Having lost two successive games to the rain the under 21 game with table leaders Cornwall was a must win one. Cornwall’s success in the Minor County Western Championship has been significantly helped by giving some of their very promising youngsters an opportunity in what may be a record breaking year for our neighbours. It was therefore most reassuring that the Devon side acquitted themselves exceptionally well to win with some comfort at the end. At the half way stage it looked as if Devon would be chasing a score in excess of 250 as Cornwall were 120 -3. With a batting line up that included recently capped Davis, the hugely impressive Rowe, Smeeth, Williams and Snell the floodgates looked as if they were about to open but spinners Gary Chappell and Dan Hardy, filling in for the injured Chris Metters, changed the whole complexion of the game. Some brilliant catching reduced Cornwall to 160-9 but an annoying tenth wicket partnership took the visitors one run past the two hundred. The Torquay club worked tirelessly to ensure a most satisfactory day in the sun. Scorecard

Devon under twenty-ones returned to Torquay for their vital Southern Counties game with table toppers Cornwall whose last game of the season this was. Last summer this corresponding match was Devon’s only defeat. Cornwall arrived with a number of players who had featured in their Minor Counties Championship side who look favourites to land the West title for the first time. The Torquay workforce were in overdrive to ensure the ground was in pristine condition and it looked a good toss to win as Matt Rowe called correctly and batted. Their openers Williams and Hughes were very positive in their approach although helped by some overthrows . It was therefore a surprise that after ten overs they were scoring at less than four. Ross Acton replaced Lewis Gregory after two overs at the pavilion end and in his fifth over he bowled the keeper Williams. In the sixteenth over and his next Acton took out the second opener thanks to a catch to the keeper Yau. From 60-2 Cornwall progressed to 93 after twenty-ones over with the visitors captain Matt Rowe in imperious mode. The left hander drove majestically hitting three fours in Acton’s last over but his figures of 2-33 off seven had helped stem the flow. It had been all Rowe in the third wicket partnership of 37. His partner, the recently capped, Davis was bowled by Gregory who was now at the seafront end. At the halfway stage the league leaders were 120-3 with Rowe timing the ball equally well on both sides of the wicket. The match had been well supported by many well known faces both current and not so fresh. Rowe was taking the game away from the home side with Gary Chappell bowling effectively from the sea end Jack Porter played his masterstroke by introducing Dan Hardy into the attack in the first over into the second half of the innings. The estimates of many experienced heads was that Devon would be chasing 275 plus! In the Bradninch off spinners second over he had the normally dangerous Alex Smith caught with the ball leaving him and he would have been stumped without the edge, three balls later he bowled Roberts. The tide had turned, Cornwall were now 132-5. Nine runs later Chappell bowled a double wicket maiden. Rowe was well held by Matt Thompson on the boundary for a splendid 59 ball 64 – he had hit eleven fours and a six. His second victim was Snell brilliantly caught diving left by the captain at slip. Eight runs later Chappell took his third wicket  The same combination removed L.Davis with another useful catch from Porter. Cornwall were now surprisingly in real trouble at 150-9 when the Torquay combination of Matt Thompson and Justin Yau ran out Libby after a miss field. The last wicket in the shape of  Crane and Hocking put on a vital 41 to take their side past two hundred. The recalled Lewis Gregory curtailed proceedings in the fortysixth over when Crane nicked one to Yau. His 35 had given some respectability after Devon had clawed their way back into the game with another united fielding performance. It was over a year since Porter went wicketless.

This was not the easiest game for Plympton’s Duncan Hefford to make his debut.He was confronted by Werrington’s Sam Hockin who had made his full county debut against Devon the previous week and claimed four wickets in an important win in the last over for the Cornish. With the moral support od Dan Hardy and one of the bigger fan basis from the City of Plymouth he helped add 46 runs. In the twelfth over he caught by Davis off first change Snell’s second ball. He had contributed 22 off 40 balls in the same number of minutes. The game was won in a second wicket partnership of 124 between Hardy and Lewis Gregory. The Plympton’s all rounders appearances had been limited due to his games for Somerset IIs. He took the opportunity of showing everyone in a large crowd what we had been missing. It is a tribute to Hardy that he too looked a class act and the visitors body language changed visabily as the stand built. It was 61 short of the best second wicket partnership by Wright and Bettiss against Cook and Bopara in 2003. The pairing took the score up to 170. The 124 came off 167 balls when in the fortieth over Hardy’s superb innings came to an end. He fell caught L.Davis bowled Rowe for 71 hitting seven fours off his 109 balls. Andy Kingdon scored a run off his first ball and then was run out off the seventh ball of an over when he was over ambitious took six strides down and only five back. Joe Smith joined Gregory who was now playing all the shots but occasionally not connecting on the reverse! They ran well together putting on the 32 needed off 39. Smith contributed 9 and Gregory ended on an undefeated 89. This was an innings of real pedigree. He with Hardy had been truly exceptional they had paced the innings to perfection. Gregory hit ten fours in his two hours at the crease. This had not just been one of the top batting performances at this level but a top team performance under the pressure of having to win the game. 
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