WEYMOUTH 243-8 (18pts) beat FERNDOWN WAYFARERS 130-7 (6pts) by 113 runs

WEYMOUTH made it two victories in two games after a crushing 113-run win against an unambitious Ferndown Wayfarers at Dolman’s Farm.

Paul Payne struck a well-rounded 70 as others chipped in to post a competitive 243-7 from their 45 overs. An innings that included 51 extras.

Ferndown, who are bottom of County Division One, struggled to make any inroads into their target as they stumbled to 130-7 from their 45 overs.

The visitors picked up 18 valuable points from the win and captain Simon Browne described it as “one of the best performances” of the season.

Speaking about the away success, Browne told Echosport: “To get two wins on the bounce and get 37 points on the board is very pleasing to say the least.

“They had an issue with selection and they weren’t the side that beat us earlier in the year.

“But, you have to beat what is put in front of you and as an all-round performance we batted well, bowled well, which was more than enough to win the game. It has given us real confidence.”

After last week’s win that included a strong batting performance, Browne had no hesitation in batting first but his side looked in trouble as they fell to 46-2 after Kieron Womble and Ben Doidge were sent back to the pavilion for eight and 13 respectively.

However, this brought Payne and Browne together to put on 72 for the third wicket.

Browne was patient in his innings, facing 55 balls in his innings of 22.

The captain was bowled by a decent delivery from Ben Fletcher but this didn’t stop Payne, who has been in good form in recent weeks.

But, after the wicket of his captain, Payne struggled to find a partner in Neil Walton (9) or Dave Pearce (19) before he fell to Rebecca Yeo with the score on 180-6.

In came Dan Hutchens to hit a quick-fire 37 to take his side to 243-8.

In reply, Ferndown started sluggishly as Michael Pearce’s opening spell went for just 14 in eight overs.

In his fifth over he got the breakthrough, bowling Peter Meech for just two.

At the other end, Sansom batted with defiance to top score with 44 before he was dismissed by Graham Puckett (2-27).

The hosts battened down the hatches and played out their overs without any haste to give the visitors a deserved win.

Up next for Weymouth is the visit of Wimborne & Colehill Seconds on Saturday.