PURTON captain Aaron Lee had his bowling attack to thank as they claimed the local WEPL Wiltshire bragging rights with a five-wicket victory over Swindon on Saturday.

Having won the toss, Lee made the most of a bit of morning moisture in the wicket to take the new ball and despite a solid start from the visitors, who made it to 50 for the loss of just two wickets, the bowling of Tom Whittaker (3-17) and Adam Woolford (2-24) began to make inroads.

With Tom Bowler (3-22) cleaning up the tail, Purton were able to dispatch their guests to 127 with seven overs to spare.

“It was not a great start from us but we did really well to drag it back and really turn it around,” said Lee.

“There was a little bit of moisture in the wicket, because there was a bit of unforeseen rain, and I thought, if it was going to do something, it was going to do something in the first 10 overs or so.

“After that, it wasn’t too hard to bat on really.

“I think the guys who bowled the middle overs, Tom Whittaker and Adam Woolford, bowled particularly well to drag them back and dictate the play a bit.

“They made it really difficult for Swindon to score and that, ultimately, worked really well for us.

“Then Tom Bowler came on and bowled really well and got another three wickets for us and we put ourselves in a really strong position at the halfway point.”

Purton, who Lee admits have been struggling with the bat of late, made light work of the run chase, Bowler top scoring for the hosts with 40 not out as they reached their target within 33 overs, to give them a huge confidence boost.

“We’re not batting well at the moment, so we weren’t supremely confident,” added Lee.

“Swindon have got a good bowling attack and they bowled really well.

“One of the things we spoke about before the game was that we weren’t batting very well but we have got to find a way of gritting it out if we need to and get to a total.

“It’s a little bit easier when it is a low total, you can see of a few maidens. There is still a lot we can improve on but we did well to get the score in the end.”

Meanwhile, Royal Wootton Bassett kept the pressure on the top three in WEPL Wiltshire as openers Sam Lawro (87 not out) and Jared McDonald (109 not out) were able to single-handedly chase down Great Bedwyn’s 216 to secure a 10-wicket victory.