CHRISTCHURCH 152-9 (19pts) beat WEYMOUTH 150 (7pts) by one wicket

WEYMOUTH captain Simon Browne was left with a sour taste in his mouth after his side lost by just one wicket in a hostile environment at Christchurch.

Weymouth scored 150 on a pitch that had been affected by the weather. The opening pair of Kieron Womble and Dean Janaway both batted well.

In reply, Christchurch seemed to be cruising as they reached 102-3 but Weymouth fought back and nearly pulled off a shock victory, but they couldn’t take the last wicket before the home side’s tail-enders scored the final runs.

As if the games wasn’t tense enough, Browne claimed that the Christchurch players “intimidated” the umpires and continually sledged the Weymouth batsmen throughout the first innings.

Speaking about this Browne said: “It was disappointing to lose but it should have been an enjoyable game because it was so tight.

“It wasn’t because the Christchurch players were intimidating the umpire, they were chirpy to the point of obnoxious throughout the game and it left a bitter taste.

“I spoke to the umpires after the game because I felt they had stepped over the line.

“I’m not looking forward to playing them later in the season.”

Batting first, Weymouth started well as both openers, Janaway (15) and Womble (21), played fluently before they were removed by James Bingham.

They were swiftly followed back to the pavilion by Paul Payne (1) and Browne (1) as they fell to 63-4.

But some contributions from the tail-end and Dave Pearce (14) helped the visitors to 150 from 43.5 overs.

Christchurch seemed to be on there way to a comfortable victory as they cruised to 102-3 in reply, but Pearce, having contributed with the bat, took four wickets as the away side clawed their way back into contention.

And when Weymouth took the ninth wicket, Christchurch were still stuck needing two runs to seal the game.

With the number 10 and 11 batsmen at the crease, the visitors kept up the pressure. But, the hosts squirmed two runs through point to snatch the victory.

Despite the loss, Browne feels his side are very close to picking up that elusive win.

“It was disappointing to lose but once again we showed that we are improving.

“We bowled well and fielded well too.

“Dan Hutchens added some much-needed athleticism to our side and he took a couple of wickets.

“I feel the win is right around the corner now, we just need to bat, bowl and field well.”