WEYMOUTH SECONDS 270-7 (20pts) beat CORFE MULLEN 125 (4pts) by three wickets

A STUNNING second-wicket stand of 113 between Sean Fitzgerald and Vijay Mote set up a comfortable victory for Weymouth Seconds over Corfe Mullen at Redlands.

The hosts took to the crease first in the Dorset League Division One encounter and immediately found their stride despite losing James Almond (20) to a superb delivery from P Triplow (2-53).

That early breakthrough failed to dent Weymouth’s confidence as Fitzgerald and Mote set to work, cracking boundaries to all parts of the ground.

Mote eventually departed for 76 off just 59 balls but the damage had already been done. Simon Mitchem, Dave Trotter and Craig Johnson all went cheaply but Fitzgerald continued to steady the ship alongside Cameron Armfield (32), who shared a stand of 88, before the experienced opener departed for 95 after N Stannard had forced him to find the hands of B Williams.

The Seasiders eventually closed their innings on 270-7 and the visitors had no answer after tea as Trotter (2-35) tore into their top order, knocking over Stannard (5) with a caught and bowled before trapping I Cresswell leg before for a duck.

Neil Walton (3-27) then got in on the act and when he captured the wicket of the free-hitting Williams (31), who was stumped by the quick glove work of Fitzgerald, the result was never in doubt.

That left Corfe struggling on 63-6 and despite a late cameo by M Laishley (22 not out), the Seasiders strolled to victory and the full 20 points, eventually dismissing their opponents for just 125 all out.

Ecstatic captain John Ryan, whose side lost the previous week to high-flying Bourne-mouth, said: “This was a miraculous result. We had a lot of players pull out during the week and had to call upon a few who had not really played at this level before but everyone pulled together and in the end we hammered them.

“It certainly helped having the experienced heads of Sean and Vijay, who put on 113. Sean anchored the innings and just let all the other lads play their shots. He put away the bad deliveries and deserved a ton for his efforts but fell just short when he was caught going for runs with just four balls remaining.

“It was also great to see Cameron and Neil both make big contributions. Our opening bowlers have not really ripped into any opening partnerships this season but that is exactly what they did this week with Dave Trotter grabbing a couple of wickets and Neil claiming three. Neil has really begun to establish himself this season and it is great to see.”

The result has catapulted the Seasiders up to fourth in the table. Ryan added: “We have now lost five and won five, and we have a tough run-in with four of our last six games being away from home.

“However, with a couple more good performances hopefully we can now establish ourselves at this level after a few years of bouncing between this league and Division Two.”