From Dorset Echo report by Lisa Youds, 24-6-2003

A scrambled single off the last ball of the game gave Beaminster victory over Dorset Division One leaders Portland Red Triangle at the Memorial Playing Fields.

Portland elected to bat first and set a target of 195, which the home side looked to be cruising towards until the loss of four wickets for just 10 runs late in the innings. It was left to young left hander Russ Harford, accompanied by Dan Hillier, to see Beaminster to a nervy and exciting final over.

"We nearly threw it away," said captain Ian Hutchings, "We always seem to be better when we're chasing the runs so after losing the toss I was quite pleased that Portland decided to bat. They batted quite well on a good wicket but 195 was probably about 20 or 30 fewer than they would have liked. It was a good performance in the field, we contained them well and everyone chipped in for us."

Wicketkeeper-batsman Richard Bugler posted an excellent 90 to continue his great form and looked as though he would stay the distance until he was bowled by Triangle skipper John Ryan. His innings included a fine 67 run fourth wicket stand with Hurford (39 not out) and Hutchings was particularly pleased with the contribution of the 20 year old. "Russ's knock was a big bonus for us and he saw us through in the end. The pressure was on and we lost two quick wickets through direct hits before scraping through."

After losing Jan Davey to a duck early on with just two runs on the board, Traingle recovered well with a half century from opener Dave Blackman. In the middle order, Gary Randell (36) and Jason Styles (47 not out) put on 54 for the fifth wicket, but progress was slow with the Beaminster bowlers giving nothing away cheaply. The wickets were spread evenly for Fred Etherington, Matt Hansford, Murray Legg and Stuart Lindsay who posted the best figures of 1-21 off his eight overs.

Beaminster started brightly with Bugler spraying the ball around the ground, supported well by skipper Hutchings (19) and Keith Berrington (29). Sharp fielding accounted for Ross Baker (0) and Etherington (1) in quick succession at numbers six and seven and when Hansford (1) was bowled by Ryan there was panic among the home players. Hurford and Hillier kept their heads however to see Beaminster through to their first victory in three matches.

"It was important that we got that winning run instead on ending up with a draw," said Hutchings. "Division One is still very open and I don't think there's any chance of us being relegated. We have to keep looking forward and this result should do our confidence the world of good."

Meanwhile, Triangle skipper Ryan added: "Beaminster were the better team on the day, albeit only just. Rich Bugler's innings was outstanding and he deserved to be on the winning side. The bottom line is that we were always 20 odd runs short of what would have been a decent total, but it's not the end of the world and we'll be looking to bounce back against Marnhull at the weekend."