ED KILBEE bludgeoned an unbeaten century as Wiltshire cruised to a thumping MCCA Trophy victory over Lincolnshire on Sunday.

The Goatacre batsman was in imperious form as his innings of 109 off 119 balls helped Wiltshire secure an eight-wicket victory at Corsham, helping the county side qualify for the quarter-finals.

The visitors won the toss and got off to a rapid start after electing to bat, with Dan Birch blitzing 70 from 53 and James Morgan 62 off 63, as the pair put on 109 for the first wicket in just 12 overs.

Wiltshire managed to peg back the scoring rate, with Ashur Morrison taking 1-39, Tom Bowler 2-39 and Mukesh Bhatt 1-44, while Tahir Afridi and Owen Alsop were also among the wickets.

Jonathan Cheer scored a quick 68, however, as the Lincolnshire innings finished at 280-7 off their 50 overs.

Linconshire’s batting effort might have been impressive but the hosts got off to an even better start thanks to Kilbee and Jayden Levitt (132 off 108 balls). The duo attacked the bowling from the start and put on 225 for the first wicket in 32 overs.

When Levitt was caught on the boundary only 56 was needed off 18 overs and, despite losing Henry Langford for nine, Joe Breet (20 not out) joined Kilbee to see Wiltshire home with over seven overs to spare.

With Suffolk also winning, both counties have five points and cannot be caught at the top of the table, with first place and a home quarter-final going to the team with the better net run rate.

The quarter-finals will be played on Sunday, June 17 but Wiltshire’s opponents will not be known until after the next round of matches.

Wiltshire now have a break from one-day cricket and start their Minor Counties Championship programme with a match against Dorset on June 3-5 at Dean Park, Bournemouth.