CENTURION Marc Williamson paid tribute to a string of strong performances from the Swindon players after they claimed a 50-run win at home to Calne in WEPL Wiltshire on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Williamson scored 102 in Swindon’s 304-7 before the hosts restricted Calne to 254-8 after tea.

Swindon had looked in trouble when falling to 2-2, but Williamson shared a stand of 134 for the third wicket with Conor Taylor (65) before Adam Tucker (53) added further late impetus to see Alex Kill’s side beyond the 300 mark.

Calne then looked to be making serene progress in their reply as captain Sean Adams (96) guided them to 170-2.

However, once he became the first of three wickets to fall to Connor O’Shea, the visitors stumbled and were still well short off their target at the conclusion of their 50 overs.

Swindon opener Williamson said: “It has been a while, but it is good to get that one century for the season. It wasn’t the most fluent of knocks, but it set a good platform for the guys at the end to come in and have a good whack.

“Calne bowled really well early on and took some quick wickets to put us in a bit of trouble, but Conor Taylor came in and we managed to put a good partnership together and propel us to a good score.

“Conor led the way and was positive from the off and really put the pressure back on them.

“Calne batted really well at the top of the order and put us under pressure. When they were 170-2, we were staring down the barrel of a bad defeat, but Connor O’Shea bowled really well and managed to take a couple of crucial wickets and really got us back into it.

“It was a really great team performance. Conor Taylor batted and bowled well, Adam Tucker kept it tight with the ball and got a good 50 again, and Connor O’Shea really changed the game with his spell of bowling.”

Swindon’s win over Calne also had a positive impact for local rivals Purton and Royal Wootton Bassett as it all but guaranteed their survival from relegation despite the pair suffering defeats at the weekend.

Purton are 24 points clear of third-from-bottom Corsham 2nd with one game remaining, with Bassett five points better off.

Darren Beasant’s Bassett ran league leaders Chippenham close before falling to a two-wicket defeat at home.

Lee Ward took 4-19 as Bassett could manage just 132-9 off their 50 overs, with Anis Ali the only batsman to offer sustained resistance with 55.

Asanka Vithanage led a spirited Bassett response in the second innings by taking three wickets, but Chippenham edged to a winning 134-8 with more than seven overs remaining.

Elsewhere, a poor batting performance saw Purton thumped by eight wickets at Devizes.

Tom Grant (4-25) and Dominic Shearn (3-14) skittled Purton for 90 inside 36 overs before Matt Tilley (55 not out) led an easy Devizes run chase as they needed just one ball of the 13th over to reach a winning 96-2.

Finally, Premier Two Glos/Wilts basement boys Lechlade forfeited their match at home to Burbage & Easton Royal – their third concession in a row.