BEAMINSTER v BERE REGIS – match abandoned due to rain

INCLEMENT weather denied Beaminster the chance to claim their maiden Dorset League Division Two victory of the season.

Heavy overnight rain had completely saturated the Memorial Ground and, with a dreadful afternoon forecast, the fixture against Bere Regis was called off at 10.30am.

Torrential downpours later in the day vindicated the early decision but Beaminster skipper Ross Baker was left frustrated by the elements.

Baker had overseen an opening-day defeat and was confident he had the tools at his disposal against Bere Regis to atone for that lacklustre performance.

He said: “The pitch was so wet in the morning that we called it off early. It proved to be a good decision because it poured down around 4pm.

“As it turned out, there was no chance we could have got any sort of game on. There had been so much rain overnight that the entire ground was absolutely waterlogged.

“I had spent all week trying to get a good side together and had managed to do that, so it’s disappointing that we didn’t get an opportunity to get our first win.

“And it’s frustrating because we’ve had such a dry spell of weather recently, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

Asked if the notoriously poor drainage at the Memorial Ground had been a factor, Baker replied: “It’s still a bit of a problem to be honest.

“We’ve looked at putting drains in but that would require a lot of work, so that’s on the backburner at the moment. We just have to hope the weather is kind to us.”

Beaminster entertain Christchurch this Saturday (2pm) and Baker admits they are something of an unknown quantity.

The East Dorset outfit were brushed aside by Bere Regis on the first weekend of the campaign, but Baker is not underestimating them.

He added: “I don’t know much about Christchurch except that they finished mid-table in this division last year and got beaten heavily by Bere Regis in their opening game.

“Bere Regis are going to be among the strongest sides so I won’t read too much into that result, it might just have been an off day for Christchurch.

“Some of our players have got games in the week so that should keep them ticking over and they should be well prepared.

“We normally manage to get strong a side out at home. Everybody is keen to play again so I imagine I will have a very similar team.”