SWANAGE 145 (4pts) lost to WEYMOUTH 148-4 (20pts) by 6 wickets

WEYMOUTH have reached the summit of the Premier One standings after their remarkable campaign continued to gather pace with a convincing six-wicket win over Swanage at Redlands.

Opening bowler Dan Hutchens once again set the tone from the off, removing four of the Swans’ top six batsmen to finish with stunning figures of 4-26 from his 10 overs.

And although usual opening seamer Matt Lawes was unable to bowl due to a hip problem, he constructed a solid 50 at the top of the order with the bat, as the Seasiders chased down a modest target of 146 to claim a maximum return and open up a seven-point gap at the top of the pile.

On the game, skipper Kieron Womble said: “It was another great win and another great team effort, we just have a great habit of winning games at the moment.

“It was comfortable in the end and we got off to a great start with the ball through Dan Hutchens.

“He bowled beautifully at the top of the order and Matt Lawes hitting 50 pretty much saw us home. We had them five or six down very early, they fought back well but around 140 at Redlands is never quite enough.”

With his side being the surprise package in the league this term, Womble remained calm over their title prospects.

“The more games we win the better but we haven’t really thought about winning it yet, I know it is very cliché but we take every game as it comes,” he added.

“We were very realistic coming into this year because the last couple of years we haven’t performed, so we concentrate on every game.

“We know we are up there, we have beaten some very good teams and we know we could be challenging but first and foremost we want to break into that top four. It then becomes six pressure games of playing the top teams for the title.

“I know everyone in that changing room believes we can win it, we have always had a very good squad and we just needed to put it together. People are now setting themselves different standards and realistically we could do it, I think people know that.

“Losing doesn’t come into the mindset anymore as it has in previous years, when you are on a winning roll you have that mentality and you expect to win.”