ROYAL Wootton Bassett skipper Darren Beasant believes achieving a top-three spot in WEPL Wiltshire could be beyond his side’s reach, despite victory at Marlborough on Saturday.

Beasant’s troops recorded a timely three-wicket win at Savernake Forest Ground to maintain fourth position in the league with seven fixtures remaining.

With Warminster now almost 40 points clear of second-placed Chippenham, Beasant admits he would be surprised if the current leaders surrender top spot and suggested a tough August schedule could drop his side down the league as he looks to manage player availability.

He said: “I think Warminster are gone, to be honest.

“They are by far the best side we’ve played this year. They bat with depth and have a strong bowling attack too.

“Top three for us may be a bit of a struggle. We do struggle with depth, and during the summer holidays, we may suffer with player availability.

“But a top-half finish for us in our second year back in the WEPL would be a good result.

“We haven’t got an overseas professional, so to finish top half would represent a decent year for us.”

Wicketkeeper Jack Twine starred for the visitors at the weekend, taking six catches to limit Marlborough to 143 all out from 46.5 overs.

Although the scorecard suggests it was a close contest, Bassett were never in great danger of falling short of their target as Beasant himself starred with a match-winning knock of 40.

He said: “Jack (Twine) has been involved with the Wiltshire squad this year and most people will tell you he’s one of the best keepers around.

“He’s still young and he kept wicket outstandingly well on what was a tricky wicket at Marlborough.

“Jack can provide a bit of inspiration for us. He’s a top-drawer keeper and it was nice to see him take several catches.

“It’s a mark of what we expect from him, we expect him to be outstanding every week now.”

Elsewhere in WEPL Wiltshire, Swindon suffered defeat at Chippenham after the home side comfortably knocked off their target of 150.

Purton were also on the wrong end of their tie when Corsham 2nd restricted the hosts to 268 all out, 17 runs short of their 284 target.

Those results meant Swindon missed out on an opportunity to leapfrog Bassett into fourth place, while Purton were let off after Devizes also lost at Marshfield.

Meanwhile in Premier Two Glos/Wilts, Lechlade fell seven runs short of Corsham’s score of 207, meaning Freddie Martin’s men remain bottom of the table.