SKIPPER Martin Miller was again left to rue seeing Bournemouth finish on the wrong end of a dramatic conclusion – and believes they may have blown their promotion chances.
The Lions, beaten by Division One rivals Andover off the penultimate ball a fortnight earlier, agonisingly lost a thrilling last-ball decider by one run against Rowledge at Chapel Gate on Saturday.
Chasing Rowledge’s 215 for eight, Bournemouth had Matt Jones superbly caught on the boundary in the final over before last pair Dave Kinder and Dom Clutterbuck were unable to see them home.
Miller reflected: "It was another great game for the neutral but we were disappointed we finished on the wrong side of it.
“It was difficult to pinpoint the reason why we didn’t win but we had our chances in the field which we didn’t take and we probably didn’t bowl as well as we can. When we batted, four of us got in and then got out and didn’t see us across the line.
“At one stage, we needed just over a run a ball and would probably back ourselves to get it but we lost wickets.
“Matt Jones almost did it for us but was caught just inside the boundary. Dave Kidner hit his first ball for four and needed to do the same with the last ball. He almost got it to the boundary but it was stopped by a fielder and we couldn’t get back for a second run to get the tie.”
Bournemouth made an encouraging start when Rowledge opener Nick Morant was caught behind by Chris Park off the fourth ball of Jem Warner’s first over of the match.
But useful contributions from Sushant Balajee (55), David Lloyd (47) and Chris Board (44) took them to 215 for eight from their 50 overs with Jake Hurley (4-41) and Clutterbuck (2-33) also among the wickets.
Miller (43) and Tom West (37) put on 84 for the first wicket in reply before Luke Matthews (29) and Chris Park (43) guided Bournemouth to 172 for three.
Needing 78 from the final 10 overs, Bournemouth kept pace with the rate but also lost four wickets for the addition of 16 runs and wobbled to 188 for seven.
A single off the first ball of the last over was followed by Jones’s demise, leaving Lions requiring six from the last four balls – and they could only manage four.
Miller added: “It is still close but it is going to be difficult to get promoted from here. Had we beaten Rowledge and Andover, we would have been top. You really need to win games like those if you are to stand a chance of going up.” Neil Perrett, Bournemouth Echo.
The Lions, beaten by Division One rivals Andover off the penultimate ball a fortnight earlier, agonisingly lost a thrilling last-ball decider by one run against Rowledge at Chapel Gate on Saturday.
Chasing Rowledge’s 215 for eight, Bournemouth had Matt Jones superbly caught on the boundary in the final over before last pair Dave Kinder and Dom Clutterbuck were unable to see them home.
Miller reflected: "It was another great game for the neutral but we were disappointed we finished on the wrong side of it.
“It was difficult to pinpoint the reason why we didn’t win but we had our chances in the field which we didn’t take and we probably didn’t bowl as well as we can. When we batted, four of us got in and then got out and didn’t see us across the line.
“At one stage, we needed just over a run a ball and would probably back ourselves to get it but we lost wickets.
“Matt Jones almost did it for us but was caught just inside the boundary. Dave Kidner hit his first ball for four and needed to do the same with the last ball. He almost got it to the boundary but it was stopped by a fielder and we couldn’t get back for a second run to get the tie.”
Bournemouth made an encouraging start when Rowledge opener Nick Morant was caught behind by Chris Park off the fourth ball of Jem Warner’s first over of the match.
But useful contributions from Sushant Balajee (55), David Lloyd (47) and Chris Board (44) took them to 215 for eight from their 50 overs with Jake Hurley (4-41) and Clutterbuck (2-33) also among the wickets.
Miller (43) and Tom West (37) put on 84 for the first wicket in reply before Luke Matthews (29) and Chris Park (43) guided Bournemouth to 172 for three.
Needing 78 from the final 10 overs, Bournemouth kept pace with the rate but also lost four wickets for the addition of 16 runs and wobbled to 188 for seven.
A single off the first ball of the last over was followed by Jones’s demise, leaving Lions requiring six from the last four balls – and they could only manage four.
Miller added: “It is still close but it is going to be difficult to get promoted from here. Had we beaten Rowledge and Andover, we would have been top. You really need to win games like those if you are to stand a chance of going up.” Neil Perrett, Bournemouth Echo.