ROYAL Wootton Bassett captain Darren Beasant hailed the resilience of his side as they battled to an important WEPL Wiltshire win over near neighbours Purton, writes JONATHAN LEIGHFIELD.

Having lost the toss and been inserted into the middle first, Bassett struggled early on as their top four batsmen were only able to make 39.

But at 89-5 and with vice-skipper Sam Lawro out for 14, Jack Paish (39) and Scott Twine (72no) led the revival.

Once both had fallen, leaving a 99-run partnership behind, Bassett pushed their way towards 246-8 at the end of their 50 overs.

In response, Purton began well and found themselves at 87 before the loss of the first wicket.

Yet, after Lawro had bowled both openers, Bassett began rattling through the remaining home batsmen.

Lawro, Akash Sharma and Asanka Vithanage all took two wickets each as Bassett bowled their hosts out for 180 to win by 66 runs.

“It was clearly a really important game for both sides,” said Beasant.

“It was a derby – I know there are quite a few in this league – but that one is quite a significant derby for both teams.

“And when you looked at the league table, it had quite a lot of meaning in that regard as well.

“It wasn’t an ideal start from our perspective – we lost a couple of early wickets, we had a disappointing run out and maybe there were some shots that people might reflect on.

“We got ourselves into a little bit of a hole early on, but the one thing about us is that we do bat quite deep.

“Although there are no stand-out stars, we’ve got nine or 10 guys that we know can contribute at that level.”

Beasant paid tribute to the improvement his side have made in terms of staying out in the middle for the full 50 overs – highlighted by the fact that his side have the highest number of batting bonus points in the bottom six.

The Bassett skipper felt their timely derby win has released some pressure off the teams’ shoulders, but says they cannot afford to relax in the coming weeks.

Reflecting on the turning points in the weekend’s game, Beasant said: “We weren’t panicking, but clearly it wasn’t a great position. It was just a case of being disciplined and batting the 50 overs.

“Jack (Paish) and Scott (Twine) put on a great partnership and we got to what we thought what was a decent score.

“At one stage, Purton were 85 or 90-0 and at that point, the game was evenly poised.

“But Sam Lawro managed to clean-bowl both of them and that was the turning point in the game.

“It was a good win and it takes the pressure off us a little bit.”

Elsewhere, league leaders Marshfield recorded their 10th success of the season with an emphatic 230-run victory over Potterne 2nd.

Marshfield batted first on their visit to The Grove and, led by captain Patrick Grieshaber’s 108 off 71 balls, galloped to a mammoth score of 397-8 from their 50 overs.

Jack Grant also provided some late hitting for the visitors – clubbing four sixes and nine fours in a 32-ball 73 not out.

In response, only Harry Latham (59) caused the Marshfield bowler’s any cause for concern as the home side were skittled out for 167.

Richard Mills struck an unbeaten 117 from 138 balls to help Westbury record victory by 106 runs at home to Calne.

Westbury bunted their way towards 240-7 before Calne were dismissed for 134.

Swindon strengthened their grip on second with a convincing seven-wicket win over Warminster.

Rory Cullinan’s side won the toss and batted first, however, Warminster could only muster 135 all out as Adam Tucker took a five-for.

Swindon eventually passed the low total in the 36th over.

A superb 142 from Henry Cheal led Hinton Charterhouse to a 63-run victory over Devizes.

After being put in by Devizes, Cheal came out to the middle at 53-5 and his excellent knock pushed the home side up to 273-9.

In response, John Newport’s (4-32) helped ensure Devizes would fall short of their required target.