LECHLADE CC captain Joe Breet says he will ‘remember the 2014 season for a very long time’.

Breet’s club side Lechlade are a handily-placed second in the WEPL Glos/Wilts Division at the halfway stage of the campaign as they bid to erase the memory of missing out on back-to-back promotions on the last day of the 2013 season.

But it is the Wiltshire county side, in which big-hitting Breet is one of the first names on the team sheet, which has proved the revelation of this year.

“Yes, we have won nine from nine, we’re top of our division in the Unicorns Minor Counties Championship and into the semi final of the Knockout Trophy,” said Breet.

Wiltshire play Oxfordshire on Sunday week for a place in the final but don’t bother looking for long odds at your local Ladbrokes as they beat their rivals by 10 wickets when they met recently in the league.

“I don’t think we have played any better this season but we are getting the bounce of the ball and everything is clicking into place,” said Breet.

Meanwhile, high-flying Lechlade are continuing their merry way in a dogged rather than flamboyant fashion, finding it harder to roll over teams quite as easily as they did last year.

Indeed, they have often dug themselves out of hole to triumph, a case in point being last Saturday’s win over Warminster which did not look so cut and dried when Breet approached the crease with his side on 3-2.

And unblemished captain’s innings of 86 not out later and Lechlade’s victory was confirmed in the second-last over.

“Sometimes we play badly yet manage to scrape a win which is the sign of a side with great team spirit,” said Breet.

“We are not just a side with one or two players – this season everyone has chipped in to help win matches at some stage.”

Lechlade’s overseas player Brad Dial made the perfect start with a ton on his club debut but the runs have dried up since then. Breet nonetheless had words of encouragement for the young South African.

“For a young man who has accomplished so much in winning the U19 World Cup, Brad is very humble,” said Breet.

“He’s hitting the ball well and there is another big innings just around the corner. He will definitely come good when we need him.

Breet is comfortable with Lechlade’s current position in the league. “We were playing catch-up last term but we got off to a good start this time which has helped us,” he said.

Lechlade’s game was one of the few played in the local leagues on Saturday and Breet was quick to praise the backroom team at the Manor Ground.

“We are making every effort to get games on – that is so important in winning the league – and our groundsman did a lot of work on the square during the week and kept it covered.

“I’ve played in Premier 2 and the Glos/Wilts Division is a lot harder,” insisted Breet, “but each week we are finding a way to get across the line.”