WEYMOUTH SECONDS 270-8 (9) lost to SHERBORNE 271-8 (19) by 2wkts

JONNIE Armfield struck his maiden century for Weymouth Seconds but it was still not enough to see off Sherborne, who put on an amazing ninth-wicket stand of 117 to snatch the points at Redlands.

There looked no way back for the visitors when they found themselves stranded on 154-8 but Tom Waite smashed 13 boundaries on his way to 100 not out to pull off an astonishing comeback.

Weymouth skipper Steve Budd, who saw his side's total bettered with just three balls of the match to spare, said: "We had a good pre-game team talk and everybody was well up for it.

"Jonnie and Andy Fulton got us off to a cracking start and we really thought 270 would be too much for Sherborne, especially when they were 154-8.

"But full credit to them and particu-larly Tom Waite. He batted superbly and by the end we were absolutely gutted.

"However, there were a lot of positives we could take from it. Armfield came of age with a superb 104, Kieron Womble kept well and produced a brilliant leg side stumping as well as spending time at the crease and scoring 26, and Jack Croker's leg spin was almost unplayable. I also thought Fulton was superb, using all his experience to fulfil his potential."

Sherborne won the toss and inserted the Seasiders on a hard and dry wicket, a decision they instantly regretted as Armfield and Fulton (39) set off at a blistering pace by using the 15-over fielding restrictions to build a fine opening partnership of 60.

There was certainly no messing around from Fulton who cracked eight fours before padding up to a straight one and falling leg before to Coote (2-42).

After a direct run out on Will McKay (8), a quick cameo of 22 by Ed Wilsdon and a duck for Joe Trevett, 15-year-old Womble (26) then entered the fray and provided a superb supporting role for Armfield who brought up his ton for the Seasiders in 161 minutes.

The young opener displayed incredible maturity throughout his innings, which included another landmark moment in the form of a superb sweep shot off a leg side ball that carried over the boundary for his first-ever six in senior cricket.

Womble and Armfield ended up putting on 73 for the fifth-wicket before the latter finally holed out to Hancock off the bowling of Coote.

Tom Newton (12) and Neil Walton (13) then produced solid scores towards the end of the innings and with 42 extras also being added to their tally, the Seasiders ended their spell at the crease in fantastic shape.

It was clear the visitors needed something special in reply and it took a long time in coming with Baker (0) falling to Dan Hutchens (1-42) who pulled off a superb caught and bowled with only the second ball of the innings.

Nurton (32) and Tanswell (31) then built a stand of 64 but when the former was clean bowled by Newton (1-51), the visitors went on to lose wickets at regular intervals which saw them reduced to 131-8.

Budd (2-17) and Fulton (4-56) did the majority of the damage for the Seasiders who looked in complete command as number seven Waite began to run out of partners.

Coote (11) managed to stay at the crease for a short while but he then found the hands of Newton, leaving Sherborne needing 117 runs off 14.1 overs with just two wickets left.

It looked like an impossible task but Barnstaple (22 not out) joined Waite and they put together an incredible stand with the latter smashing an 87-ball century.

That left them requiring two runs off the last over for victory which they secured despite Newton's best efforts.

REDLANDS SCOREBOARD

WEYMOUTH SECONDS

Armfield c Hancock b Coote 104

Fulton lbw Coote 39

McKay run out 8

Wilsdon c Van Dermerwe b Hancock 22

Trevett c Coote b Hancock 0

Womble b Durston 26

Newton c Hancock b Durston 12

Budd not out 0

Walton c Baker b Durston 13

Croker not out 4

Extras (30w, 1nb, 6b, 5lb) 42

Total (8 wkts, 50 overs) 270

FoW: 1-60, 2-78, 3-134, 4-141, 5-214, 6-245, 7-247, 8-266

Bowling: Waite 9-1-47-0, Barnstable 6-0-57-0, Nurton 10-2-28-0, Coote 10-1-42-2, Durston 8-1-46-3, Hancock 7-0-39-2.

SHERBORNE

Baker c&b Hutchens 0

Nurton b Newton 32

Tanswell b Budd 31

Van Dermerwe st Womble b Budd 3

Guppy b Fulton 24

Carter c&b Fulton 13

Waite not out 100

Durston c Newton b Fulton 5

Coote c Newton b Fulton 11

Barnstaple not out 22

Extras (19w, 2b, 9lb) 30

Total (8 wkts, 49.3 overs) 271

FoW: 1-0, 2-64, 3-77, 4-96, 5-112, 6-121, 7-131, 8-154

Bowling: Hutchens 9-2-42-1, Walton 10-2-56-0, Newton 8.3-0-51-1, Budd 5-0-17-2, Fulton 10-0-56-4, Croker 7-1-38-0.