ROWLEDGE beat Bournemouth by one run in a thrilling encounter at Chapel Gate.

Set 216 to win in this Souther Premier League Division One match, Bournemouth had Matt Jones superbly caught on the boundary by Joe Randall in the final over and last pair Dave Kinder and Dom Clutterbuck were unable to see them home against some canny bowling by Dave Lloyd.

Electing to bat, Rowledge had Nick Morant caught behind off the fourth ball of the match, but Sushant Balajee and Randall then set about building a total.

Balajee was in a positive mood, quick to pick up on anything short and looking to attack the spinners.

With the stand worth 64, Randall fell to an excellent catch by keeper Chris Park standing up to the stumps. Balajee, having sprinted to 55 off 46 balls, was caught on the drive when he looked set for a big score and then Sam Moseley was trapped in front by Clutterbuck’s quicker ball.

Jake Austin, back in the first team after his remarkable 194 for the second team the week before, joined Lloyd and the pair added 44 important runs. When Austin was caught for a restrained 27, Rowledge were 130-5 and well short of a competitive total on a flat track.

A stand of 45 followed between Chris Board and Lloyd, the latter milking the spinners with an array of sweep shots. Lloyd departed for a thoughtful 47, while Board, busy at the crease, made 44 at nearly a run a ball.

At 50 overs, Rowledge had 215-8 on the board. It looked slightly below par and, as it transpired, was only just enough.

Richard Forbes bowled a particularly tight spell when Bournemouth replied and openers Martin Miller and Tom West were content to quietly accumulate runs. It was not until after the first drinks break, with the score at 84, that Lloyd lured West out of his crease for a Ben Wish stumping.

The Rowledge skipper, rotating his bowlers to control the run-rate and take wickets, whipped off the bails again as Balajee teased out captain Miller for 43, and now the home side were 94-2.

Dorset captain Park joined Luke Matthews with the run-rate still rising, but Bournemouth had wickets in hand and some tough chances were not taken as the visitors dropped off slightly in the field.

At 139, George Keeley returned to have Matthews well taken in the deep by Board and Wish made his third stumping to remove dangerous left-hander Jake Hurley, Keeley again the bowler.

However, Park was still there and looking in fine form as he manoevred the ball into gaps.

With 77 required off the last 10 overs, Park (43) was caught by Austin trying to reverse-sweep Lloyd, and then a comical run-out saw the downfall of Ryan Wiltshire as he and Rob Pack found themselves chatting at the same end.

Jake Wish, bowling a good second spell, had Pack well caught by Lloyd and Forbes ran out Jeremy Warner, but runs were still coming and Bournemouth finally required eight off the final over.

Jones fell to Randall’s juggling boundary catch, but Kidner hit his first ball for four and needed to do the same off Lloyd’s last delivery. He could only manage one and Rowledge’s gritty effort had earned them a big victory ahead of the home match with fourth-placed Basingstoke this Saturday.