Devon Cricket Board - B Division: Knowles content with draw

B DIVISION

SOUTH Devon skipper Dave Knowles was happy to come away with a winning draw from Thorverton after a hard-fought top-of-the-table clash.

With Pete Vorster making a top score of 75, South Devon reached 204 all out.

Thorverton were well placed at 119 for three, but up against it at 150 for seven and finally ran out of steam at 194 for eight.

Knowles said it was a decent game of cricket between two good sides and he was happy to have emerged on top.

“Both sides will look back on the game and think they should have won it – which tells you how close it was,” said Knowles.

“We should have had 240 odd, but a collapse cost us. They started well, then we bowled and fielded superbly to slow them down.

“Only four overs out did they shut up shop. Can’t really blame them. We got 15 points and that I can live with.”

Adrian Hewings (40) got South Devon going again after Jake Choules (3-46) and Gillam Crouch (4-48) undid the good work done by Tom Carter (38) and Vorster at the top of the order.

Paul Fielder (61) and James Maxwell (26) were Thors’ main run getters before Vorster (3-26) and Matt Coult (3-68) slowed then up.

CHUDLEIGH beat Axminster by two wickets to move within six points of second-placed South Devon.

Axminster faded badly after a promising start had whisked them to 168 for three with Tristan Wakeley (58), Steve Read (27) and Dave Murnane (24) all chipping in.

Rob Clarke (4-27) had most of the early wickets for Chudleigh, before spinners Jack Vittles (2-14) and Tertius Gouws (2-28) put Axminster on the slide.

It was quite a collapse too as 168 for three became 172 all out!

Axminster put up a brave fight and with Nick Taylor bowling 13 overs for 28 runs it wasn’t easy to score.

It was a bits-and-pieces chase with Jon Martin (23), Dan LeMarquand (25), Mark Solway (22) and Ed Foreman (21) all contributing.

Vittles and Will Heather knocked off the last three needed to clinch victory with 10 balls to spare.

Pick of the bowlers for Axminster with four for 49 was Alex Wraight.

CLYST St George skipper Matt Cook was optimistic of winning at Chagford in the battle of the strugglers and his confidence proved well placed.

Cook said before the match his side’s best chance of winning for the first time this season was against the next worst side in the division.

How right Cook was as Chagford were bowled out for 116 by Chris Cook (4-27) and Tim Downer, who precipitated a collapse from 60 for two.

Chagford batters Alan Searle made 39 and Gary Sizmur 28, which didn’t leave much from the rest.

Clyst went on to win it by two wicktets with man of the match Chris Cook – the captain’s dad – making an unbeaten 59 to rescue them from 25 for three.

A stand of 42 with Chris Ferro (15) was crucial in the context of winning a low-scoring game.

Downer (12no) came in at 93 for eight and helped Cook see it through.

Jeremy Christophers took four for 40 for Chagford and Del Lammonby three for 34.

Clyst remain bottom and remain 26 points away from safety. Chagford have to make up 20 points on Axminster to get out of the bottom two.

BARNSTAPLE were on the receiving end as leaders Plymstock administered a 110-run hiding on them at Taw Meadow.

Plymstock opener Dom Wood (96) had a ton in sight when he was bowled four short having shared a stand of 130 for the second wicket with Dave Orchard. There were two wickets each for Jack Popham and Brady Saunders.

Among the more unusual dismissals in the match was the fate suffered by Plymstock’s Jack Hocken, who was given out for obstruction in the field after kicking away a Barnstaple throw.

B&P were never really in it and without 26 extras would have been all out for under a hundred.

Morgan Parkinson (4-25) and Jack Thomas (3-36) did most of the damage as B&P subsided from 56 for six to 107 all out.

Popham (23) and George McEndoo (18) made the only scores of note

DARTINGTON & Totnes were one-wicket away from an outright won over Tavistock in a close affair at the Ring.

With Scott Stevenson blazing away for 85, D&T reached 225 for three in 46 overs.

Tavistock replied with 196 for nine and had last pair Josh Stephens and James McGahey at the wicket in the final over.McGahey wasn’t required to face a ball as Stephens blocked it out.

Earlier, Bertus Loots (27) and Scott Stevenson had given D&T an 85-run start.

Kyle Blanchard, whose 28 came off 90 balls, and Ryan Stevenson (56no) added 80 for the third.

Tavistock got runs early on through Ian Gray (33) and Shaun Daymond (49), the Aaron Chuchill clubbed 70 off 60 balls with six sixes to make it interesting.

The Stevensons – Ryan (4-18) and Scott (5-37) got the brake on in time to halt the Tavvy chase.