BRILLIANT Berkshire have hit their Minor Counties rivals for six!

By beating Dorset by eight wickets at North Perrott this week, they completed their half-dozen Western Division fixtures with a 100 per cent record.

And it means they have gone four seasons without losing in the Unicorns Championship – another remarkable achievement.

Dorset did not roll over lightly, but it was a game Berkshire always looked capable of winning.

They dismissed their hosts for 188 in their first innings after they had elected to take first use of an excellent batting strip.

Dorset recovered from 13-3 to 131-5 with Ryan Scott making 62, but the Berkshire attack always had the upper hand, with Ollie Birts taking 3-25, Callum Gregory 2-34, Andy Rishton 2-36, Chris Peploe 2-47 and Euan Woods 1-36.

Berkshire began their reply with 17-year-old Archie Carter and 18-year-old Jack Davies, which surely must be the youngest opening pair in the club’s history.

Wokingham’s Carter made only two, but Davies was joined by 19-year-old Euan Woods (pictured) and they laid a solid foundation for the whole game, lifting the total from 16-1 to 152 before Davies fell for 67.

Woods went on to make a magnificent 159, which came from 219 balls and included 21 boundaries.

There were useful contributions from James Morris (20), Dan Lincoln (29) and Joe Thomas, with 30 not out, before Berkshire were eventually all out for 338, giving them a lead of 152.

In their second innings, Dorset did marginally better, reaching 245 thanks largely to Scott (66) and Jigar Naik (54), the pair improving their side’s position by taking them from 90-5 to 195-6.

Peploe finished with figures of 44-23-58-4, while Woods claimed 3-78, Rishton 2-38 and Gregory 1-44.

This left Berkshire requiring just 94 to win. Carter was caught at gully for 27 at 48-1, while Davies was bowled for 17 (81-2), but Woods, with 34 from 29 balls and skipper Morris (4) guided their side home by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, finishing on 94-2 in 24.1 overs..

Berkshire now turn their attention to the national play-off against the Eastern Division champions in a four-day encounter at Banbury CC on September 16-19.