BEAMINSTER 165 (6pts) lost to BOURNEMOUTH III 166-6 (25pts) by four wickets

BEAMINSTER suffered their third consecutive defeat in Dorset Funeral Plan Division One at Bournemouth III.

In a contest hampered by persistent drizzle and poor light, Beaminster were forced to bat first after losing the toss and when openers Richard Runyard (2) and Joe Hawkins (3) were back in the hutch with just 11 runs on the board, things looked as bleak as the weather.

But a wonderful stand between Simon Jones (36) and Russell Harford (61) rejuvenated a stuttering innings as the pair combined for a vital partnership of 77.

Harford then put on 29 with debutant Colin Gough (9) but once the latter was dismissed there was little lower order resistance as the last seven wickets fell for just 48 runs, with Stanford (4-27) cleaning up the tail.

Fred Etherington notched a handy 21 during the collapse but ran out of partners and was bowled by Shawkins.

After tea, Beaminster made a bright start in the gloom as Murray Legg, who impressed with figures of 3-26 in ten overs, saw off opener Coombes for a duck and skipper Ross Baker then ran out Haniff without scoring.

With Bournemouth precariously placed at 3-2, the visitors fancied their chances of a first victory of the season, aspirations that were enhanced when Legg claimed Mills for ten.

But opener Hall (69 not out) was immovable and he rescued the situation with adequate support as wickets became harder to come by.

Beaminster plugged away with Etherington (1-20) bowling an economical spell and Jack Guilor, despite not taking a wicket, produced his best display with the ball.

Bournemouth eventually hit the winning run with five balls to spare and although visiting captain Baker was disappointed with another loss, he saw improvements in his side.

He said: "It was a tight match and we were about 30 runs short of setting a good target, but it was very difficult to bat first with the ball seaming around in the damp conditions. We thought we had a chance with a few early wickets, but the key was getting Hall out, which we didn't manage to do.

"The batting again was the problem but it was better than the last few weeks and overall I thought it was a good performance and I can see our first win around the corner."

SCOREBOARD

BEAMINSTER

Runyard b Shawkins 2

Hawkins b Stanford 3

Jones c Sutton b Mills 36

Harford c Hall b Haniff 61

Gough c Lett b Haniff 9

Parry b Stanford 11

Baker c Spicer b Mills 2

Etherington b Shawkins 21

Guilor b Stanford 3

Herring b Stanford 1

Legg not out 0

Extras 16

Total: (all out, 47.1 overs) 165

FoW: 1-3, 2-11, 3-88, 4-117, 5-117, 6-121, 7-152, 8-161, 9-165

Bowling: Stanford 9-2-27-4, Shawkins 8.1-0-31-2, Spicer 6-0-18-0, 6-0-13-0, Haniff 9-0-24-2, Mills 9-2-36-2

BOURNEMOUTH III

Hall not out 69

Coombes c Runyard b Legg 0

Haniff run out 0

Mills c Runyard b Legg 10

Lyndsay-Clark b Etherington 25

Watts c Etherington b Jones 17

Spicer c Runyard b Legg 22

Lett not out 2

Extras 21

Total: (6 wkts, 49.2 overs) 166

FoW: 1-2, 2-3, 3-26, 4-64, 5-121, 6-161

Bowling: Jones 8-2-32-1, Legg 10-2-26-3, Baker 9-3-26-0, Herring 7-0-29-0, Etherington 8.2-1-20-1, Guilor 7-0-23-0