BRIDPORT and Beaminster have lost the services of key players since the end of last season but both are looking forward to what they hope will be a successful summer.

With the restructuring of the Dorset League, Duane Gay’s Bridport now find themselves in County Division Four – they had finished the 2014 campaign fifth in Division Three.

They start the new term this Saturday with a home game against Pimperne and go into the match without key bowling duo Liam Toohill and Ollie Lee, who have moved to Cattistock and Uplyme & Lyme Regis respectively.

However, Chris Backhouse returns from Abbotsbury, Aussie fast bowler Guy Kerr has arrived, and ex-Symene man Callum Pattinson keeps wicket.

“We’ve lost our two main bowlers, which is a blow, and they are definitely going to be missed,” said Gay.

“We have got a young team this year but we’ve also still got a fair bit of experience and I think we can definitely hold our own.

“I think we will be aiming for somewhere around mid-table.”

Beaminster begin their County Division Three campaign at home to Wareham and team manager Ross Baker is eager to get started, despite the loss of Jack Walklett to Cattistock.

He said: “We have had a couple of months inside with nets and have just started outdoor nets, so we are pretty much ready to go.

“There are quite a few new teams we are playing this year and we don’t know too much about our opponents, but we start with Wareham and are looking forward to it.

“We have a strong team out and hope to get a positive result. We need to concentrate on our home games and win as many as we can.”

Beaminster are set to stick with the structural change they made last season, with the appointment of team managers as opposed to captains for both first and second teams. Beaminster Seconds feature in County Division Six and start at Blandford Thirds on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Uplyme & Lyme Regis visit Barnstaple & Pilton in Devon League C (East) Division.