BRIDPORT 125 (4pts) lost to HAMWORTHY REC SECONDS 127-5 (19pts) by 5 wickets

WITH second place and promotion already secured the pressure was off Bridport in their final Division Four outing of the summer.

And it’s a good job there wasn’t anything resting on the game as the visitors took the field with only eight men after a car carrying three of the team broke down on the way to Magna Road.

Bridport captain Liam Toohill won the toss and chose to bat, and being their last match of the season the away side decided to play around with the batting order.

Ollie Lee opened with Billy Browning only for the latter to be clean bowled in the second over bringing Mark Cope to the crease.

Cope and Lee put on 60 for the second wicket in double quick time as the former struck the ball to the mid-wicket boundary a number of times before he was caught behind off first change bowler Mike Tomlinson.

Lee showed great timing in a brilliant knock of 35, playing some elegant strokes all around the ground. However, he was removed the over after Cope perished to bring Hamworthy back into the game.

Paul Stoneley and Ollie’s brother Alex Lee were back in the pavilion within 14 runs of the third wicket and Toohill didn’t hang around long either.

Cerne Iveson played well to stay with last-man Toby Hall (29no), who hit a couple of big sixes over long off to take the score over 100.

N Huxter (2-35), Tomlinson (2-17) and M Standhaft (2-26) were the main destroyers for Hamwor-thy.

The Hamworthy openers got off to a flyer and, with only six fielders, Bridport found it hard to contain them on a cracking wicket and lightning fast outfield.

It wasn’t until spin twins Toby Hall (3-37) and Ollie Lee (1-20) came into the attack that the visitors made a breakthrough.

Stoneley held a brilliant catch at mid-wicket to allow Hall to re-move R Jensen (52), leaving the hosts on 80-1. That became 87-2 when Hall clean bowled the number three, Lee got a quicker ball through to pick up a wicket and then Hall dismissed the other opener.

Alex Lee (1-34) returned and picked up a wicket with an excellent slower ball but it was too late and a quick 20 not out from A Skewd saw Hamworthy home.

“Getting second place this year was fantastic,” said Toohill. “Every single squad member contributed and it is hard to pick out any particular performances.”