DORCHESTER captain James Dunham is relishing the prospect of facing a strengthened Bere Regis in their Dorset ‘Thank You NHS’ League Division One Group A derby tomorrow (1.30pm).

Both rivals meet at Dorchester Rec after bolstering their squads in the winter and winning their opening games, Dorchester humbling Sherborne and Bere thrashing Portland.

Reigning Premier League champions Dorchester have signed former Stalbridge batsman Seb Carty, ex-Bournemouth off-spinner Ben Thompson and Walsall batsman Scott Peach.

Bere, meanwhile, have added all-rounders Sam Goodhew and Simon Proffitt to their ranks, although the latter is set to miss the clash.

Speaking to Echosport, Dunham feels Bere are a more complete team with the duo in their squad and confirmed Dorchester will continue to adopt the same measured approach as last season.

He said: “Bere have made a couple of very good signings in Sam and Simon, they’re both very good players.

“They’re two players that can change the game and are what Bere needed for the last couple of years. We’re definitely looking forward to a competitive game of cricket.

“It’s taking each game as it comes and backing ourselves to do what we do. I don’t think we need to over-complicate things.

“The more simple we are, the better we are. We’ve got 11 players that can contribute in any part of the game, so it’s a nice place to be in.”

For Bere skipper Brian Keegan, the aim is to carry the fight to Dorchester.

Since winning promotion to the Dorset Premier League in 2017, Bere have been restricted to scores of 194, 113, 105 and 92 in their four matches against the county town outfit.

“They’re league champions and it’s an acid test for us,” Keegan stated.

“We’ve added a couple of players and Dorch set the benchmark last season and what they did to Sherborne last week it looks like they’re carrying on in the same vein.

“From our perspective in the last couple of years we haven’t really competed when we’ve played them. The first objective is to compete, then ultimately you’ve got a chance of winning.”

Shedding light on Bere’s troubles against Dorchester, Keegan added: “We’ve just been outclassed and haven’t put enough runs on the board.

“It’s a case of trying to change the mindset. I would like to hope we could bat better and build partnerships.”

There is just one change for each side, with Dorchester’s Peach coming in for Will Caldwell and Bere’s Sean Walbridge replacing Proffitt.

Dorchester: Peach, Ryall, Carty, Mitchem, J Caldwell, Anderson, Barrett, Richardson, Roe, Thompson, Dunham.

Bere Regis: M King, Payne, Murphy, Griffiths, T Goodhew, S Goodhew, Rich Cole, Rogerson, Brown, Keegan, Walbridge.

Meanwhile, Portland are looking to earn their first Division One Group A win against Martinstown at Reforne (1.30pm).

Captain Matt Randell believes his attack-minded team will be “happier” playing at home after being dismissed for 69 at Bere last time out.

He said: “We’re really looking forward to getting up at Reforne, we’ll be a little bit happier, more confident.

“I speak a lot about how the batsmen enjoy batting up there. The outfield will be quick and the pitch will be good. That should set the tone for us to come up against Martinstown.

“We play them every year (in the evening league) because they’re in the same division, so that will be quite nice to know a little bit about each of the players and work out strategies for how we can get certain people out.”

Martinstown captain Sam Kershaw is wary of a backlash from the islanders after their nightmare at Bere.

“I’d imagine they’d be pretty keen to bounce back from that and this is their first home game,” he said.

“It’s a place we haven’t been for a few years so it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

“We’ve got a batting line-up with the potential to score a lot of runs quickly, and so have they.

“I think the team who bowls the best will benefit up there, but with a short boundary and quick outfield it’s going to be similar to last week (at Cattistock).

“If we keep on top of the run rate and rely on the capability we have with the bat, we can hope something comes off.”

Portland are unchanged, while Martinstown bring in Fraser Hill for Liam Banfield.

Portland: Randell, Leake, Price, Laws, Theakstone, Midgley, Samuel, Mihell, Cameron, Marsh, Hinde.

Martinstown: Nichols, S Williams, White, Andrews, Maltby, Kershaw, Blair, Hill, Rimmer, Durant, McNab.

Elsewhere in Group A, Cattistock & Symene visit Sherborne with both sides searching for their first victory.

In Division Two Group B, Weymouth travel to Cerne Valley (1.30pm) looking to improve after a 61-run defeat to Marnhull on Saturday.

Cerne have won each of their last three home games against Weymouth but skipper Harry Mitchell believes the Seasiders were competitive in defeat.

“It has been a bogey ground in recent years but I think we’ve been competitive. They’ve had the better half of it with a few good knocks,” he said.

“We’ve got quite a strong side out and (last week) is a good test for this game. The dimensions of the ground are pretty much the same.

“If we take that performance from last week in the field and with the ball into this week, we should be very competitive.”

Weymouth make six changes with Joe James, Tim Guyett, Lloyd Beals, Neil Walton, Dave Blackman and Shafeek Urumancheri all returning.

Weymouth: James, Womble, Webb, Walton, Guyett, Mitchell, Blackman, Beals, Rathnayake, Urumancheri, Puckett.