WIMBORNE & COLEHILL 126-1 (19pts) beat BERE REGIS 102-8 (1pt) by nine wickets (D/L method)

DORSET Funeral Plan Premier League leaders Wimborne & Colehill inflicted a nine-wicket defeat upon Bere Regis in a rain-affected encounter at the Leaze to continue their title charge.

Bere were invited to bat after losing the toss but found Harrison Bowles (3-9) in inspired form.

The opening bowler, who has also opened the batting and kept wicket for the Minstermen’s second string this season, bowled openers Rich Payne (0) and Matt King (4) before having Robert Murphy (5) caught.

A 48-run stand between Dean Rogerson (30) and captain Rich Cole (34) boosted the visitors until the former became the sole victim of George Bartlett (1-21) as Bere reached 72-4.

Cole continued on with Tim Goodhew (7), but once the latter fell to Frank Turrell (2-11), Bere lost four wickets for eight runs, closing on 102-8 after 33 overs, their innings fragmented by rain delays.

After a two-hour stoppage, Wimborne were handed a target of 126 from 33 overs but the hosts lost Colin Randall (5), who was castled by King (1-17) early on.

From there though, James Miller (76no) produced the stand-out innings of the day, striking 12 fours in his 70-ball knock, with able support from Mark House (35no) guiding the Minstermen to victory with 10 overs in hand.

Speaking to Echosport, Cole admitted his side had struggled with the “stop-start” nature of the match.

He said: “We started off thinking it was 50 (overs), then it went to 45, then we had a 33-over situation. They bowled well and restricted us.

“There may have been a small period where we were going over a run a ball, then Dean was given out caught behind.

“Then we came off for rain and it was ‘press the reset button’. It was difficult to stop-start, stop-start. Conditions certainly weren’t on our side.

“Losing the toss meant a significant advantage in Wimborne’s favour. Anyone who won the toss (would have) wanted to field first.”

He added: “There were a couple of occasions where the rain was quite heavy and we could’ve called the game. It was one of those days where the rain sapped everyone’s motivation. We had nothing to play for, points weren’t really a concern. It was a case of playing cricket and taking experience from it.”

Elsewhere, Dorchester’s title bid took a damaging blow as their encounter at Shroton was abandoned after five overs.

Rivals Wimborne and Poole both won with Dorchester claiming just five points from the abandonment, slipping to third.

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