ONE of the 10 best teams in Dorset has pulled out of the county's top division, Echosport can reveal.

Village side Shroton, four miles north of Blandford, has decided to quit the Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League three weeks before the new season starts.

Relegation is therefore scrapped for Dorset's highest tier in 2021.

Shroton, who were promoted from County Division One after a title-winning 2016, have lost numerous players in the off-season.

Echosport understands Shroton could re-enter the Dorset League pyramid at a lower level in 2022.

All the club's fixtures have been scrubbed from the Dorset Cricket League website.

It means champions Dorchester, plus Martinstown and Bere Regis, will only play 16 league games this year.

The north Dorset side finished eighth in their debut Premier League season and did not participate in the coronavirus-shortened mini league last year.

In their last full Premier League campaign, The Fairfield side claimed eighth in 2019.