BOURNEMOUTH skipper Craig de Weymarn handed out bouquets to his in-form bowlers – and also administered a flea in the ear to his underachieving batsmen – following their bitter-sweet victory at Andover.

The Bournemouth seam attack, spearheaded by man of the moment Matt Metcalfe, saved the day for the Chapel Gate outfit after struggling Andover had threatened to condemn them to an ignominious defeat.

Metcalfe followed up his six-wicket haul against Bashley the previous week by going one better to claim seven for 25 as Bournemouth recorded what appeared to be a convincing 60-run triumph.

However, the visitors were made to sweat after their batting frailties had again returned to haunt them, with Bournemouth rolled over for 128 before they skittled Andover for just 68.

De Weymarn told the Daily Echo: “At the turnaround, we knew we hadn’t batted well enough but it was a fairly green wicket so we knew we would still be in the game.

“We are always confident that whatever total we get, we will defend it and we proved that against Andover. But we’ve got to take a look at ourselves, particularly our middle order, and make sure we give the bowlers something to defend.

“In the context of this game, 15s and 20s were reasonably good scores. But we need to turn those into 30s and 40s because they can be telling contributions. It was enough against Andover but, on another day, it might not be.”

Although no fewer than six batsmen made starts, Bournemouth lost wickets at regular intervals with Simon Watkins top scoring with 24 (Scott Mills 18, de Weymarn 16, Dave Kidner 16*, Nick Park 12, James Park 11).

And while their total may have appeared somewhat modest, Metcalfe ensured Andover were never in the hunt as Bourne-mouth raced to victory before tea, with wicketkeeper Chris Ridley claiming five catches (David Payne 2-19, Ed Denham 1-16).

De Weymarn added: “Although Matt got the wickets, we bowled as a unit and Ed and David kept the pressure on at the other end. We’ve got a great seam attack and they create pressure as a unit. Matt will get the headlines and will deserve them, but we’ve got a great set of boys to call upon when we need to stand up and be counted.”

  • Andy Sexton hit a century as Bashley did their best to chase down Havant’s whopping 304 for four – the New Forest outfit drawing for the third week in succession.

Sexton (109) underpinned Bashley’s 264 for five with Gavin Bailiff (72) undefeated at the close.

  • Morgan Rushbrook’s exploits with both bat and ball counted for nothing as Lymington slipped to a narrow two-wicket defeat against Totton & Eling.

Rushbrook (58), Christian Pain (44) and Jamie Harvey (30) helped Lymington reach 189. Rushbrook (3-41) and Simon Cook (4-61) then shared the majority of the bowling but were powerless to stop Totton & Eling edging home.

  • Southern Electric Twenty20 Cup holders Bournemouth will begin their trophy defence with a home tie against unbeaten Division Two leaders Burridge at Chapel Gate on Sunday. Local rivals New Milton and Bashley will square up at Fernhill, while Lymington face a tricky test at Hursley Park.

Second round draw: Alton v South Wilts, Bournemouth v Burridge, Hook & Newnham Basics v Andover or Rowledge, Hursley Park v Lymington, New Milton v Bashley, Portsmouth v Fair Oak or Hambledon, Totton & Eling v Portsmouth & Southsea, Ventnor v Fareham & Crofton.