BEAMINSTER 234-7 (20pts) bt WIMBORNE & COLEHILL II 205 (5pts) by 29 runs

BEAMINSTER increased their lead at the top of County Division Two with their fifth win in a row with a hard-fought 29-run victory at home against Wimborne & Colehill Seconds.

After winning the toss, Beaminster batted in the heat and soon lost three early wickets to Sam Prince.

Beaminster captain Ross Baker batted fluently for his 39 and laid a foundation for the middle order batsmen.

After he was dismissed in the 22nd over, Simon Jones (62) and Lewis Keenan (54) shared a decisive 112-run partnership.

They complemented each other superbly as Jones rotated the strike while Keenan struck eight boundaries including three maximums.

After some lusty late order hitting, Beaminster were delighted to close on 234-7 from their 45 overs as the Wimborne bowlers struggled in the hot conditions.

During the chase, the temperature dropped as the skies became overcast.

Daniel Swift (2-22) took an early wicket before Wimborne’s top order all played carefully to rebuild.

The 18th and Nick Hollely’s (3-34) final over proved to be crucial as he took three important wickets.

With the away team falling behind the asking rate, youngster Michael Simpson played aggressively and was well supported by Joe Welch (74).

Spinner Ali Crawford (4-34) made the vital breakthrough and continued to mop up the tail with Will Moss (1-19) as Wimborne were dismissed in the penultimate over 29 runs short of their target.

Beaminster captain Baker thought his side probably got the better of the conditions, but was pleased with the result.

Baker told Echosport: “It was a really good day, an excellent game actually, it was a very close, hard-fought victory. Two very evenly matches teams, and it is just nice to get on the right side of the result.

“It could have gone either way really but I thought we stuck at it really well, we probably had the better of the conditions. We won the toss as well which helped.

“They had to field in real heavy heat, whereas when we fielded it was a lot cooler so I think we had luck on our side a little bit but I think that happens when you are on a good run, luck seems to go your way.

“We played well, so I am very pleased with the result.”