PUDDLETOWN 192 (19pts) beat SHAFTESBURY 119 (6pts) by 73 runs

PUDDLETOWN recorded back-to-back victories with a convincing 73-run win over Shaftesbury at Winfrith.

After substantial overnight rain, Shaftesbury opted to field through the uncontested toss rule and this decision immediately looked a good one as opening bowlers Terence Langhorne (1-30) and Stuart Sussex (0-25) took full advantage of the damp surface.

The scoreboard pressure resulted in an overly ambitious drive from Chris Clarke (9), who was caught at mid-off by Lawrence Yeo off Langhorne.

Puddletown stalwart Lucas Allen (37) went about his business professionally and after some elegant drives and smart running from debutant James Mitchell (48), the pair started to build momentum, taking the hosts to 78-1 at drinks.

Immediately after drinks, disaster struck for the hosts as Allen was dismissed first ball by Mark Lewis (1-16), shortly followed by captain Adam Barrett (0) who received the ball of the day to be trapped lbw.

Puddletown were in danger of a collapse but the classy Mitchell (48) and Adam Weir (38) had other ideas, finding the boundary regularly.

After the pair were dismissed, some late hitting by Tom Blair (29) and Will Gage (10) pushed the Puddletown total up to 192, before eventually being bowled out in 43.5 overs, the impressive Yeo finishing with 5-20.

Shaftesbury’s innings started slowly with particular caution being shown towards Blair (1-21).

Gage (1-22) secured the breakthrough in his final over, clean bowling Michael Rawlinson (2) to leave Shaftesbury 34-1 from 18 overs.

With the required run rate increasing, the Shaftesbury batsmen had to start taking chances and this was duly welcomed by left-arm seamer Callum Chaldecott (4-17), who proceeded to rip through the middle order as Puddletown’s long-term rivals wilted to 67-7.

Despite some late resistance from Sussex (25no), the Puddletown bowlers wrapped up the innings with spinner Rob Snow, who claimed 2-3.

Speaking to Echosport, Barrett praised the efforts from his team, labelling the performance nearly perfect.

He said: “I think it is quite obvious that teams will come to our ground and bowl first, we have sort of just accepted that. We try and turn a positive spin on things though, and know that if we do survive and reach 170-plus it will take a very good side to chase it.”

When reflecting on individual performances, Barrett reserved special praise for Callum Chaldecott, but also mentioned Chris Clarke for his efforts in the field.

Barrett said: “I said before the game in the preview that Callum historically bowls well against Shaftesbury, so to see him pick up another four wickets against them is great.

“It sometimes goes under the radar, but I also thought that Clarkey had a great game in the field, making several key stops to help keep the pressure on up front.

“We have spoken as a team about improving our fielding, and the four catches we took will hopefully set a benchmark for us to achieve every week.”

In County Division Six, Puddletown Seconds picked up their first win of the season, overcoming local rivals Cheselbourne by six wickets.