TEENAGE sensation Will Maltby smacked an unbelievable 178 not out from 75 balls as Martinstown thrashed St George’s by 97 runs in the Doug Read Knockout Cup second round.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Martinstown were quickly propelled along by Maltby – who last year played for Dorset in a triangular T10 event.

Ed Nichols posted 32 from 22 balls, including four boundaries and a six, for what would normally be labelled a brisk innings at a strike rate of 145.

However, by the time Nichols lofted a catch off Garry King (1-53), 18-year-old Maltby had already reached a blistering century.

READ MORE: Will Maltby and Charlie Durant take Martinstown captaincy as Sam Kershaw steps down

Martinstown were 141-1 at that stage, with Maltby crashing 102 of them – but he was not finished there.

He proceeded to tear apart the St George’s attack – compiled of some of Dorset’s most respected bowlers including former county spinner Sean Walbridge and ex-Dorset Leopards all-rounder Matt Randell (both 0-35).

Maltby showed no mercy, blasting an incredible 13 sixes and 17 fours on his way to achieving a strike rate of 237.33 – equivalent to 14 runs per over.

Maltby’s brutal scoring contributed to some nightmare figures for St George’s attack, with wicketless seamer Joe Adkins conceding 48 from 12 balls.

St George’s lashed out in pursuit of their 236 target from just 18 overs, needing to score at more than 13 runs per over.

Unsurprisingly, they lost wickets at regular intervals although Tim Goodhew launched four maximums in his 17-ball 38 and Callan Laws struck 23 from 11.

However, the hosts finished on 138-6, some 97 runs adrift of Martinstown and 40 runs fewer than Maltby’s superlative individual score.

Martinstown advance to face Cerne Valley in the quarter-finals.

“Honestly, I was seeing the ball like a beach ball,” Maltby told Echosport.

“It was nice to get a few runs, especially after a tough start to the season. It was just getting myself in and then looking to go big.

“Once I got past 50 I was like: ‘I’ve got to go big here’. My teammates said they’ve never seen anything like it, especially at the Rec which is not the smallest place to play.”

Maltby revealed his astonishing innings is the highest score of his career.

“My highest score was 103 before,” he said. “It was nice to beat that.”

There was a further prize for Maltby, who now holds Martinstown’s club record highest score, eclipsing the 174 made by Tom Adams 13 years ago in a 175-run win over Hamworthy Rec Seconds.

“That’s obviously a nice thing to have,” he said.

“It’s a great feeling and I just want to do more and hopefully replicate that on Saturday (against Sherborne).”

Maltby had up until facing St George’s experienced a relative drought of runs, amassing only 78 in four innings for Martinstown in the Dorset Premier League.

That compared with a breakthrough 2021 season in which he scored 557 runs to become the second-highest run scorer in the Dorset League.

And he was pleased to bank a huge score in the same week he was announced as joint-captain with Charlie Durant following Sam Kershaw’s decision to step down.

He added: “I’ve been putting too much pressure on myself to go out there and get runs quickly.

“Last night was a confidence boost and hopefully it will help me for the rest of the season.”