PARLEY 256-7 (20pts) beat Dorchester 124 (4pts) by 132 runs

AARON Oliver’s fine display on his debut was the only bright spot on an otherwise dismal afternoon for Dorchester at Dean Park.

The county town outfit travelled to Bournemouth for this Dorset Premier Division encounter with high hopes but a woeful performance with the willow saw Parley run out comfortable winners.

The hosts put on 256 in the opening innings before bowling out their opponents for just 124 – an achievement that disappointed Dan Belt.

Dorchester’s stand-in skipper, who was deputising for the unavailable Martyn Richards, said: “It was not a good display at all.

“Although their spinners bowled well, our shot selection on the day was poor and we paid the price.

“They won the toss and batted, and we thought we kept them down to a reasonably good total.

“One of their lads put on 68 not out, which saw him put on a lot of runs off the last four overs, but 250 was still only a par score on that track and we felt confident we could knock them off.

“However, we lost a couple of early wickets and never recovered.

“We put down one of their openers early on and they did have a bit more luck in terms of anything in the air finding the gaps but we could have no complaints.

“The main positive to come out of it for us was the performances of Sam Goodhew and Aaron. Sam picked up a wicket and Aaron grabbed three on his debut, which was a fantastic effort.

“In fact, on the whole, we bowled pretty well but we just let ourselves down with the bat.”

Sam Collins (28) and Mark Morley (60) got Parley off to a fine start with an opening stand of 64 but when James Lewis (2-65) clean bowled the former and Pete Moxom trapped incoming batsman Tom Jacques leg before for just one, it looked like the momentum had shifted.

However, Morley and Raj Naik (41) then put on 45 for the third wicket and although Oliver (3-50) and Goodhew (1-43) did their utmost to stem the flow of runs in the middle of the innings, Dorchester allowed Kieran Price (68 not out) to cut loose towards the end to lead his side to a very competitive tally.

In reply, the county town outfit lost Lewis (0) early on and when powerhouses Moxom (20) and Belt (7) then fell in quick succession the writing was on the wall.

With their talismanic duo back in the pavilion, Dorchester were soon staring down the barrel on 87-6 as Sam Thomson (4-17) produced wonders with the ball.

Jon Legg (16) and Joe Power (10) did put up a bit of a fight lower down the order but overall it was a poor display by the county town and one they will need to rectify quickly if they are to stand any chance this year of competing at the top of the table.