Devon Cricket Board - Torquay stay top after derby day win

Torquay stay top after derby day win

TORQUAY beat Paignton by 34 runs to stay top of the Premier Division table in an intriguing battle on the Recreation Ground.
Somerset’s Max Waller made a top score of 80 as Torquay recovered from a patchy total to reach 234 for nine in their 50 overs.
It looked a winning total when Paignton were 76 for six in reply with Mitch Pugh and spinner Waller getting into the early order.
But Rob Shergold and George Benton had other ideas and their stand of 65 got Paignton back in the game.
Torquay got the brake on just in time, but Paignton’s total of 200 for eight showed they are a team with plenty of fighting spirit in a tough situation.
Torquay were an unimpressive 58 for five in the 19^th over after a battering from Benton (3-33) and Shergold (2-47).
Stephen George had claimed the prized scalp of Devon captain Matt Thompson by then as well.
Bertus Loots, the former Dartington & Totnes all-rounder, had just been run out for nought on his debut for Torquay when Joe Thompson went out to join Waller.
And it was the stand of 101 between Waller and Thompson that got Torquay off the hook
Waller went for 80 off 88 balls with 12 fours along the way.
Thompson made 45 off 64 with four fours and two sixes before Benton got him out in his second spell.
Even then there was no let up for Paignton as Ryan Stevenson (31) and Nick Watkin (25) put on 51 in eight overs at the end.
Noah Wright was the only Paignton batter to survive the early onslaught from Waller and Pug. He made 38 of the first 61 on the board.
Runs had dried to a trickle when Benton strode out to join Shergold, just 15 of them scored in the previous 10 overs for four wickets lost.
Shergold (62) and Benton (37) were together for 17 overs and put Paignton back on the map.
Torquay skipper Justin Yau deployed himself as a partnership breaker and to nipped out Benton, but Shergold found an equally eager running mate in George Yates.
Yates (23) put on 48 with Shergold as Paignton, who were too far behind the asking rate to catch up, collected three bonus batting points in the final seven overs.
Torquay’s lead at the top is 10 points over Bovey Tracey, who beat Plymouth by 160 runs.

Torquay skipper Justin Yau felt the game wasn’t as close as it looked and questioned Paignton’s tactics when they batted second.

“Paignton bowled really well and didn't give us any four balls,” said Yau.

“They contained brilliantly and it showed when we were 58 for five.

“Fortunately we bat a long way down and when you still have Joe, Ryan and Nick to come in at seven, eight and nine we always know we can regain momentum.

“Max was brilliant and held our middle order together and the contributions lower down were key.

“It was a shame for the crowd that Paignton made no attempt to get close to the target, but they probably came with the mindset of taking 6-8 points home so they will see it as a job well done.

“Paignton are scrapping for every point and it showed.”

“It's nice to have got another win under the belt but we have a couple of huge games coming up now before we fixtures are reversed.

“Hopefully we can keep the momentum going.”

Paignton skipper Connor Bryan wasn’t too downhearted by the result, pinpointing Torquay’s imports as the defining factor.

“We took a lot out of the game and felt that it was a game that was winnable,” said Bryan.

“Their three players who were either overseas, a pro or an overseas that was UK-qualified seemed to be the difference in the game.

“Rob Shergold showed maturity in his innings and George Benton and Stephen George bowled very well.

“Up and onward to Heathcoat at home for us.”

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