PORTLAND RT 169 (4pts) lost to COMPTON HOUSE 170-1 (20pts) by nine wickets

PORTLAND Red Triangle tasted defeat in their final County Division One match of the season, losing to Compton House by nine wickets at Reforne.

It means the islanders finish in sixth, four points off rivals Weymouth in fifth.

Portland looked to follow their attacking blueprint of winning the toss and batting first on their home deck.

Callan Laws (4) fell leg before to Louis Holman (1-33) but Dave Adkins (19) and skipper Matt Randell (43) carried on to set a good platform at 57-1.

Adkins perished to Max Dangerfield (1-31) but Randell found partners in Matt Barrett (20) and Tim Forshaw (29), the latter hitting seven fours in his 27-ball knock.

However, when Forshaw was trapped lbw by leg-spinner Piers Griffith-Jones (1-25), Portland tumbled from 131-3 to 169 all out, Chris Haynes mopping up the tail with 4-10.

Batting second is usually a hazardous occupation on Portland but Compton House made the chase look easy.

Attacking all-rounder Joe Watts (63) and Dorset over-50s all-rounder Mike Harper (71no) both scored freely to rack up a century stand for the first wicket.

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And the duo quickly took the game away from Triangle, building to 164-0 and within six runs of victory until Barrett (1-32) removed Watts, whose innings contained 12 fours.

Harper was immovable though, himself having struck 14 boundaries, and together with Giles Reynolds (5no) eased House home for a stylish win belying their ninth-place finish and relegation to Division Two.

Randell told Echosport: “They played really well, to be honest. There wasn’t too much in the pitch.

“Some of our lads played some bad shots or didn’t necessarily read the situation. It led to us not getting enough runs on the board.

“From there, once they managed to build some sort of partnership, they went past 100 and they were set up to win the game.

“We needed to create pressure to break that partnership.

“If they had to score more quickly, maybe we could’ve broken it a bit earlier.”

On Portland’s performance this season, he added: “I was quite disappointed with how we started the season and it’s an area we need to work on as a club.

“It’s making sure we come out quicker. It’s something that’s happened too regularly over the last few seasons.

“We’ve come out pretty slow and tried to chase it for the rest of the year.

“It puts too much pressure on all the players. It’s just getting those wins in early and working harder on the basics.”