WROUGHTON Ladies are celebrating a first for the club.

After 34 years of trying their A team have won the Swindon & District Evening League title for the very first time.

The club was founded and opened in 1982 at Barretts Way, by the Ellundune Centre, and was originally for members of the Wroughton parish only although that stipulation was later changed.

The ladies A team lifted the 2016 crown with 13 points to spare over Royal Wootton Bassett, who denied them a superb double by edging them out by seven points to win the ladies Afternoon Triples League.

The S&D Evening League is a double rinks competition with two points awarded for each rink won as well as four points for the overall aggregate shots score.

Wroughton took the title with 128 points, 13 clear of runners-up Bassett and 16 ahead of third-placed Shrivenham.

They only dropped 16 points all season, winning 16 of their 18 league games. In 14 of them they whitewashed their opponents taking a maximum eight points. Wroughton A were only beaten twice by both Stratton Churchway and Shrivenham.

They lost to the former 41-34, winning on one rink 19-13 but losing on the other 28-15. While against Shrivenham, they lost 37-31 overall, winning on one rink 23-12 but going down heavily on the other 25-8. However, in both instances, they took two points for a rink win.

Wroughton A clinched the evening league title with a powerful finish in their final three games beating Wanborough 50-29, Wroughton B 53-25 and Westlecot B 35-26.

“No praise is high enough for such a brilliant achievement in winning the evening league title for the first time,” said Wroughton A team captain Lynda Whittingham.

“Beating Wootton Bassett and Highworth on both rinks at the beginning of the season gave us the confidence to believe that we could do this.

“The title was on a knife edge right up to the final series of matches but through sheer determination and consummate skills, Wroughton Bowls Club Ladies came through.

“The whole club is bowled over by the victory which will go down in it’s annals as one of the greatest feats in the club’s history. Well done to all the team.”

Wroughton A team: Lynda Whittingham (Captain), Julie White (Vice Captain), Babs Salter, Jayne Croston, Su Clinch, Margaret Dowthwaite, Judy Hallard, Bronwen Rees, Pat Bevan, Jill Webb, Carol Woodward and Val Green