we asked the lads to go out and play some hard cricket, and they managed to do the job.

“I don’t think it was a particularly spicy pitch, both teams bowled really well, and it was difficult to play against the new ball.

“We’re just glad that we bowled slightly better than Westbury at the end.

“The rest of the lads bowled really tightly, and it was a great team effort. I’m really proud of the boys.

“It’s going to be a tough run until the end of the season, but with Swindon losing again, I think we’re looking quite good going forward.”

Elsewhere, Warminster cruised to a seven-wicket victory against Devizes.

Joseph Moloney top scored with 42 for Devizes, but the visitors could only manage to scrape up to 109 before being dismissed as Alex Adlam took 4-18.

In response, Warminster wasted no time in chasing down the runs and reached the modest total inside 18 overs.

Royal Wootton Bassett claimed a thrilling victory against rivals Swindon as they continue their quest for survival.

Bassett could only muster 112 all out after winning the toss and opting to bat first, but as Swindon toiled away to reach 109-7 and put themselves six runs away from a hard-fought win, Alex Kill’s wicket signalled the start of a devastating collapse.

David West took two late scalps as 109-7 turned into 110 all out and Bassett claimed a nail-biting victory.

Purton also scooped a narrow success against fellow relegation battlers, Potterne 2nd.

The visitors’ skipper, Callum Wright, struck a valuable 86 to help Purton reach 219 before being bowled out.

In response, Potterne made a strong start on home soil, but Patrick Whittaker (5-40) combined with his fellow bowlers to fell the hosts 11 runs shy of their target.

Hinton Charterhouse also picked up a win as Calne were reduced to 220 all out, thanks to Henry Haydon’s 6-27.

Henry Cheal (96no) starred as Charterhouse cruised to a six-wicket victory.