BERE REGIS 120-5 (19pts) bt SHERBORNE 124 (3pts) by five wickets (*Bere reduced target of 120)

BERE Regis ended their Dorset Funeral Plan Premier Division year on a high, beating Sherborne by five wickets.

The victory seals a seventh-placed finish for Rich Cole’s side, off the back of a rain-hit match that saw Bere chase a slightly reduced target.

With the ball, Sean Walbridge stood out, taking four wickets for Bere, which whittled Sherborne’s middle to lower order, while captain Cole took four catches for his side.

Bere won the toss, and opted to field first, in a decision that quickly paid off.

Josh Lawrence (1) was the first batsman to fall, caught by Cole from a Matt King delivery with a meagre six runs on the board.

Marc Lock (6) and Craig Jones (8) quickly fell, leaving Sherborne at 18-3.

Emlyn Kuhn was then dismissed with Sherborne on 33, but their resistance stiffened somewhat at this point, with two partnerships allowing them to reach 81-5 before Walbridge removed Tom Harris (1).

Yet the rest of the order fell at a consistent pace, and it was no great surprise when Marc Tanswell hit a Robert Murphy delivery with Cole making the catch, dismissing Sherborne for 124.

In reply, Bere initially found it difficult.

Matt King (17) was the first to go with Bere on 17, bowled by Andrew Nurton.

Richard Payne (7) fell 13 runs later, before Bere found the vital partnerships for their successful chase.

Murphy (24) and Nick White (19) pushed them up to 66-2 before the former was caught by Tom Harris from a Shane Pulling delivery.

However, Tim Goodhew’s 34 pushed Bere on towards the target, which they reached for the loss of five wickets.

Bere captain Cole said: “It was nice to have the opportunity to bowl first at home, and we did really well to restrict Sherborne to 124.”

Cole also made a light-hearted reference to his four catches, as he said: “We had a little bit of rain and the conditions really helped our bowlers and we were quite fortunate that the Sherborne batsmen decided to put four in the air to myself. It was quite nice taking four catches in a match.

“Other than that Sean (Walbridge) bowled really well getting four for, Rob (Murphy) bowled really well to tidy up the tail and Matt (King) and (Rich) Payne bowled quite tightly to get the ball rolling at the start.”

Cole added: “We were in a good position at half-time, then when we came to the batting, we lost a few wickets now and then but Rob Murphy and Nick White, and Tim Goodhew at the end did the damage.”