MARTIN Miller lauded the fighting spirit shown by his Bournemouth troops but admitted the defeat to pacesetters Portsmouth had been partially self-inflicted.

Having won the toss, Lions set a disappointing target of 73 in the Southern Premier League Division One clash at Chapel Gate, with only Jake Hurley making it into double figures with 27.

Bournemouth then battled admirably in the field and Dorset spinner Jem Warner took three for 20, while Dom Clutterbuck took two for eight in 10 overs, which included five maidens.

However, the home side’s efforts were not enough to prevent the table-toppers reaching the target in the 42nd over.

Reflecting on the loss, Bournemouth skipper Miller told the Daily Echo: “We didn’t bat very well at all. When you look at the scores, you’d think the pitch wasn’t good but it was great.

“I think there was poor application in the batting of both sides. We are not going to win many games, if any, scoring 73.

“With the exception of Jake Hurley, who counter-attacked quite well, our shot selection was poor.

“Anything that could have gone, did go wrong. Luke Matthews got stumped off the wicketkeeper’s pad, I had a leading edge, we had a silly run-out and a series of silly shots.

“We didn’t bat 50 overs and that is my mantra at the moment. If we do that then the bowlers will take care of the rest.

“On the positive side, we made them fight for their win. I thought our bowlers were fantastic and our energy and commitment to making it very difficult for them was fantastic.

“To take them to 40 overs was a great effort. I take my hat off to our boys because they never gave up.

“Clearly, the damage was already done. Another 50 runs and I imagine we would have won the game.”

Lymington skipper Simon Beetham hailed the impact of Matt Metcalfe after the medium-pacer tore into St Cross in the Premier Division.

The visitors banked victory in their first time game of the season thanks in no small part to Metcalfe, who racked up figures of five for 46.

The right-armer bowled nine maidens in 21 overs as St Cross vainly tried to chase down 161, the home side only making it to 120 all out.

And Beetham admitted the 30-year-old Metcalfe had been the key man for his team.

Beetham said: “We batted first and didn’t quite post what we should have done. Richie Lock and Dom Hand batted well but, unfortunately, we gave our wickets away in the middle and towards the latter end of the innings.

“A total of 161 was something to bowl at but we weren’t 100 per cent confident in it.

“Fortunately, we managed to get an early wicket and then gave Matt Metcalfe the ball at one end and let him get on with it.

“He found a bit of form which was very nice to see and he won us the game on his own. There were times the batsmen couldn’t get near him and that was a credit to the way he bowled.

“He got the crucial wickets at the crucial times and we managed to hold our catches and come out on top.”

Bashley comfortably sealed a six-wicket win at Hampshire Academy despite an heroic effort by Felix Organ.

The Canford teenager hit 72 of the hosts’ 104 runs – including 10 fours – as he tried his utmost to glue the innings together.

His team-mates mustered a paltry 26 runs with the initial four wickets falling to the evergreen Kevin Nash, who marked his return from a calf injury with a four for 34 return.

Organ was a helpless spectator at the non-striker’s end as the Academy’s middle order perished – three wickets falling for one run at one stage – before Andy Neal, Jake Lilley and Sam Thomson shared two each to end the innings.

Bashley progressed to 37 thanks partly to Neil Thurgood’s knock of 21 before losing the first of four wickets to Chris Searle, who took two for 19.

An unbeaten 36 from Bashley skipper Mike Porter eased the visitors across the line.

New Milton remain winless in the league after an agonising two-run defeat against Alton at Fernhill.

The Green and Golds won the toss and elected to field, swiftly putting the visitors in trouble as Scott Myers and Daniel Hutton were dismissed by Dan Loader and George Watts, respectively, with just two runs on the board.

However, Alton rallied and the stubborn Abeed Janmohamed (41) and Mark Heffernan (36) helped boost to 162 the target.

For New Milton, Watts took three for 31 and Nick Gargaro two for 31, the latter bowling six maidens.

Dan Loader took one for 12 and Nick Elliott one for 47.

In reply, New Milton were three wickets down with just 24 runs on the board with Nick Park, Tom Arnold and David Wakefield removed early on.

James Haggaty (53) and skipper James Park (41) helped revive the hosts and finished as top-scorers.

However, the home side fell just shy of the total required.

For Alton, Ben Mortimer took four for 38, Daniel Scott two for 26 and Jack Myers two for nine.