Devon Cricket Board - Best yet for Chudleigh says skipper

Best yet for Chudleigh says skipper

BARTON lost some more ground in the A Division promotion race when they crashed to an eight-wicket defeat at Chudleigh.
Chudleigh may be propping up the table, but there have been signs of a recovery recently and Barton were on the receiving end.
Barton were bowled out with five overs to go for 150 – opener Scott Bellamy batting from start to finish for an unbeaten 42 off 129 balls.
Shaun Needham made 26 – he was first out at 35 – and Steve Lewis with 18 was the only other batter to reach double figures until last man Andy Hele made a rapid 19.
Pick of the bowlers at first glance were Will Heather (3-43) and Sachintha Galhenage (3-13). Rob Clarke’s two for 25 off nine overs should not be underestimated.
Chudleigh cruised to victory in 40 overs and were always in the driving seat after Ed Foreman (37) and Jack Beer (19) put on 75 for the first wicket.
Barton’s wayward bowling – 35 wides in total – contributed 21 runs to that partnership.
Matt Heather (22no) and Galhenage (37) concluded the chase with the minimum of fuss.
“That was by far our best, all-round performance of the season and we fully deserved the win,” said Chudleigh skipper Foreman.
“The toss was crucial and it went our way. We then proceeded to bowl really well as a unit and every bowler looked a real threat.
“We knew Barton would make the chase hard so threw Jack Beer in to see off their overseas, which he did superbly.
“After that we knew the runs would come. With another win it will only get harder as teams will take us a bit more seriously.
Paignton this week will be a tough challenge, but we can't wait.”
Barton have now dropped below halfway, where they are 30 points off second and 28 points clear of the relegation places.
Just like Janus – the ancient Roman god with two heads for looking forward and back – Barton skipper Adam Parker is peering in two directions at the same time.
“It was a bad toss to lose but we didn't apply ourselves when batting,” said Parker.
“Poor decision making and too many shots.
“To get to 150 wasn't great, but it was a total we could defend.
“We bowled well in patches but they could afford to wait for the bad ball and that's what they did well.
“Back to the drawing board against Brixham, when we need to get a win so we don't get dragged down the table any further.
“The division is still very tight and a couple of wins will push us right back up there.”

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