MARTINSTOWN 220 (6pts) lost to BERE REGIS 141-2 (20pts) by eight wickets (D/L method)

BERE Regis made it honours even in the derby stakes with Martinstown this Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League campaign, winning by eight wickets in a rain-affected fixture at Lower Ashton Farm.

Martinstown had been victorious by 16 runs in the reverse clash but made a less than satisfactory start when Matt King (2-36) and Crispin Brown (1-37) dismissed openers Ed Nichols (8) and Lee House (10).

At 31-2, young talent Sean Williams took control of the Martinstown innings, he and teenager Will Maltby (19) pushing on with a 68-run stand until Rich Payne (2-62) forced a nick behind from the latter.

Williams (86) continued to accumulate with Teddy Andrews (16) and Sam Kershaw (17) but when Sean Walbridge (3-37) bowled Kershaw for 158-5, Williams was next to fall at 164-6.

The loss of Williams, who had scored a superb 15 boundaries in his 30-over stay at the crease, preceded a fine 26 from Fraser Hill, edging Martinstown to full batting points, with Tim Goodhew (2-42) helping to limit the hosts to 220 all out.

As the threat of rain loomed, Bere made a fast start to their reply as openers Payne (40) and King (22) led the visitors to 94-2.

Rob Murphy (26no) and Rich Cole (27no) kept Bere well ahead of the required run rate and, after 27.2 overs, the inclement weather finally put an end to the game, handing Rich Cole’s men a handsome margin of victory.

Speaking to Echosport after the game, Cole praised the contribution of his entire team.

He said: “It was quite comfortable to be honest, we were always ahead of the rate and Rich put us in a really good position to begin with.

“I’m pleased to make it honours even. The main stand-out performance was that we didn’t have to rely on any one individual. I couldn’t fault anyone.”

Home skipper Nichols, meanwhile, conceded that his charges had been “flat”.

He said: “We didn’t build enough pressure with the bat, but another 50 runs might not have been enough anyway.

“We can’t really blame the batting too much – we were just a bit flat.”

On Williams’ innings, Nichols added: “He’s timing the ball beautifully.

“We would have liked to see someone really ram it home and build a partnership.

“It was nice to have that rock there, we just wanted to see more around him.”

Elsewhere, Martinstown Seconds got the better of Bere Regis Seconds in their County Division Five clash, winning by six wickets having bowled Bere out for 61.

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