CERNE VALLEY 233-7 (20pts) beat WEYMOUTH 173 (6pts) by 60 runs

WEYMOUTH captain Simon Browne was left disappointed after his side were unable to put a solid performance together as they lost by 60 runs at Cerne Valley.

Bowling first, the seaside club dropped five catches allowing the hosts to score 233-7 from their 45 overs after they were 71-0 after 22 overs. Nick Wardon top scored for them with 52.

In reply, Weymouth started slowly as Tony Quayle and Kieron Womble found it tough going.

No-one was able to score big as wickets fell at regular intervals, leaving the visitors without a win in four games after being bowled out for 173.

After the game, Browne felt his side did not perform in key areas.

He told Echosport: “As we came off the pitch, the umpire said ‘catches win matches’ and we didn’t take our chances

“We dropped too many catches at crucial times, meaning they got more runs than they should have done.

“There was a point in our innings when we looked good but wickets fell and that was that.

“It was disappointing. We didn’t bowl well enough, we didn’t field well enough and we didn’t bat well enough.

“When you do that it’s going to come and bite you on the backside, unfortunately.”

Despite the poor performance, Weymouth did start brightly.

Opening bowlers Graham Puckett (0-55) and Joe James (1-34) restricted their opposition as they probed with a good line and length.

However, both the batsman were watchful and vigilant, as they were able to lay a foundation for the rest of their order who sat comfortably in the pavilion.

This allowed Cerne Valley to attack in the second half of the innings and they did, striking 162 runs at just shy of eight an over.

Browne was able to take some wickets (4-54) but like most of the bowlers he also felt the late order punishment dealt out by the likes of Simon Walsh (62) and Jamie Barrett (42).

In reply, only Browne (32) and Paul Webb (22) were able to get past 20 as Weymouth once again struggled with the bat.

Barrett tormented the visitors with both bat and ball as he took figures of 4-26 from just six overs to help his side to victory.

Losing captain Browne feels his side needs more firepower if they are to start winning games.

He added: “We needed someone to go in and make a big score and that didn’t happen.

“We need to be able to put it all together. We need to find the right balance.”