MARTYN Richards admits tomorrow’s home clash with Poole Town is a game they “can’t really afford to lose”.

Having been replaced at the Dorset Premier League summit by title rivals Parley last weekend, the county town outfit head into tomorrow’s game (1.30pm) with one objective – win.

However, Richards’ men face a Poole side who still harbour hopes of lifting this year’s crown.

The skipper said: “It’s another huge game but hopefully we’ll rectify last week’s defeat at Parley.

“We knew that if we beat Parley we would put daylight between ourselves and them but we lost and the advantage is with Parley now so we’ve got to win tomorrow in order to stay hot on their heels.

“If we can do that then we’ll have a great chance of winning the league, so we can’t really afford to lose.

“Parley have lost a couple of games this season so if we can keep the pressure on we’ll have a chance. But if we lose one or two between now and the end of the season then we could be out of the title race.”

He added: “We can learn a few things from last week’s game. Raj Naik showed how to construct an innings and tomorrow we need someone to stand up and be counted.

“It’s an opportunity for someone to be a hero and I’m confident someone will step up to the plate.

“The last game between us and Poole was rained off but we did play them in a friendly and came out on top.

“They are a very competitive team and have some fantastic individuals, such as Martin Ford who is arguably the best bowler in the area. We know we’ll have to be on top of our game.”

Dorchester make two enforced changes this week with top-order batsman Dave Maslen and pace bowler Phil Morley both absent.

Richards said: “Phil is off travelling in France for a month and Dave is on holiday for two weeks. Although it’s disappointing to lose those two we are gaining an experienced head in Quenton Miller and a promising talent in Hugh Pryce.”

Dorchester: Richards, Moxom, Haynes, Belt, Waite, Tweddle, Gerety, Mead, Ellis, Miller, Pryce.

* Inconsistent Dorchester Seconds travel to Wimborne & Colehill Seconds tomorrow (2pm).

The county town team went down to a 120-run defeat at Branksome last week but tomorrow take on a side battling against relegation from Dorset League Division Two.

* The third team meanwhile, visit Abbostbury in Dorset League Division Six (2pm).