GOATACRE captain Craig Gibbens thinks his side may have used up their quote of good fortune for the current campaign after an astonishing 100-run win over Marlborough in Wilts One on Saturday.

Despite being reduced to 156-9 from their 45 overs on what appeared to be a belter of a strip, Goatacre capitalised in the field to skittle their opposition for just 56 inside 18 overs.

And skipper Gibbens could not quite believe what he witnessed.

“I thought we were 40 or 50 too short when we’d finished,” he said.

“We lost a few unfortunate wickets and there some terrific catches to take some of our boys and we were starting to think maybe that it wasn’t our day.

“But when we went out into the field we had even more luck than the man who had all the luck.”

Jiff Wilkins swapped traditional line and length for long-hops and was rewarded with two wickets in his third over, before Gibbens clean bowled Nick Crabbe to leave Marlborough shell-shocked.

And from that moment on the home side appeared to relinquish any grip on proceedings as Goatacre ripped through the middle order to leave their hosts toying with embarrassment.

“After Jiff took those two wickets with two pretty horrible deliveries we got them 35-9 before we could blink,” said Gibbens.

“Everything I tried seemed to pay off. I was at one point bowling to an eight-one field and the batsman chipped it straight to the fielder on the leg side.

“We even got a wicket when the ball hit the batsman on the box and thigh, ran down his leg and knocked off a bail. When that happens it usually dies in the ground and doesn’t get anywhere near the stumps.

“When you look back at it, you would have to say that we must have bowled well to get them as we did, but it was certainly not the best we’re bowled this season.”

In Goatacre’s innings, only stubborn displays from the in-form Luke Edwards and Ed Wilkins kept the visitors from suffering a similar fate.

Edwards ground out a thoughtful 39, whilst Wilkins was the only batsman to dominate either bowling attack throughout the course of the day as he bludgeoned 55 before being caught of Will Langton.

By then, however, Wilkins had muscled Goatacre into a winning position, although at the time their margin of victory could have barely been plausible.