Beaminster 156-6 (8pts) lost to POOLE TOWN SECONDS 159-8 (18pts) by two wickets

AN UNBEATEN half-century from Nick Williams crushed Beaminster’s hopes of back-to-back wins in Dorset League Division Two.

Fine knocks from Fred Everitt (33), captain Ross Baker (45 not out) and Hugh Rathbone (23 not out) had helped the visitors to 156-6 on a damp Poole Park surface.

A mini collapse saw Poole Town Seconds crumble from 45-2 to 51-5 in reply, giving Beaminster genuine belief that a second win of the season was well and truly on the cards.

But up stepped Williams (53 not out) and the experienced batsman held his nerve to guide the East Dorset outfit to victory with just one over to spare.

There were a number of positives to take from the loss as besides his 45 runs, the away skipper snared 3-28 from 12 overs, chalking up four maidens in the process.

Simon Jones also performed superbly with the leather, recording figures of 11-5-17-1, while Murray Legg bagged three wickets (3-52).

Summing up the agonising defeat, Baker said: “After heavy rain on Friday evening, the pitch was green and had damp patches. Therefore Poole had no hesitation in putting us into bat after winning the toss.

“Making his first appearance of the season, Fred was in good form and played some attractive strokes.

“However, at the other end, wickets tumbled regularly as we struggled with bounce and movement off the pitch.

“With our score on 63-4, play was abandoned for 15 minutes after heavy rain.

“When play resumed, Fred was caught for 33 as he tried to accelerate the score.

“With two further wickets quickly falling, we looked like we were heading for a low score as we crept along to 90-6.

“But an excellent partnership between Hugh and myself ensured we reached a challenging total of 156-6.

“In reply, the Poole batsmen had similar problems as myself and Simon Jones found movement and bounce.

“Murray Legg also applied pressure and bowled aggressively, taking three wickets.

“At 80-6 we looked like we were heading for successive victories but Nick Williams came to the crease and used all of his experience to guide Poole to their target with only one over remaining.”

The defeat means Baker’s men remain rooted to the foot of the table prior to this weekend’s visit of high-flying Swanage (2pm).

BEAMINS