Sport

Dorset Cricket League Premier League July 3

Sherborne 242-7 Broadstone 194-4 Sherborne (17pts) bt Broadstone (7) by 49 runs

Skipper Josh Lawrence hit his fifth century in eight innings to lead Sherborne to victory. He scored 140, averages 121 for the season and is comfortably the leading run scorer in Dorset league cricket. Lawrence shared a partnership of 123 with Shane Pulling (48) as Sherborne posted a big total. In response, opener Pete Russell carried his bat with 91 not out but Broadstone were never anywhere near the run rate. While Charlie Groves scored 50no, tight bowling from Andy Nurton (5-2-10-1) and teammates saw Sherborne home.

June 26 Sherborne 197 all out Wimborne 207-6 Wimborne (20pts) bt Sherborne (10) by 10 runs

Emlyn Kuhn took 3-52 and more tight bowling by Josh Lawrence (9-2-20-2) put the brakes on Wimborne. In response, Sherborne were 157-0 with when Mark Roca was caught behind for 57. It was the start of a spectacular collapse that saw Sherborne lose all 10 wickets for 40. Lawrence scored his customary century (114) but no other player made double figures. Lewis Freak took 4-36 and Sam Prince 4-26.

Division One July 3 Compton (8pts) lost to Puddletown by 23 runs

Compton put the unbeaten league leaders into bat and possibly regretted the decision when the score hit 97-0. Seven bowlers were used to stem the flow but opener Rob Snow (94) led the way as Puddletown posted a decent target. In response, Compton slipped to 75-6 but Joe Watts (45) and Alfie Reynolds (42) put on an 81run stand to boost interest. A ninth wicket stand of 39 took Compton past the 200 mark but a first defeat for the visitors was never really threatened.

Marnhull 156-5 Hamworthy 155 all out Marnhull (20pts) beat Hamworthy (6) by five wickets

After last week’s thrilling tie with high-flying Weymouth, Marnhull put another top half team to the sword with Ed Clements (4-25), Will Primrose (3-17) and Cameron Cudlipp (2-19) running through the visitors. Marnhull opening bat Arthur Dimmack went for a golden but then Ashley Young (34) and Clements (42) put on 56 for the second wicket and Danny Harkin (41no) saw Marnhull home for a comfortable win.

Swanage 171-7

Stalbridge 236-5

Swanage (6pts) lost to Stalbridge (18) by 65 runs

A thumping win saw Stalbridge cement second place in the division. Stuart Sweatman was again the batting hero, the opener hitting 132 to follow a century against Beaminster three weeks previously. Josh York scored 62 as Stalbridge set Swanage 237 to win. The visitors were at 41-0 but that turned to 95-5 as Simon Sweatman set to work, recording superb figures of 8-3-10-3 to leave Swanage dangling. A stand of 63 made the scoreline respectable.

June 26

Marnhull 223-7 Weymouth 223-5 Marnhull (12pts) tied with Weymouth (13)

Needing 14 off the last over to win, Marnhull hit a four and six but fell just one run short. Weymouth batted first and half centuries for John Wilson and Lloyds Beals saw a solid 223 posted off 40 overs. Ed Clements took 2-28 and went on to hit 47 as Marnhull took up the chase. They needed 95 off the last ten overs and were in with a chance thanks to a quickfire 28 off 13 balls from Angus Brown. Edwin Ralph hit the two boundaries but could only run two off the final ball.

Hamworthy 112 all out Stalbridge 113-5 Hamworthy (4pts) lost to Stalbridge (20) by five wickets

Compton House 217-6 Portland 216-5 Compton H (17pts) beat Portland (8) by four wickets

Division Two July 3

Shaftesbury 124 all out Blandford 125-6 Shaftesbury (5pts) lost to Blandford (20) by four wickets

League leaders Blandford recorded a routine win over rock bottom Shaftesbury with early 10 overs to spare. It was Blandford’s third win on the trot, putting Shaftesbury into bat first and seeing Thomas Waters take four wickets with three for Arron Day. Only three batsmen made double figures as the home side collapsed – scoring just 99 runs with 25 extras, including a generous 20 wides. Blandford lost six wickets in reply but the result was never in doubt.

Broadstone 2 189 all out Shillingstone 226-9 Broadstone (9ts) lost to Shillingstone (20) by 37 runs

June 26 Cerne Valley 194-5 Shillingstone 192 Cerne (20pts) bt Shillingstone (7) by five wickets

Captain George Chubb (54no) and Sam Downey (38no), both pictured above, saw Cerne home with 2.2 overs to spare having bowled Shillingstone out for 192. The game was in the balance with Cerne five down but Downey eased the pressure with five boundaries and a six.

Wimborne 2 220-5 Shaftesbury 165 all out Wimborne (20pts) beat Shaftesbury (6) by 55 runs

Broadstone 2 250-9 Blandford 252-5 Broadstone (7pts) lost to Blandford (19) by five wickets

LEARNING CURVE: Brad Jones in action at Oulton Park

Mixed fortunes for Brad in first round of Superbikes

Stalbridge racer Brad Jones began his second round in British Superbikes today having had a mixed start on his debut in the competition. Brad, 23, ended the first race weekend on a high but admits that stepping up from a 600cc machine to a 1000cc entails a lot of learning and adapting. The first of 11 rounds was at Oulton Park in Cheshire, one of his favourite circuits. But in the first of three races across the weekend, his BMW suffered an electrical failure forcing him to retire. In a warm-up session on Sunday morning, Brad matched his personal best lap time of the weekend and things were looking promising for his Liverpoolbased iForce BMW team. But after a great start in the second race, which saw him overtake five riders in the first corner, a collision sustained damage to his BMW which forced him out the race. In the final race, Brad made a storming start and moved through the field to 14th place. There was a battle for positions during the 18-lap race on a 2.7-mile circuit, with Brad finally crossing the line in 16th after losing grip with his rear tyre. “The opening weekend of the season has been challenging but ultimately, we’ve made good progress with myself and the bike despite the electrical issue,” said Brad. “It’s all part of the learning curve. After not being able to finish the first two races, the aim was to finish well in the third and gain a full 18 laps worth of race data, so in doing that we ended the weekend on a high. “Now we can go to Scotland for Round 2 with some confidence and aim to further improve and learn.’’ The second round started today at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife, Scotland's national Motorsport centre.

