DORCHESTER skipper Simon Mitchem has paid tribute to Sean Fitzgerald as the veteran prepares to play his last game for the club.

Fitzgerald is set to don his whites one final time at Dorchester Rec tomorrow when the county town side host Martinstown (1pm), in what is also now the Phil Mesney memorial match.

Injuries forced Fitzgerald to relinquish the wicketkeeping duties at Dorchester in June, however, with Nick Roe unavailable this weekend, the 53-year-old will pull on the gloves once more for old times’ sake.

“It’s quite hard to sum how much he has done for Dorset cricket in a few sentences,” said Mitchem.

“He has done an incredible amount of work and been a fantastic player for the clubs he has played for.

“He’ll be sorely missed on the pitch by us but we’re delighted he is going to stay on as coach.

“Sean has been such a great servant for a long time but obviously feels now is the right time to stop playing.

“He is great to have around the club and is such a good influence on the kids.”

Meanwhile, Mitchem also hailed the work of several key figures at the club during what has been a testing season at times for the first XI.

“I would like to thank the likes of Mark Derrien, Simon Joslin and Tony Foot for their help off the field,” he added.

“It has been a long season but everyone has enjoyed it.”

Tomorrow's match is both clubs' last in the Dorset Premier League this season.

Match ball sponsor: The Drawing Office.