Kennedy targets a third crown (From Bournemouth Echo)

Kennedy targets a third crown

9:02pm Tuesday 1st September 2009 in

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BOURNEMOUTH skipper Alex Kennedy is eyeing up a hat-trick of titles next year after clinching top spot in Dorset Sunday Division One.

The battle for honours ended on a damp squib with four of five scheduled games on the last day of the season called off because of rain.

Only the mid-table clash between Cranborne (128 for three) and Henstridge (229 for seven) beat the wet weather with the Somerset-based side grabbing a 66-run victory on a reduced target.

Bournemouth, who went into their match needing to defeat Kingston Lacy to spoil Parley’s hopes of stealing the title, had seen the visitors score 70 for one in 18 overs when rain fell and forced a Chapel Gate abandonment.

Kennedy said: “We wanted to play the game and win but when Kingston Lacy were 70 for one we thought it would be a big run-scoring chase.

“But the rain started coming down and put a stop to it.”

Kennedy, whose side only lost once in 18 matches to runners-up Parley, added: “It’s amazing we’ve won the league twice in a row, and we’ll try for a third next year.

“Simon Ridley was captain at 21 in 2008 and I was skipper this time at 19, so I may pass it on to someone younger!

“I’ve had a lot of help from Simon, Tom Wilkinson and Rob Coombs with running the side and I’m grateful to them.

“I think we have a great chance of winning it again if we have a similar team in 2010.

“The key to our success was that in every game we had 10 batsmen, and five bowlers who could all bowl well, especially Brett Spicer, our 17-year-old opener, Rob and Simon.

“We tried to get a lot of youngsters in the team. Everyone apart from Rob, who is 50, was under 23 this year. That augers well for the future.

“On the batting side, Ian Pearce, who scored three centuries, and Tom Wilkinson led the way.”

Parley’s hopes vanished with the rain after they’d cracked 90 for two in only 15 overs at home to Studland, with Sam Collins (45) and Ollie Green (30 not out) leading the charge as Steve Trebath and Cody Hayman grabbed wickets.

Darren Sargent, Parley’s skipper, whose side only lost twice, said: “We threw the title away against Poole Town.

“Poole had a strong side out and bowled particularly well that day to dismiss us for 93 after we’d bowled them out |for 114. We should have got|that total.

“We’re disappointed to miss out but Sunday is a time to invest in our youngsters and give them a competitive game.

“It’s always nice to compete at the top, but we really needed Bournemouth to slip up in their last couple of games, which didn’t happen.

“It has been good to be rivals with Bournemouth. We’ve played well in a lot of matches and a lot of under-15s have come through, players like Jack Rowett and Ollie Green.

“Both have played in the first team on Saturday, so that conveyor belt of young Parley players continues.”

Christchurch vice-captain Tony Robinson bagged three wickets for 35 as Poole Town rattled up 136 for six before rain came down to force an abandonment.

It means Priory will go down after finishing bottom, with Poole Town, who ended up second bottom, waiting to see if they get an 11th-hour reprieve at the league’s annual meeting.

That follows Sturminster and Hinton’s late expulsion from Division Two after scratching from three matches.

Ian Musselwhite cracked an unbeaten 61 for Poole, with Sanjay Lankage claiming two for 45.

Robinson said: “At the start of the year we lost so many players through playing Saturdays and not Sundays and we barely fielded 11 players each week.

“With our strongest side out, we can compete at this level, but we don’t mind going down.

“It means we can rebuild in Division Two.”

There was no play between Blandford and St Georges which means both promoted sides definitely stay up after they’d finished first and second in Division Two last season, respectively.

Blandford captain Alex White said: “We’re absolutely delighted because we have used a lot of young players.

“In fact, we have used more than 25, which shows how many youth players we have playing for us.

“The oldest player is 28. I’m 25. The rest are under 18, so it’s been a great season.

“We were comfortable with five wins because we badly wanted to stay up.”

Studland vice-captain Cooper Payne, whose side conceded 90 for two in 15 overs against title-contenders Parley before abandonment, said: “We were chasing leather.

“Parley were going for it. They batted very well, but then the rain came down and knocked it on the head.

“If it had been at the start of the season, the game wouldn’t even have got under way.

“But because Bournemouth were playing five minutes away we thought we’d try as there was a lot relying on the outcome.”