SWINDON captain Marc Williamson insists his side will aim for promotion from WEPL Wiltshire this season despite opening their 2019 campaign with a tie at home to Devizes on Saturday.

The hosts were bowled out for 175 from their 50 overs after Devizes set them 176 to win the game following the contest’s opening innings – which saw home bowler Connor O’Shea earn a handy five-for.

Devizes were rocked by O’Shea’s accurate bowling as he ended with figures of 5-33 from his 10 overs.

But inconsistencies in Swindon’s batting meant Dan Prie’s Devizes left the County Ground with 13 league points to their name – the hosts, meanwhile, picked up 12 after failing to bowl out their opponents.

And Saturday’s performance has left Swindon with plenty to work on, according to skipper Williamson.

He said: “We bowled well, but we just couldn’t get the result over the line.

“We had too many starts from the batsmen, and nobody really pushed on to get that big score that could’ve secured us the win.

“I think 200 was probably a par score on the day, so the bowlers did a really good job to keep Devizes below that.

“The batsmen just needed to show a bit more application at the top, but we have things to work on for next week.

“We missed Conor Taylor’s bowling too, he had a side strain so had to field. But Connor O’Shea did step up, he was bowling at a tough time during the innings to restrict them.”

Swindon continue their WEPL Wiltshire campaign this weekend with a trip to Warminster, who won their opening game of the season against Hinton Charterhouse.

Williamson has backed his XI to return to form on Saturday, and said team morale can spur an early-season promotion push.

He added: “We want to improve on last year, our first aim is always promotion – and we feel we have a team that can challenge for it.

“We have a great group of lads, and promotion is what we are aiming for.

“Not starting the season with a win isn’t ideal, but it’s a long season.”

Elsewhere in WEPL Wiltshire, Royal Wootton Bassett fell 11 runs short of their target against Westbury – as they started their campaign with an 11-run defeat.

Half-centuries for Graham Hudson and Michael Coles helped the hosts end their innings on a respectable 237-9.

Although Bassett’s chase had momentum, a poor start ultimately cost them. Sam Lawro, Darren Beasant and Charanveer Chahal scored just eight runs between them at the top of the order.

Akash Sharma’s 72 wasn’t enough, as Bassett were dismissed for 226.

Purton also lost. They were thumped by 129 runs at home to Marshfield after being bowled out for 133 in reply to the visitors’ 262.