BROADSTONE SECONDS 180 (6pts) lost to DORCHESTER 264-6 (20pts) by 84 runs

WILL Caldwell and debutant Pete Phillips blasted Dorchester to a convincing 84-run win against Broadstone Seconds at The Delph on Saturday.

Opener Caldwell top-scored with 81 and Phillips made an unbeaten 63 – the pair put on 76 for the visitors’ sixth wicket – in their side’s total of 264-6.

Skipper Dan Belt then weighed in with 4-35 as the hosts came up well short of their victory target, despite 68 from Ian Griffiths.

And Belt was glad to see not one, but two batsmen make big scores to set Dorchester up for their second Premier Two victory of the season.

“You need someone to bat for at least 40 overs, like Will did, and then you want people around that person to put on some useful partnerships,” he said.

“Will batted really well for us, he was patient and waited for the bad ball, and Pete impressed on his debut for the first team.

“He has been performing well for the seconds over the last few years and he really took his chance on Saturday.”

Belt was also impressed with how the two spinners, Caldwell and Joe Power, slowed down the flow of runs during the Broadstone reply.

He added: “The two spinners changed the game for us. They slowed the run rate and built the pressure on their batsmen.

“There are still things we need to improve but it was very pleasing to get a win under our belts.”

Batting first, Dorchester lost Pete Moxom with only four on the board, but Caldwell, aided by key contributions from Fergus Guppy (31) and Eamonn Scott (17), helped take the visitors’ total past 100.

Then he and Phillips set about the Broadstone bowling and, with Scott Mitchem (14) chipping in, the visitors gained maximum batting points.

In reply, the hosts got off to a dreadful start, losing their first four batsmen for only 22, with Belt proving to be the thorn in their side.

Scott (1-10) broke a fifth-wicket stand of 95 by having Griffiths caught by Phillips and from then on it was relatively plain sailing for Dorchester.

Power (3-27), Caldwell (1-48) and Dan Morris (1-8) ended any hopes of a Broadstone comeback.

“I thought a score of 200-plus was going to be a decent one on that wicket, so I was very happy with 264,” said Belt.

“We got off to a great start with the ball by getting four quick wickets and although they had a good spell we kept it tight.”