POOLE TOWN 164 (18pts) beat Dorchester 61 (5pts) by 103 runs

DORCHESTER skipper Martyn Richards has conceded defeat in the Dorset Premier League title race following Saturday’s crushing defeat at the hands of championship rivals Poole Town.

Dan Belt put the county town side in a great position at the halfway stage as he snared an almighty seven wickets to help skittle the visitors for 164.

However, the hosts had a day to forget with the willow as they were dismissed for a paltry 61.

Asked if his men were now out of contention for the league crown, Richards, who top scored for his team with 22 runs, said: “I think so. Parley and Poole have lost games you wouldn’t expect them to lose so I guess you can never rule anything out.

“But being realistic you have got to win the big games. We did it in 2008 when we won the league but this year we haven’t stepped up to the plate when it really mattered. We just need to play with some pride and put a bit of pressure on the top two.”

Poole lost the toss but made an impressive start at the Rec with top order batsmen Steve Wilson (20), Dave Robjohns (48), Kristian Wilson (39) and Richard Armstrong (32) all providing useful knocks.

However, it went downhill from there as Belt (7-34) came to the fore. His first five overs yielded zero wickets and 26 runs but the next 2.5 were highly impressive – bagging seven victims and conceding a mere eight runs.

Belt saved the best for last though, as his final five balls removed four batsmen. Poole had therefore slumped from 151-4 to 164 all out.

Richards added: “We gave them a few runs early on and they were very aggressive towards any loose bowling, so they got off to a flying start.

“Our guys sorted their lines out and then Rob Waite (0-17) and I (0-39) managed to slow them down a bit. Dan Belt then came on and was fantastic.

“He took seven wickets and was twice on a hat-trick. It was a phenomenal effort and we were really pleased at the halfway stage to bowl them out for 164.

“Unfortunately though their bowlers, seeing Dan’s efforts, saw exactly how to bowl and they applied themselves really well with the ball while we did the opposite with the bat.

“I’m not sure that even in 2004, when we were relegated from the Premier League, we were bowled out for such a low score.

“We have to hold our hands up and say we were beaten by the better team.”

Dorchester’s reply was doomed from the start when Pete Moxom (0) was clean bowled by Martin Ford (5-29) with just one run on the board.

Wickets tumbled throughout, Lee Haynes (14) was the only other member of the county town line-up to reach double figures, while their rotten luck continued when Andy Mead retired with a hand injury.

Richards said: “He’s broken a bone between his little finger and wrist and looks doubtful for the rest of the season, which is a real blow.

“Paul Tweddle twisted a knee as well and had to go off in the field while Quenton Miller pulled out through illness on Saturday morning, so it was a challenging day to say the least but I don’t think we can blame the defeat on that.”