BRIDPORT 117 (17pts) beat BLANDFORD SECONDS 65 (5pts) by 52 runs

BRIDPORT captain Liam Toohill was in insatiable form with the ball as superb figures of 7-29 saw his side defend a low total with ease at struggling Blandford Seconds in Division Four.

It could well have been a much greater margin of victory for the visitors with Blandford reeling on 16-7 at one point as they tried to chase down Bridport’s total of 117.

Toohill and his troops arrived at the Recreation Ground in the rain and batted first on a pitch still firm despite the damp conditions.

Mark Smith smashed the opening delivery to the fence before hitting the second into his leg and watching it roll back onto the stumps.

The away side also lost Rod Gay early on and although Toohill (31) started to find the boundary he was bowled off his pads.

His was the first of three wickets to fall for four runs as Bridport wobbled with only Alex Lee (22) standing firm in the middle order.

Will Meech provided some much-needed acceleration but both Meech (15) and Lee were dismissed with the score on 87.

Ed Halson and Cerne Iveson put on a speedy 19 with Cerne dominating the partnership, all 12 runs coming in boundaries.

After he was caught, Halson (15no) and Billy Browning boosted Bridport’s score, the former firing a flat six into the fence.

Bridport knew they would have to be on their game in the field if they stood any chance of winning the match.

And with Toohill leading the way, Bridport rattled through the Blandford batting line-up with the skipper bowling an inspired nine-over spell.

Two Toohill wickets left Blandford on 3-2 then Halson took a towering catch off Alex Lee, instigating the fall of five wickets for one run.

A triple wicket maiden from Toohill ended any hopes Blandford had as they floundered on 15-6 with both Jamie Dollman and Duane Gay juggling the ball before taking catches.

Meech took a superb catch off Toohill then Smith wrapped up the win by claiming the wicket of the Blandford captain.

“This was a solid bowling performance,” said Toohill. “We bowled well and caught everything that came our way.

“Our batting can still be improved – only five batsmen got into double figures – and we still didn’t get close to using up all of our overs.

“This is something we need to improve on in the coming weeks.”