BEAMINSTER 269-8 (20pts) beat DORCHESTER II 252 (12pts) by 17 runs

BEAMINSTER claimed their second win of the season in a high-scoring derby against Dorchester Seconds at Dorchester Rec in County Division Three.

The visitors compiled 269-8 from their 45 overs after useful contributions from skipper Ross Baker (41), Lewis Keenan (41) and Daniel Spiller (40no).

Dorchester’s reply was built around an impressive 93 from Rhys Cole but in a game that ebbed and flowed in the middle stages Beaminster just held on for the win, with the hosts consoled by a bonus point loss.

Having won the toss, Beaminster elected to bat and quickly set about their work as the opening pair of Baker and Chris Park (35) put on 71 for the first wicket.

When both men were dismissed by Oliver Osborne (2-45), Rich Runyard (19) and Keenan rebuilt the innings with a fluent scoring rate, allowing Spiller and the middle order to set Dorchester an asking rate of exactly six-an-over to win.

After overcoming the early wicket of Eiron Fitzgerald (5) in their response, the hosts ate into the target total through Josh Foot (41) and Cole.

Foot was then run out but Joe Power (29) was the next man to create a partnership with Cole as the match edged towards Dorchester.

But two wickets in two balls from Park (3-21) checked Dorchester’s progress as the momentum fluctuated once more.

Beaminster then delivered two vital blows as skipper Pete Diffey (28) was brilliantly run out by Keenan from the boundary before Baker (2-33) bowled Cole seven runs short of his century.

Dorchester could not keep pace with the run rate and fell 17 runs short, while Beaminster’s win ends a five-game losing streak and places them in seventh, with Dorchester in second.