POOLE 216-7 (19pts) beat WEYMOUTH 109 (4pts) by 107 runs

WEYMOUTH succumbed to their third loss on the spin as they were dismantled by runaway league leaders Poole at Redlands.

Struggling with a whole host of team changes once again, the Seasiders bowled first and missed the opportunity to take the initiative by putting down a number of catches in the field.

Had those chances gone to hand, Kieron Womble’s side could have been facing a much lower target to chase than the 217 Poole set them for victory.

With batting light in the Seasiders’ ranks due to the loss of Jim Ryall and Dean Janaway, Weymouth struggled in the chase and were eventually rolled over for just 109.

Poole’s Dameth Gunawardena was the pick of the away side’s bowlers, grabbing match figures of 4-39 from his 10 overs.

On the defeat, home skipper Womble told Echosport: “We knew it was going to be tough but we still did very badly, to be honest.

“We dropped about six or seven catches in the field, but if you drop them you drop them, nobody does it on purpose.

“It was strange because we still restricted them to a reasonable total. It could have easily been 180 or 190 at one point which would have been nice.

“We had a lot of guys that haven’t played regularly at this level in the side this week.

“We all gave it a good go and in the end all the players gave it their best shot.”

The result ends any faint hopes Weymouth had of challenging for the league title, and Womble insists that with three games left now could be the time to start trying different options for next season.

He added: “We will have a look at it and maybe tinker with the batting order and give a few other guys a bowl.

“We have had a good year but it means nothing at the moment.

“We still want to keep going and if we can finish third that would be a good achievement.

“Not having a consistent team every week makes a difference but we will still enjoy it.

“We had a good laugh out there and will give it our best towards the end of the season.”