Barton seals senior title

The entire Old Course of Yeovil Golf Club is in Dorset – which is why the club is a member of the Dorset County Golf Union and qualified to host the Union’s Senior Championship. (Incidentally, Yeovil’s ninehole Newton Course also has a claim to fame as the first tee is in Dorset but the green is in Somerset). Over two days, 57 golfers competed in the Senior Championship and David Barton, pictured, of Moors Valley GC took the title with a gross score of 147. Christopher Holmes of Broadstone GC took the handicap championship with a nett total 131. Yeovil’s Colin Leach continued his good home form by winning the prize for the best gross score in the over 70’s category. Union Secretary Ian Hulse thanked Yeovil GC for making competitors so welcome and Ringwood Brewery for supplying the beer. n For more information about the Championship, contact Ian Hulse (01202 861185, email: iansecretary@dcgu.org.uk.

WINCANTON GOLF CLUB RESULTS Monthly medal June 20 1:Trevor Mills nett 69 2: Steve Owens 71 3: John Burns 71 Seniors’ Monthly Medal June 22 1: Brian White nett 70 2: Malcolm Faulkner 71 3: Harry Eden 71 Rider Cup June 26 OLDIES: Trevor Mills (Capt), Ray Hirst, Jim Stephen, Andrew Mainstone, David Cartwright, Brian White, Phil Francis, Steve Owens, Richard Czemerda, Jim Phillips, Nigel Orr. YOUNGSTERS: Rab Clyde (Capt), Ross Chandler, Ian Chandler, Peter Williams, Peter Anyan, Richard Ward, Kevin Francis, Rob Pearce, Maxine Portnell, Steven Ashfield, John Burns The Oldies won 13.5 to 8.5

More than 100 swimmers have set personal bests in two days of time trial swimming at RiversMeet centre in Gillingham. It was the first licenced swimming competition at the centre, staged by North Dorset Turbos Swimming Club. The meet was granted a Level 4 licence by Swim England, meaning any personal bests (or first times) achieved go into the British Rankings system and potentially enable them to qualify for county championships. More than 40 NDTSC youngsters, aged from nine to 16, competed in heats in all four 50-metre events: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle during Tuesday training. Then on Friday evening, they raced again in five 100-metre events. Club chair Alex Wynter told The New Blackmore Vale: “Of nearly 140 event personal-bests in the rankings system before our first session, no fewer than 107 were bettered over the two days. “Even allowing for about a year-and-a-half of physical growth, I believe this proves that neither our swimmers’ fitness nor their competitive spirit has been eroded by the disruption of the pandemic. “Aside from the blizzard of PBs, we were all so impressed in the 100-metre events by many of the younger swimmers who could only just complete the distance at pace, battling their way up to the finish at the deep end, and the way in which those who ‘lost’ their heats by the widest margin got the loudest cheers. “As a swimming club, we’re well aware that we face stiff competition from football, rugby, cricket. But I defy anyone to come to an event like our time trials and say that wasn’t fun. “We’re extremely grateful to RiversMeet and its staff, and to our own volunteer coaches, for helping us make this happen.” Competition hardware in the form of starting blocks at the deep end and anti-wave lane ropes was installed at RiversMeet in December by engineering firm, Brookforge. The equipment was purchased by the club itself, which says it’s the first in Dorset and one of the first in the South-West to hold fully licenced time-trials since last March. “We were all thrilled to see the Turbos racing off against each other,” said RiversMeet general manager Alan Waistell. “This is a small but important milestone in our commitment to the club and to aquatics in general. The next step is to fund-raise for touch pads and electronic timing. We’re always going to be somewhat limited in terms of the number of spectators we can accommodate for swimming events, but there’s no reason now why we can’t hold interclub ‘friendlies’, involving perhaps three or four local clubs, after covid-19 restrictions end.” Wynter said that NDTSC hopes to send some Performance Squad swimmers to the South-West Festival of Swimming at Millfield School’s 50-metre Olympic-size pool on July 24-25. And he added: “We lost about a third of our members during the pandemic, and although numbers are creeping back up again, we need the support of school PE departments to send any children interested in competitive swimming our way. Come along to RiversMeet any Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday evening to see what it’s all about.” See northdorsetturbos.co.uk or email: secretaryndt@ gmail.com.

DIVING IN: Action from the North Dorset Turbos meeting at RiversMeet Blizzard of PBs as Turbos take on time trial events

Skinner the winner as Wheelers host first race for two years

Gillingham and District Wheelers hosted its first road race for two years on June 27 and the event was fully booked. The 55 riders took a circular route which began at Shaftesbury Cricket Club in Cherry Orchard. It took the riders through Margaret Marsh to West Orchard before turning north to Todber and East Stour and back along Sherborne Causeway. The race was four laps of the 12.5-mile course, some 50 miles in total, and was the first of two road races being hosted by GDW. It was won by Simon Skinner of Paceline RT, a cycling team based in southwest London.