CATTISTOCK & SYMENE 207 (8pts) lost to WIMBORNE & COLEHILL 236-8 (20pts) by 29 runs

CATTISTOCK & Symene guaranteed their place in the Dorset Premier League for 2023 by just a single point after a 29-run loss to Wimborne & Colehill on the final day of the season.

The Foxes needed exactly eight points to secure safety and they achieved just that, with Puddletown relegated in the cruellest fashion after a brave maximum-point win at Broadstone.

The result also means Wimborne climbed above Dorchester into second after the three-time champions lost at Bere Regis.

Cattistock crucially earned four bowling points by taking eight wickets after Wimborne won the toss and batted.

READ MORE: Cattistock & Symene lose to Dorchester by three wickets

Robin Jones (5-36) bowled superbly to do most of the legwork, robbing Wimborne's Tom Butcher (93) of a century by bowling him.

Fred Boger (50) and Simon Watkins (25) also scored well as Wimborne posted 236-8 from 50 overs.

In reply, Luke King (66) batted brilliantly in the face of excellent Wimborne bowling, namely Harry Montacute (4-27).

Leo Gurd (35) and Sam Good (21) scored imperative runs, while Ollie Legg (16) and George Wyrill (13) also chipped in to take the Foxes over the 200 mark and a fourth batting point.

Sam Prince (3-46) and Harry Prince (3-14) both worked their way through the tail as Wimborne ended the year with a victory, bowling the hosts out for 207.

CATTISTOCK & SYMENE II 207-8 (20pts) beat BERE REGIS 203 (11pts) by two wickets

CATTISTOCK & Symene Seconds concluded their County Division Three campaign as they began it, with yet another tense finish, to defeat Bere Regis Seconds by two wickets.

Skipper Toby Hall won the toss and his decision to insert Bere paid immediate dividends when Bradley Wilkinson bowled Paul Smith in the third over.

Several decent partnerships rebuilt the innings and calmly took Bere to 190-4 before Luke Robertson’s spin deceived Tom Munnings, bowled for a hard-hitting 55.

This triggered an immediate collapse with Wilkinson to the fore taking a devastating 5-21 and hurrying out the last six batters for just 13 runs.

After the break, a 64-run opening partnership saw the hosts get off to an excellent start.

The flamboyant Sam Challis was the first to go for a speedy 39. Jason Bradley’s 55 yet again provided the solid platform to rally the innings when Toby Hall and Harry Angel perished cheaply and he gained great support from Robertson with another vital innings of 46 in a fourth-wicket partnership of 83.

Priceless contributions from Kieran Mulhall (14) and Kieran McAllister (12) edged the hosts closer to the winning post with a nerveless Wilkinson hammering two maximums to emphatically settle matters in the 38th over.

The Foxes finished sixth in the table following the victory.

WEYMOUTH II 206-6 (20pts) beat CATTISTOCK & SYMENE III 201 (8pts) by four wickets

CATTISTOCK & Symene Thirds signed off a highly successful season with a four-wicket defeat to new champions Weymouth Seconds at Redlands.

With opener Ben Elliott and Jay Collins both falling cheaply to Graham Puckett, Justin Gurd (19) alongside the evergreen Phil Hawkins halted the slide but when Hawkins sportingly walked for 10 feathering a ball to Laurence West, the innings was spiralling downwards.

Graham Bartlett made 19 before being bamboozled by Jackson Jose’s flight but then a superb eighth-wicket stand of 72 runs between Ollie James (28) and Nate Stantiford-Knight (30no) saw the visitors over a once-improbable 200.

Both showed excellent judgement running numerous quick singles and Knight in particular demonstrated a maturity beyond his years in marshalling the tail with aplomb.

After tea, the all-spin opening attack of Graham Bartlett (1-34) and Howard Legg (2-32) had the hosts in early difficulty but Corey Baker (52) and Andy Jarvis (41) kept the innings afloat until both fell lbw to James on his way to a 3-30 return.

A hard-hitting 37 not out from Jose with Puckett (9no) saw the hosts squeak home in near darkness, the match having been extended by an incredible combined 118 extras.

Leo Gurd's side cemented third place in the table as a result.