Cricket: Stunned skipper Joe Breet says he couldn’t believe his luck when asked to bat on Saturday and feels it was a match-changing error from his Swindon counterpart.

The Westbury opener says he would have no doubts about making first use of a flat wicket if given the choice and hit 67 as his side ran up an imposing total of 200.

Needing to score runs quickly in reply, Swindon, unbeaten before this game, started brightly but lost wickets at consistent intervals and never looked like overcoming their hosts’ efforts.

“We played very well,” said Breet. “They had one or two of their regulars missing but that was our luck and you have to take it when it comes.

“The pitch was fine and I was taken aback when they asked us to bat first. However seeing as I open the batting I was happy to accept.

“You need to be scoring 200 or more and when I got out I thought we would be on for more like 230 but we did enough in the end.”

Martin Dolman (29), Brannon Varley (26) and Ben Whiting (25) all gave their skipper good support while Asanka Vithanage was the pick of Swindon’s attack with 4-34.

When Westbury came to the field, it took the introduction of young seamer Richard Oakley (3-32) to make the breakthrough while veteran Philip Carroll kept the pressure on at the other end with 1-29 from his 12 overs.

“They’re a good combination to bowl together because of the mix of enthusiasm andexperience,” said Breet.

“Our batting is quite strong and we’re used to big scores at our ground.

“What other teams are finding out when they come here is that there is no margin for error. If you bowl it too full or too wide then it will go to the boundary.”

Breet’s Westbury visit Stroud on Saturday.