BLANDFORD 186-8(19pts) beat WEYMOUTH 184-9 (8pts) by 2 wickets
WEYMOUTH skipper Dean Janaway felt his side threw away the chance of glory at Blandford on Saturday as wayward bowling caused his men to slump to their first Dorset Funeral Plan Premier League defeat of the season.
The visitors bowled an astonishing total of 31 wides and in what turned out to be a relatively low-scoring game, it proved costly.
Janaway said: "It was a really disappointing performance because that was a game we were looking to win.
"We lost the toss again and the outfield was a little wet to begin with but there are no real excuses.
"We got 184 in the end with Paul Payne, Andy Bray and Simon Browne all batting really well but 200 would have been a par score, which meant it was important we kept things tight with the ball.
"We started really well and at one stage had them on 11-3 but then they put on a middle order partnership of 70 and that got them back into the game.
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"But in the end we could only have ourselves to blame because we ended up bowling 31 wides, which is another five overs, and that is where we lost it. You just cannot afford to give teams easy runs at this level and we paid the price.
"Credit must also go to Blandford though. One of their guys came in towards the end and hit 39 off 23 balls, which included some massive sixes, and they also bowled and fielded superbly, taking some cracking catches.
"We now must regroup and ensure we train hard over the next few days in preparation for next Saturday's home game against Dorchester."
Weymouth lost openers Jim Ryall (6) and Janaway (9) early on to catches off the impressive bowling of Thomas (4-30) but that brought Payne (51) and Bray (61) to the crease and they built a third-
wicket stand of 75 to put the Seasiders on the right track.
Payne was then clean bowled by Thomas and that signalled an alarming collapse with three wickets falling for just three runs with Tom England (1) being run out and the returning Dave Pearce being trapped leg before for a duck.
Suddenly Weymouth were again under pressure but thanks to debutant Browne's 38 not out they did at least gain a defendable total.
And that tally looked like it might be enough when Blandford were struggling on 11-3.
Opening pair N Baker (3) and Woodruff (1) both failed to last long and when Trotter (3-34) clean bowled White the visitors seemed to be in control.
However, a solid 16 from Brockway and a 70-partnership from Hanham (44) and Kendrick (39) soon turned the tables and when Chris Baker came in and bludgeoned 39 not out off 23 balls, scoring three sixes and four fours, the writing was on the wall.
Rob Nobbs, like Browne (2-34) before him, took a couple of wickets in the latter stages of the innings as Blandford fell from 158-6 to 161-8 but in the end the home side's nerves held out with Day (4 not out) steadying the ship alongside Chris Baker to take the win.
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