SUTTONERS 223-8 (25) beat DORCHESTER 202 all out (12) by 21 runs

DORCHESTER captain Martyn Richards felt Saturday's narrow Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League defeat at Suttoners was one they let "slip through our fingers".

The county town side comprehensively defeated Blandford at the Rec seven days previous but, in their second game of the new season, fell 21 runs short at Dean Park to a consistent Suttoners who themselves have now picked up two wins from two.

Richards' side were missing opening batsman Lee Haynes, all-rounder Dan Belt who picked up a thigh strain two days before, and bowler Adam Iyer from the opening day. And after a steady stand of 223 from the hosts, Dorchester were unable to better their opponents' efforts.

Captain Richards said: "It was a bad day at the office where nothing really went our way. We won the toss though, and decided to field which seemed to be the right decision because we were beating the bat on numerous occasions but not finding the edge.

"We took wickets fairly regularly but a couple of fielding errors helped them get to 223 which we felt was gettable. But then, what I hope will never happen again, three of our higher order all get zero.

"We looked in a bad position but Shannon Dunnett and Steve Gerety did superbly. Unfortunately some good bowls saw us finish 21 runs short. It was a winnable game and I feel it was one we let slip through our fingers."

Suttoners made a solid yet unspectacular start to their innings with opening batsmen C Insall (44) and G Hill (20) scoring 44 before the fall of the first wicket.

The home side's middle order chipped in but all five of C Johns (17), N Corbin (20), C Rawlings (18), F Fitzjohn (16) and tail-ender A Hemmings (4) were sent back to the pavilion courtesy of Pete Moxom's expert attack (5-31). Of those wickets skipper Richards made two catches off Moxom's bowling.

P Harding (31) proved difficult to budge as he and C Davies (7) saw out the 50 overs to help their side to 223.

Dorchester's reply looked non existent when the wickets of Moxom, Paul Tweddle and Rob Waite, all of who dismissed for ducks, were taken with just 13 runs scored.

Gerety (58), who missed the victory over Blandford with an ankle injury, made his presence felt alongside New Zealander Shannon Dunnett (62). But with the latter caught by J Beck off Fitzjohn's bowling (3-33) and Gerety removed by Johns' catch from Harding's delivery (2-31) the visitors' hopes looked to have vanished.

Of the lower order, Richards (12) and Phil Morley (16) showed resistance, but the damage had been done and the county town side could not meet the target set by their hosts.

The Rec outfit will be looking for a pick-me- up when they visit rivals Weymouth on Saturday.

Richards added: "The defeat has given us added impetus to get back into training in preparation for next Saturday's derby."

DEAN PARK SCOREBOARD

SUTTONERS

Insall b Miller 44

Hill c Tweddle b Waite 20

Beck b Dunnett 23

Johns c Tweddle b Moxom 17

Corbin c Richards b Moxom 20

Rawlings c Richards b Moxom 18

Fitzjohn b Moxom 16

Harding not out 31

Hemmings b Moxom 4

Davies not out 7

Extras 23

Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 223

FoW: 1-44, 2-91, 3-114, 4-126, 5-155, 6-167, 7-192, 8-199

Bowling: Morley 10-1-36-0, Waite 10-1-45-1, Miller 10-0-43-1, Dunnett 10-2-41-1, Moxom 8-1-31-5, Gerety 2-0-19-0.

DORCHESTER

Gerety c Johns b Harding 58

Moxom c Beck b Rawlings 0

Tweddle c Clifford b Fitzjohn 0

Waite c Beck b Fitzjohn 0

Dunnett c Beck b Fitzjohn 62

Richards c Corbin b Harding 12

Miller c Johns b Clifford 1

Morley b Rawlings 16

Stripp not out 9

Campbell b Clifford 8

Baggs b Rawlings 1

Extras 35

Total (all out, 45.1 overs) 202

FoW: 1-6, 2-12, 3-13, 4-121, 5-146, 6-160, 7-181, 8-182, 9-200

Bowling: Fitzjohn 10-1-33-3, Rawlings 9.1-4-32-3, Davies 2-0-18-0, Harding 10-0-31-2, Hemmings 7-1-37-1, Clifford 7-1-40-2.