Devon Cricket Board - A Division: Torquay one win from promotion

EXETER are on a revenge mission when Abbotskerswell visit the County Ground.

The city side were turned over by 10 wickets at Abbots earlier in the season – and it doesn’t get much worse than that.

While Abbots have been pottering along in mid-table all season, Exeter have hoisted themselves into the promotion running and are second behind leaders Torquay with Sandford and Braunton pushing hard to catch them.

Skipper Jon Tipper hopes to make it payback time for Abbots, not that he is underestimating them.

“They beat us pretty comprehensively last time so we won’t be taking it for granted,” said Tipper.

“It will be a different game on our wicket, but if we want to continue our promotion push our bowling needs to improve.

“We were one wicket away from beating Torquay last Saturday and with a bit more pace in our bowling we might have got it.

“I want to see bowlers like Andy Mead finding an extra yard and forcing Cam Turner to stand back behind the stumps.”

SANDFORD – three points behind Exeter and six ahead of Braunton – have welcome Torquay to Creedy Park.

For skipper Matt Theedom it is a make-or-break game for his team’s promotion chances.

“If we lose to Torquay then we can probably forget about promotion this season.

“Exeter put in a great performance against Torquay last Saturday and very nearly beat them.

“We need to do the same.”

Torquay, who have lost 38-wicket spinner Jan Bothma who has gone back to South Africa for treatment on a back injury, know if they win tomorrow they are up, although not as champions yet.

“We will be going to Sandford doing whatever we can to pick up enough points to go up,” said skipper Justin Yau.

“It would be pretty disastrous to mess things up from here, but Sandford are in a real scrap for second and have some seriously good players with experience in Theedom and Small.

“They are the only team we haven't beaten this year in the division which speaks volumes about their ability.

“We are very proud about our undefeated record and showed a lot of grit against Exeter when we were under the cosh at the end of the game.

“We are thoroughly looking forward to trying to maintain it against Sandford.”

Opener Aaron Williams, fresh from making 81 for Dorset against Wales, returns to the side.

THE relegation picture should be a little clearer by tomorrow night as the bottom four teams all play each other.

Bottom side Shobrooke Park entertain Alphington while Barton, who are immediately ahead of Shobrooke, go to Cornwood (7^th).

Shobrooke captain Chris Ford still thinks his side can play their way out of trouble, but there is one pre-requisite. They have to beat Alphington.

“If we don’t beat them or at least get a very positive draw then it will be almost impossible to stay up,” said Ford.

“Looking at the fixtures left to play after tomorrow, Braunton, Exeter and Abbotskerswell are all sides we did well against in the first half of the season.

“The key is beating Alphington as they are the team we have to catch and we can’t let them get any further ahead than they are already.”

Alphington skipper Mark Porter is bullish ahead of the game, saying: “If I could put this side out every week we would not be where we are.

“With Stuart Shaw and Steve Poortman back we have our strongest side out for a game we need to win.

“Win this and we go a long way to being safe. We will be going full bore to get it.

“Some of the batsmen in the side are due a score and now is the time for them to get one which will make a difference to our season.”

CORNWOOD are unchanged and in a determined mood ahead of tomorrow's home fixture with struggling Barton.

Home skipper Craig Harris said he is looking for as many points as possible from their remaining four league matches – three of which will be at home.

On paper, the easiest game comes at Oak Park tomorrow (1pm) when second-from-bottom Barton visit as Corns' other three fixtures involve top three sides.

They are second-placed Exeter (home), Sandford (away) and runaway leaders Torquay on the final day of the season on September 3 at Oak Park.

Last week, Harris' side settled for a losing draw against Braunton with safety the priority for Cornwood.

However, Harris feels with 80 points up for grabs and home advantage in three of their fixtures, Cornwood must adopt a winning mentality.

He said: "We're going to be looking for as many wins and as many points as possible.

"We're in a reasonably safe position in the table and have a buffer of nearly 50 points from the final relegation place, which Barton hold.

"But you never know what can happen, and we don't want to slip up and leave ourselves short come the end of the season.

"After all, Barton will be scrapping for every point they can get their hands on."

Harris added: "I was pleased with our performance last week, even though it was a losing draw.

"As an added bonus, we'll have an unchanged side for the game with Barton.

"That's something that hasn't happened often enough this year."

Barton skipper Adam Parker hasn’t given up hope of dodging the drop, and points to the teams fighting qualities as one of the reasons they can do it.

“Last week we batted well in bowler-friendly conditions and posted a decent total, although in hindsight we could have done with 30 more,” said Parker.

“To keep Abbots out there for 47 overs was a great effort from our bowlers who bowled well and made the batters scrap for every run.

“The spirit and performance in the field was second to none this year

“Unfortunately we didn't have enough a firepower and had a couple decisions gone our way, or a couple played and misseds caught the edge, it would have been a very different game. “We have a massive fight on our hands that all the players are willing to give everything to stay up.”

Missing are Damon Calland and Andy McVeigh. In come Steve Lewis and Will Grainger.

BRAUNTON travel to Brixham looking for a little more excitement than they had against Cornwood.

The Corns blocked out early for a draw and promotion wannabees Braunton weren’t able to prise them out.

“I thought we deserved a little more out of the game last weekend,” said Braunton skipper Jon Baglow.

“Cornwood said before the match that their aim was to win the last five matches, but they got behind the rate early on and never really tried to chase our total.

“You can't take it away from sides doing that as the rules are set up for it. In that situation it was up to us to make things happen, and we didn't quite do enough, falling two wickets short.

“We were one bowler short as I only bowled four overs after straining a hamstring, which didn't help on the day.

“I have had some treatment and hope to be ok for the weekend, and just hope it holds up!

“Brixham will be a good game, they are a decent side with some very good players.

“A draw is no good for either team, both of us have to win, so we should see some good cricket played.”