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MARK Vincent hailed the spirit in the Wootton Bassett camp after the Rylands Way club roared into top spot in Glos/Wilts with a five-wicket win at Marshfield.

The former Nationwide batsman notched his maiden half century for the club in only his second outing as Bassett successfully chased a target of 202 for a second straight league victory.

Vincent played an array of classic drives in a patient knock of 65 to steer Bassett into a winning position, before Joe Lukens (28 not out) and Luke Leach (25 not out) calmly completed the job.

Kam Shah (35) and Simon Dymoke (34) also weighed in with useful contributions and Vincent was quick to point out it was a team effort.

He said: "I thought our two opening bowlers were excellent and that really set the tone for the day.

"The pitch got a bit flatter after tea, but we had to be patient because Marshfield were bowling fairly tight.

"The difference was we kept wickets in hand, and that allowed us to go after the bowling towards the end.

"It's great to be part of a winning team here at Bassett and the spirit in the camp has been fantastic.

"There are no mega-stars here and everyone contributes in their own way.

"Neil Twine was right to say that consolidation is our main aim this year, but if we get another few wins under our belt then who knows where it might lead."

Bassett's mature batting display was in stark contrast to the opening weekend, when several batsmen gave their wickets away cheaply in the win over Biddestone.

Skipper Twine was equally impressed with his side's contribution in the field, with Aussie seamer Chris Jones (5-65) taking his second consecutive five-wicket haul.

"Chris got a bit of tap early on but he came back well and cleaned up the Marshfield tail," said Twine.

"It's great for him to start the season with two five-fors. We couldn't ask for any more from him really.

"But Jas Chahal was the real star with the ball. He only picked up two wickets but he was almost unplayable.

"In the end we probably let them get 50 runs too many, but I can't have too many complaints.

"Mark Vincent batted magnificently to set up the victory for us and all the batsmen spent time in the middle, which was a real bonus.

"We know if we play to our potential we can compete with anybody in this league.

"Some of the other results went our way too on Saturday, so as far as our league position goes, it's so far so good."

9:44am Wednesday 14th May 2008

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