PARLEY 252-6 (20pts) beat WEYMOUTH 202 (7pts) by 50 runs

WEYMOUTH put up a brave fight against the young guns of Parley but again had to settle for second place.

The Seasiders were well placed on 171-5 chasing 253 to win at Redlands when Simon Browne fell to a stunning catch and his side’s chances went with it.

Earlier in the day, Parley’s top order piled on the runs with a succession of big individual scores, however, the hosts kept their opponents to 252-6 from 50 overs.

“We are getting to the stage where we are reasonably competitive but can’t get over the line in games at the moment,” said Weymouth all-rounder Browne.

“There have been times this season when we’ve been pretty awful and deserved to get a hiding, but Saturday wasn’t one of them.

“We scored over 200 and didn’t let ourselves down in the bowling department, and if we take that into the next game against Martinstown maybe we can break our duck.

“We can’t go the whole season without winning a game.”

Going into more detail about the Seasiders’ 14th reverse in 14 Dorset Premier League games this summer, Browne added: “They batted first and got off to a flyer with 30-odd in the first three or four overs.

“I thought it was going to be a longer afternoon than it was in the field, but we pegged them back a bit.

“They are a talented bunch of youngsters and Parley have got a great set up with probably the best young players in Dorset.

“In a way, it’s nice to see these young cricketers develop, but when you are on the end of it and chasing the ball around the field it can be frustrating.

“We also dropped a couple of tough chances and if we had kept them to 220 it could have made a difference.

“I felt we still had a chance but we needed our top five or six to get runs and they got out at bad times.

“We were 170-3 with about 17 overs left and one of their guys took a blinding catch to get me out.

“They are all 16 to 18 in their team and really athletic in the field – no-one in our side would have got close to taking that catch.

“And after I was out we lost our last few wickets for next to nothing.”

Mathematically, Weymouth could yet avoid finishing bottom of the table but they still look set for relegation.