WEYMOUTH captain Harry Mitchell was left delighted by the Seasiders’ middle order after a three-wicket win over Kingston Lacy at Redlands in County Division Two.

Prior to the game, Mitchell had called on Weymouth’s all-rounders to produce runs with the bat and, after the hosts' top order was removed leaving them 34-4, they delivered to chase down a target of 178.

The result moves Weymouth closer to rivals Marnhull in third after their loss to Charlton Down, with Mitchell’s men remaining just 12 points adrift of leaders Witchampton in fourth.

Speaking to Echosport, the Seasiders’ skipper admitted it had been a “confidence boost” for his team to avoid an over-reliance on the top order.

He said: “We were light on our batting this week with John (Wilson) and Neil (Walton) going, two of our star batters in our team.

“For others to step up was such a big confidence boost for the team, knowing that people at five, six, seven, eight and nine can come in and do the job, still chase any total and not be flustered by it.

“I thought it was superb by the boys, how they kept composure, realising they needed one a ball. Lloyd (Beals) had a great start to his innings and got us really on track.”

And Mitchell, who scored an unbeaten 56 to help guide his team to victory, also praised his bowlers for limiting Lacy on a batting-friendly pitch, despite conceding 51 extras.

He said: “Overall we’ve got to give our bowlers credit. It’s a shame about the wides but I thought it was a 220, 240 track. So to get them to 170 was a really good effort from the boys.

“It’s a shame we didn’t take all the wickets but we did really well on a hot day."