CATTISTOCK 140-6 beat ST GEORGE’S 122-6 by 18 runs

A SUPERB team performance from Cattistock saw them overcome St George’s to win the Dorchester & District Evening League Cup final by 18 runs at the Rec.

Contributions from Liam Toohill and Jonathon Legg saw Cattistock hit 140-6 from their 20 overs in the first innings, Dave Griffiths was the pick of the bowlers finishing with figures of 2-22 from four overs.

Their bowlers then restricted St George’s to just 118-6 in reply as every single one of them took a single wicket to typify the solid team performance. Only Matt King (38) got going with the bat as the Saints fell short of the total.

Batting first, having been sent in by St George’s, Cattistock, who are the reigning evening league champions, started well, if a little slowly, as Sam Baker (14) and Martin Langford (29) saw the opening bowlers.

Baker was the first to depart, with the score on 27, off the bowling of namesake Ross Baker.

They then fell to 63-4 as Matt Randall and Griffiths left Cattistock with some rebuilding work to do.

But, this brought together Toohill and Legg, who put on 61 for the fifth wicket as they made their team’s score competitive.

Toohill finished unbeaten on 31, whereas his partner was removed for 34, bowled by King.

Cattistock closed their on 140, meaning their opponents needed more than seven an over to win the title.

St George’s started incredibly well as King (38) and Randall (19) put on 65 for the first wicket in under 10 overs and with the pair at the crease it seemed the target was well within reach.

However, Cattistock’s bowlers, who were without Sean Cload after he damaged his shoulder ligaments while bowling, came back fighting and removed the openers in successive overs to keep them in the contest.

No other batsman was able to take on the mantle as wickets fell at regular intervals giving St George’s little time to build momentum. Griffiths, batting at three, finished on 19 not out, but his side went down by 18 runs to allow Cattistock the opportunity to add more silverware to their trophy cabinet.

Cattistock captain Bradley Damen told Echosport: “Our bowlers were excellent. They bowled really tight and it meant no-one was under pressure. We were great in the field and Liam deserved his man on the match award.”