BERE Regis captain Rich Cole feels his side’s preparations have been adequate ahead of their Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League opener against Sherborne at Bere Regis Rec tomorrow (1pm).

Cole’s men have been on the brink of promotion to the county’s highest tier for several seasons, but finally arrived in the Premier League after a devastating County Division One campaign which saw them win 15 and lose just one of 18 games.

Cole told Echosport he sees the step up as a “good challenge” for the club.

He said: “It’s difficult when you’re playing against nine teams that you’ve not played against for a few seasons. We feel like we’ve prepared as well as we can for the season ahead.

“It’s a good challenge for the club and for the team. Sherborne, who were mid-table last year, will be a good benchmark to look at which areas we need to improve.

“It will be a good test for us but I’m sure they have their strengths and weaknesses as most teams do.”

Cole also emphasised Bere’s ambition to provide “competitive cricket”, having seen their dominance last season lead to a number of early finishes.

He said: “The squad is boosted with some younger players from the second team who were showing promise and we’ve bolstered the squad with more depth.

“There are some games we will be targeting and some games where we will be getting points.

“We’ve got to provide competitive cricket. Last year there were games where it didn’t feel competitive and we were done by four o’clock.”

Bere Regis: Rich Cole, G King, Rob Cole, M King, Griffiths, Murphy, Keegan, Moss, T Goodhew, Carron-Brown, Rogerson

Meanwhile, Bere Regis Seconds visit Cerne Valley Seconds in County Division Five