PURTON skipper Aaron Lee is hoping that his side have sent an early message out to the rest of the Wiltshire division after their win over Swindon.

Lee’s side travelled to the County Ground and were put in to bat, with Tom Bowler’s unbeaten 80 helping the visitors to set a target of 228 in their rain-hit innings.

In reply, Liam Tucker and Dean Williamson helped recover the hosts’ innings in the middle order but when Purton claimed their two wickets in quick succession, the game swung strongly in the favour of the travelling side as they completed a 29-run victory.

“It was a fantastic weekend for the first and second teamd, so it was the perfect start,” said Lee.

“We got off to a really good start with Xander (Pitchers) and Sam Shelford batting well.

“We lost a couple of quick wickets but then Tom (Bowler) batted really well and paced his innings, and guys batted around him.

“We had a bit of a wobble when we did lose a couple of wickets but then the guys batted really well to steady the ship and push on from there.

“A few late blows at the end helped us to get up to a pretty decent total.

“It is quite a soft track at Swindon, so the plan when we went in to field was to try and keep it as full as possible and wait for them to make mistakes.

“We didn’t quite get it right up front but we still managed to get a wicket early doors and after that, it was just to turn the screw with spin.

“Tucky (Liam Tucker) and Dean Williamson batted really well in the middle overs but we always knew we were in with a chance.”

Purton now face early pace-setters Westbury this coming weekend and Lee is looking to build on their opening day performance.

“Going in, on paper, it was a really tough fixture for us but in all honesty, it was almost the perfect time to play them,” he added.

“The pressure was all on Swindon and our guys handled it really well.

“This weekend was good to make a statement to the league. We did struggle last year and to come out the first game of the season and beat a team who are wanting to win the league or at least get in the top two is a really good way to start.”