PURTON Cricket Club celebrated the team’s bicentennial year of existence with a win over Marylebone Cricket Club last weekend.

The famous Lords-based cricket club arrived in Wiltshire for a 45-over-per-side contest, with the London outfit opting to bat first.

After the first ball of the match produced four runs for the MCC’s Sebastian Street, Purton fought back courtesy of a run out from Fraser Conway and captain Tom Whittaker.

At the halfway stage - helped by tight bowling from Aaron Lee and Callum Wright, plus two wickets for Adam Woolford - MCC struggled onto 66-4.

Despite a flurry of late hitting from the visitors, MCC were only able to post 169-8 from their full allocation of overs.

Purton stumbled early on in their reply, falling to 46-3 in the first 17 overs. Whittaker joined Elliott Hill in the middle as the pair set about resurrecting the chase, and when drinks were taken Purton had added 49 without further loss.

Whittaker fell for 27 off just 22 balls while Dave Allen was bowled for a duck, and the home side edged on to 115-5 with 15 overs remaining.

Hill continued on with Callum Wright, and Hill brought up his half-century from 82 balls as Purton closed in on victory.

However, Hill’s man-of-the-match performance ended early when he was dismissed for 52, and MCC needed just four more wickets to win.

With the half-centurion back in the hutch, Wright took over responsibility for the chase and guided his team home with three overs to spare courtesy of a lovely 32.

Reacting to a wonderful day for the club both on and off the pitch, Purton’s Graham Wright said: “There was also lots of reminiscing going on, as old friends reunited at the ground where they had been so many times in the past.

“We were also able to honour a family that has played such an enormous part in the history and day to day management of the club. The Gardner’s were presented with a bench which we hope they will be able to use at the club and enjoy the cricket for many more years to come.

“There are far too many people to thank for making this such a memorable event, but none of this would have happened without the support of our chairman, Callum Wright, and his family who were involved in every aspect of the day.”