SHERBORNE 210-9 (19pts) beat BERE REGIS 180 (7pts) by 30 runs

BERE Regis suffered an upset at Sherborne, losing by 30 runs in their Wessex Internet Dorset Premier League clash at The Terrace.

Going into the game, Bere had won their past three matches and travelled to north Dorset as favourites with their opponents only having won once in six rounds.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat, Sherborne made a good recovery from 12-1 as Mark Roca (5) perished lbw to Rich Payne (1-25).

The hosts steered themselves to 99-1 as Joe Stratford (56) recorded a quick half-century including nine fours.

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However, he and partner Will Tatham (33) fell respectively to Sam Goodhew (2-31) and Sean Walbridge (2-36) as Bere checked Sherborne at 99-3.

Bere’s spin duo combined to remove Ryan Monk (10) and Tim Durston (0) cheaply but substantial knocks from Marc Lock (37) and Tom Harris (35) ensured Sherborne closed on 210-9 from 50 overs.

Bere’s chase looked to be going well at 54-0 until the fast-scoring Goodhew (28) was removed by Mark Hancock (3-30).

His demise was followed by Jacob Kennard (5), lbw to youngster Luke Moyse (1-35), before Hancock landed a crucial double blow by dismissing Cam Robertson (12) and Tom Munnings (0).

And, when sibling Paul Hancock (3-20) bowled opener Rich Cole (36), Bere were in big trouble.

Sherborne continued to take wickets around late hitting from Payne (26) and Dean Rogerson (27), slipping from 173-7 to 180 all out to sustain only their second loss of the season.

Speaking to Echosport, Bere captain Brian Keegan had no complaints about the result.

He said: “To be honest, I thought we bowled pretty well but fielding-wise there were a few catches that went down.

“Essentially, I thought 210 was gettable. Payner got rid of Roca first up, Sean and Sam bowled well together and Tom and Rich Cole bowled well at the death.

“Batting-wise a few people got starts but also a few got themselves out. The bounce got lower as we went through the game.

“That’s no excuse, the bottom line is that we didn’t apply ourselves and ended up losing by 30 runs.

“Again, 210 should’ve been gettable. We didn’t perform anywhere near the levels we could do and we came up short against the better side.”

He added: “To get ourselves in that position, we didn’t get ourselves over the line.

“Collectively as a unit, it wasn’t good enough.

“It’s disappointing from our perspective because we had a bit of momentum. Now we go back to the drawing board and look ahead to next week.”

Bere Regis Seconds lost by nine wickets to Shillingstone in County Division Three.