WEYMOUTH 215-8 (8pts) lost to FERNDOWN WAYFARERS 217-6 (19pts) by four wickets

AN INNINGS of 89 from Weymouth’s Simon Browne was not enough to get his side over the winning line, as they were eventually overcome by Ferndown Wayfarers at Redlands.

The Seasiders’ skipper, who had endured a turbulent week having been bizarrely sacked as the manager of Wimborne Town Football Club, responded positively on the cricket field with the bat, despite ending up on the losing side.

Batting at four, all-rounder Browne struck eight fours and two sixes in his knock before he was eventually caught off the bowling of Ferndown’s Daryl Baines in the latter stages.

The hosts made relatively good use of their 45 overs having won the toss, closing on 215-8.

There were also contributions from opener Tony Quayle (29) and Neil Walton (22). Baines was the pick of the bowlers for Ferndown with 3-48 off nine overs.

With more than 200 on the board the home side looked set to record their second triumph in County Division One this term, but some tame bowling, including a heap of 49 extras in total, allowed the visitors to reach their victory target with seven balls remaining.

Ferndown’s Alex Sansom was the star of the show with the bat for Wayfarers, finishing unbeaten on 90 to guide his side over the line.

While Browne was happy with his knock accumulated earlier in the day, he admitted it didn’t really matter, having fallen to a defeat overall.

He told Echosport: “I was scoring a fair few runs last year and we never won any games! It’s all about winning the game.

“It’s nice to hit runs, don’t get me wrong, but I’d rather win the game as well.”

Assessing his bowling options, the captain said: “I was protecting an injury, Joe James had an injury and it wasn’t coming out right for Michael Pearce. All of a sudden from having six bowlers I had four and a bit, with two hobbling around.

“We bowled far too many wides with 30 in the first half of the innings. That’s obviously 30 runs and 30 more opportunities for them to score.

“When it’s a close game like that you look at the little things that are the difference between winning and losing. Essentially, without being too harsh on individuals, that’s why we lost the game.”

He added: “It’s frustrating but there you go, it’s the end of a fantastic week!”