8:41am Friday 10th July 2009
By Ky Capel
STAR bowler Phil Morley has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Dorset Premier League trip to Poole Town (1.30pm).
Morley is currently Dorchester’s leading wicket-taker this season with 16 scalps but an ankle injury will see him sidelined for the visit to Poole Park.
Captain Martyn Richards, who will also be without the services of unavailable duo Ollie Bennett and Nick Roe, is disappointed to lose a bowler of Morley’s calibre.
But he is pleased to call upon the returning trio of Quenton Miller, Dave Herbert and James Dunham, who have dismissed a total of 26 batsmen between them this campaign.
Richards said: “Phil has picked up an ankle injury which is a shame. He’s been in terrific form recently and we’ll miss him.
“Ollie is unavailable and Nick is away but we have three players coming back that will give us a number of options.
“Quenton, who has batted and bowled well this year, is available again, while Dave has recovered from a groin strain and James has overcome a finger injury. I think the bowling styles of both Dave and James will be suited to Poole Park.”
Poole stopped the rot of three successive defeats with an impressive 106-run victory over Weymouth at Redlands last Saturday.
Town registered a massive total of 317 with the bat and Richards is fully aware of the task facing his players.
He added: “Hitting 317 is a fantastic score so they’ll be in good spirit, especially as Weymouth have been in good form. We’re going to have to be at our best and completely switched on to give ourselves a chance of getting a good result.
“We did beat them at their place last year to effectively win the title. Everyone in the side played well that day and I’ll be looking for much of the same this time.”
Rain is forecast for tomorrow but with no games falling victim to the weather so far this year, Richards is hopeful the good fortune will continue.
He said: “We can only make up the ground on the teams above us by playing and winning games. It’s no good to us if we have matches called off.
“Therefore we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed tomorrow in regards to the weather, even if it has been good to us so far this year.”
Dorchester: Richards, Tweddle, Haynes, Gerety, Belt, Waite, Miller, Herbert, Pryce, Dunham, Derrien.
* The second team’s survival hopes have been boosted after tomorrow’s scheduled opponents Compton House pulled out of the clash at the Rec.
Stuart Voss’ side receive 20 points while House are deducted 40.
* Unbeaten Dorchester Thirds meanwhile, take on Cerne Valley Seconds at Charlton Down in Dorset League Division Seven (2pm).
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