A MAGNIFICENT undefeated 161 from Wiltshire captain Joe Breet saw Lechlade earn a comfortable 84-run victory over Dumbleton at the Manor Ground on Saturday.

The win sees Lechlade sit top of the table and sets up a winner-takes-all promotion clash with Potterne next weekend after the previous leaders Biddestone lost at Chipping Sodbury by 20 runs.

Lechlade skipper Paul Godding was quick to praise Breet for his role in their latest win, but already has his eyes firmly fixed on next weekend’s showdown.

“We have a huge weekend for the club to look forward to next week and we now know that we are totally in charge of our own destiny,” he said.

“If we win on Saturday we will win the league and to be in that position is what the boys have worked so hard for all season.

“Joe (Breet) led from the front again today and again has shown what a quality batsman he is.”

Dumbleton won the toss and invited Lechlade to bat first and the Wiltshire side experimented with the new opening partnership of Will Nichols and Breet as the duo got their side off to a good quick start, putting on 74 runs before Nichols was bowled for 10 in the 12th over.

Breet, in an aggressive mood and finding the boundary regularly with some textbook shots, had brought up his half-century off 40 balls just before Nichols’ departure and continued in the same vein with his new partner Arnie Yugaraja, who also set about the Dumbleton bowling with some free-flowing shot play.

The pair added a further 126 off the next 13 overs to take Lechlade to 198 at the drinks break, with Breet bringing up his century off 94 balls and Yugaraja his half-century off 36 balls.

Yugaraja was caught for 70 shortly after the interval but Breet continued to add to the score with the support of first Paul Godding and then Arran Dickinson as Lechlade piled on the runs.

Lechlade eventually declared at the end of the 40th over on 320 with Breet not out on 161 from only 118 balls including 24 boundaries.

With a big total on the board Lechlade set about the Dumbleton batting with attacking fields in their attempt to maximise the points return by bowling out Dumbleton cheaply.

Coach Luke Sellers had the batsmen playing and missing on a regular basis without reward and in his opening spell, Paul Godding bowled his usual tight lines to take the early wickets of Andrew Carson and Matt Nicholson in his first five overs.

Despite their early efforts, Lechlade could not make any substantial inroads into the Dumbleton batting line-up, and a gritty, determined innings from Alex Jennings denied Lechlade valuable bonus points. Lechlade tried nearly all their bowling options as they went through eight bowlers in their search for a breakthrough.

Jennings scored 95 before being caught by Breet in the slips off the bowling of Sellers and two quick wickets followed before Dumbleton closed on 236-7.

Lechlade 2nds also won comfortably on Saturday as they beat Great Bedwyn by nine wickets, setting up another winner-takes-all title decider against Marlborough in the Wiltshire 2nd XI Division.