BROADSTONE THIRDS 181-9 (20pts) beat BRIDPORT 165 (11pts) by 16 runs

BRIDPORT narrowly missed out on successive wins as they fell short by just 17 runs at Broadstone Thirds.

All five of the visitors’ bowlers snared wickets as the home side closed on 181-9 from their allotted overs.

And despite decent knocks from Dave Herbert (33) and Marcel Grunschloss (52), Bridport were unable to complete the chase and therefore suffered their fourth defeat of the Dorset League Division Three campaign.

Skipper Liam Toohill, whose side host Ferndown Wayfarers Seconds this weekend, said: “I won the toss and chose to bowl.

“Dom Gape (3-41) and Wes Lewis (1-30) started well and a tight 15-over opening spell left Broadstone on 32-2 with both wickets going to Dom.

“We got another couple of quick wickets but a partnership between M Rogers (58) and C Tarr (31) began to take the game away from us.

“However, some tight bowling from Marcel and Dom brought us back into it and we took four wickets in as many overs.

“Some big hitting and good running from B Manley (33) took their total on to 181 when Wes bowled Manley off the final ball.

“We started well with the bat but lost wickets at regular intervals. We were 50-2 from 12 overs but I would happily have taken 25-0 of those 12.

“We needed to build the innings slowly and play ourselves in on the pitch but we always seem to start quickly and lose wickets.

“We really needed Marcel and Dave to stay together for a while to see the score past 100. But Dave was caught behind and then Ed Halson was stumped first ball, which brought Dom to the crease.

“Dom and Marcel took the score to 115 with some big hitting, but Dom got out and then Marcel to leave us needing 44 to win.

“Wes batted brilliantly with 15-year-old Ant Azor to put on 27 and take us up to 165. However, two wickets in two balls, for the second time, ended the match with us 17 short of victory.

“We do need to tighten up in the field, as another dropped catch and some overthrows let the game get away from us.

“But I was thrilled with the way Wes and Ant batted at the end. They managed to take us up to 165, which gained us three extra points for getting within 10 per cent of Broadstone’s score.

“We managed to pick up 11 points in total, which for a loss is not bad and keeps us right in the mix in mid-table.”