REGRETFUL captain Chris Park admitted Dorset had received a batting lesson from Cornwall after seeing his side suffer defeat by an innings and 15 runs.

Dorset’s mixed start to the Unicorns Championship campaign continued as they collapsed from 164 for four to 198 all out on yesterday’s final day at Truro CC.

Cornwall had already done the hard work following a bumper haul of 388 for eight in their first innings, spearheaded by a magnificent 138 from Greg Smith.

Johannesburg-born Smith was well-supported by decent contributions from the hosts’ mid to lower order, which helped open up a 213-run lead.

And it proved too tough a chase for Dorset, who have now won two and lost two in Western Division this year.

Park told the Daily Echo: “They showed us how to bat. Greg Smith and a few of the other middle-order batsmen showed us how to play three-day cricket by batting patiently but also scoring by hitting the bad balls for four.

“First-innings runs are crucial and to only get 175 was not good enough – it was 100 below par. We analysed it and only three of us faced more than 50 balls.

“It was a fantastic first innings of 93 from Mike Porter and for only Max Trueman and myself to stay with him for any length of time was not good enough.

“Again, there were some soft dismissals, very much like the one-day game against Staffordshire on Sunday. The guys improved in the second innings but we lost wickets at the wrong times.

“Losing Mike Porter and Luke Webb before the close of play on Monday put us under extreme pressure and the game was only going one way on Tuesday morning.”

Reflecting on the campaign so far, Park added: “We’ve played four games so far and been thrashed by Shropshire and Cornwall and played some really good cricket in the other two games.

“It’s inconsistencies in the batting. We need to get solid starts and consistency from the top four or five who can eat some overs up.

“It’s a steep learning curve for the team but as long as we keep learning and moving forward, that’s all we can ask.”