BERE REGIS 99 (revised target 190, 3pts) lost to MARTINSTOWN 225-7 (20pts) by 90 runs
MARTINSTOWN made good on their eye-catching pre-season form with a 90-run success over Bere Regis in the Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League.
Sam Kershaw’s men had amassed over 700 runs from 80 overs across two pre-season games and continued their attacking intent with the willow at Bere Regis Rec.
Kershaw had no hesitation in batting first after winning the toss and he, along with Steve Gerety, set the tone with a series of boundaries.
Town had reached 67-0 before Gerety (31 off 33 balls) was smartly stumped by Bere captain Brian Keegan off the bowling of wily Sean Walbridge, who bowled Will Maltby (0) four balls later.
Kershaw (44) pounded nine fours before he too fell to Walbridge (3-44), caught by Rich Payne.
Tom Pope (49) maintained the momentum with seven fours and two sixes, ably assisted by Sean Williams (15), until Payne (2-51) claimed both scalps with the score on 147.
Rain then interrupted the innings, Town losing five overs.
After play resumed, left-hander Fraser Hill (37no) scored quickly late on and survived to the death as Dave Griffiths (2-10) removed the dangerous Teddy Andrews (11) and Jamie Stewart (5).
Martinstown closed on 225-7 but Bere’s chase was reduced by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method as the hosts lost 10 overs, leaving a target of 190 from 30 overs.
Suddenly, needing more than a run-a-ball, Bere lost Matt King (1) and Cameron Robertson (0) cheaply.
Martinstown did not relent as the evergreen Dave Trotter (3-9) was in sparkling form, tearing through the top order.
Trotter ousted Rich Cole (11), Tim Goodhew (0) and Simon Proffitt (2) to leave Bere on 53-5.
Rob Murphy (19) did provide resistance but when Pope ran him out, Bere’s hopes extinguished.
Late hitting from Payne (17) delayed the inevitable as Martinstown shared the remaining wickets around, Hill bowling impressively to claim 2-13.
Speaking to Echosport after claiming a maximum 20 points, Kershaw said: “We started well with the bat and were positive up top again.
“We lost a couple of quick wickets but rebuilt and really pushed on towards the end, I was happy with that.
“We forced their hand, we went hard up top and made them make changes. We cashed in throughout the innings with runs across the board.”
On Trotter’s performance with the ball, Kershaw added: “He was actually a late call-up.
“We lost Jenson (Stewart) through injury and it’s great to be able to bring someone like Dave into the team.
“He got a wicket with his first and third ball. With the ball it was a complete performance from everyone.
“Jamie and John (Stewart) were fantastic and we choked them out of the game.
“Unfortunately we top-scored for them with 34 extras, that’s a third of their score. We need to work on that.
“The main focus through the week will be righting a few wrongs in training.
“It was a wet ball but we don’t want to be giving away 34 extras going forward. That number’s got to come down.”
Bere Regis skipper Keegan was magnanimous in defeat.
“They played an aggressive form of cricket and ultimately were far better than us on the day,” he said.
“Our batting let us down, big time. As far as I’m concerned, it’s a bad day at the office and we’ll look to go again and regroup for next week.
“Their openers batted well, Tom followed up and Fraser kept the scoring going.
“The main difference was that they batted really well and we didn’t.”
Keegan chose to praise Martinstown rather than explaining his team’s shortcomings.
“There are a number of reasons but the bottom line is they were better,” he said.
“Other than Rob Murphy, Rich Payne batted well but nobody contributed.
“There was no real partnership, that was the problem.
“To be fair to Martinstown they had a number of partnerships that got them to that total in the first place.
“We just didn’t bat very well, full stop.”
Elsewhere, Bere Regis Seconds beat Witchampton Seconds by seven wickets in County Division Four.
Martinstown Seconds’ County Division Three clash against Wareham at Lower Ashton Farm fell victim to the weather.
Wareham scored 256-6 off 34 overs with the hosts 89-1 from 11 overs in reply before rain stopped play.
CONTACT ME:
t: 01305 830999
e: neil.walton
@dorsetecho.co.uk
twitter: @EchoSportNeil
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