BLANDFORD 112 (6pts) lost to BRIDPORT 114-9 (18pts) by one wicket

BRIDPORT made hard work of disposing of a depleted Blandford side in their penultimate game of the season at Brewery Field.

The West Dorset outfit appeared to be cruising at one stage but almost let the victory slip through their fingers.

Having knocked over the 10 men of Blandford for just 112, Bridport struggled in reply and eventually got home with just one wicket to spare – a victory that has guaranteed them a second-place finish in Dorset League Division Four.

Relieved skipper Liam Toohill said: “Alex Lee (6-33) got us off to a great start by taking a wicket with the fifth ball of the innings and to be honest none of their batsmen seemed to want to play themselves in.

“Instead they just threw the bat at the ball straight away and at one stage were going at 10 an over until Ollie Lee (2-20) came on and bowled a tight over to bring a bit of calm to the game.

“Alex then knocked back their captain’s off stump before taking three wickets in four balls in the ninth over to leave Blandford on 57-5.

“From there, Ollie took a couple more wickets before Alex claimed his sixth, taking his tally for the season to 40.

“Their number nine and number 10 then batted brilliantly and put on 47 for the last wicket before Cerne Iveson held a good catch in the covers.

“In reply, we got off to a nightmare start with Mark Smith being run out and Rod Gay falling leg before soon after.

“Toby Hall (23) and Rob Cond-liffe then set about rebuilding the innings and when they departed, Cerne and I quickly followed after getting short balls that kept low and bowled us.

“Alex and Ollie then spooned a couple of catches up before Calvin Lewis was clean bowled leaving us on 78-9 with 35 runs still needed to win the game.

“Our last pair was wicketkeeper Billy Browning (10no) and the experienced Paul Stoneley (14no) and they nudged the ball around before the Blandford skipper went for five wides to take us even closer.

“Paul then glanced the ball down to fine leg for four runs to eventually give us the victory, which was met with loud cheers from the rest of the team.”

Toohill went on to add: “The way Alex and Ollie bowled in the opening overs was brilliant but we got ourselves into a muddle with the bat and were very lucky we had Paul and Billy to see us over the line.

“With only one wicket left the boys knew they couldn’t afford to attack and go for boundaries but they defended the good balls and worked the ball around to edge us home.

“It was a good win in the end made even more special by Pimperne’s defeat, which has guaranteed us second place.”

Bridport will complete their campaign this Saturday with a trip to Hamworthy Recreation Seconds.