SHERBORNE 103 (16pts) beat DORCHESTER 94 (8pts) by nine runs

FRUSTRATED club captain Simon Mitchem admitted Dorchester “have got to be more mature with our batting” after they suffered a disappointing defeat at Sherborne.

Everything looked to be going to plan for the county town side at the halfway stage of the contest.

Having put the hosts in, the visitors ran through the Sherborne batting line-up, bowling them out in less than 30 overs for the seemingly miserly total of just 103.

Dan Belt, who once again led the side on the field, also led from the front with the ball having taken a remarkable 5-26 from his 10 overs bowled.

But, remarkably, the 103 posted by Sherborne was enough to see them to victory, after Dorchester never got going with the bat in reply.

With Mitchem (21) the only man to pass 20 in the innings, Dorchester crashed to just 94 all out, 10 runs short of their victory target.

Mitchem told Echosport: “With our fielding and bowling we were excellent, we put the ball in the right areas, picked up wickets, and took our chances.

“From that point of view it was great because Sherborne are a good side and there was nothing wrong with the wicket at all.

“It’s frustrating because it’s half the job done. It’s horrible chasing targets like that because people start to play differently.”

Dorchester still managed to claim eight league points from a possible 20 from the encounter, but the batting woes from his team overall was what concerned the club captain.

He added: “I think maybe we might have been a bit over cautious but I think some people batted very naively and threw their wickets away.

“We did exactly what they did, played false shots, and we didn’t need to. We gave it away.

“We have got to be more mature with our batting really. It’s nothing new unfortunately. It’s a harsh lesson.

“We played into their hands a bit really and, if we had batted sensibly, we would have got the job done.”