WIMBORNE II 202-5 (19pts) beat BEAMINSTER 199-9 (6pts) by five wickets

BEAMINSTER’S up-and-down County Division One season continued with a five-wicket reverse at Wimborne Seconds.

Visiting skipper Chris Park won the toss and chose to bat first, Rich Runyard getting his team off to a bold start with a flurry of boundaries.

However, wickets tumbled around him and Beaminster were 55-3 before he registered his half-century.

He would eventually depart for 62 from just 36 balls, having smashed 12 fours, when Henry Lockwood (4-35) snuck one through his defences.

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Beaminster slipped further to 94-7, losing three wickets for one run, as Lockwood and Jack Houldsworth (2-33) dislodged batters almost at will.

It took a gutsy 104-run stand between the experienced Ross Baker (56) and Ollie Bareham (44) to give Beaminster a respectable score.

Ryan Roberts (2-13) dismissed both men late on but Beaminster had plugged away to 199-9 from their 45 overs.

Beaminster had Wimborne in bother at 118-5 after picking up the key wicket of Dorset Seconds’ 15-year-old star Fred Boger for 45, Baker (1-29) doing the damage.

That was until a fine 56 from 43 balls by Ben Ratcliffe, in which he manoeuvred the away field, took the game away from Beaminster.

He shared an unbroken 84 with Adam Child (27no), scoring eight fours along the way, as Wimborne sealed victory with 6.4 overs remaining.

Speaking to the Bridport News, Park said: “It’s pretty much the story of the season, we started well and we were 60-odd for one off eight overs.

“Then we lost three wickets very quickly and before we knew it we were 94-7 after 17 overs, very bizarre.

“If Ross and Ollie didn’t bat how they did, it would’ve been over a lot quicker. They put on a good stand and got us up to a reasonable total.

“It was never going to be enough. Another 50 runs from the middle order would’ve been just about right.”

Looking ahead, Beaminster now face a daunting trip to league leaders Poole Town Seconds on Saturday (1pm).

Beaminster have a number of players out for the clash, leading Park to believe his side are in a “scrap” to avoid relegation this season.

Park said: “It is what it is. We’re not expecting to go there and win but we’re going to give it our all.

“We’ve got quite a few youth players, it was going to be tough anyway but we can only go there and try and have fun now.

“There’s no pressure on us (on Saturday) and it’s obviously going to be a scrap for the rest of the season.”

Beaminster are eighth in table, three points above Puddletown in ninth.

Beaminster: Runyard, Golledge, Park, A Moss, Jones, O Hey, Edwards, Bareham, Fry, Ronan, AN Other.