Devon Cricket Board - D Division: Pens bounce back

D Division: Pens bounce back

D DIVISION

IPPLEPEN bounced back from their first defeat of the season the week before to win by 24 runs in a low- scoring affair at Yelverton.

Paul Thomas top scored with 21 as the table toppers laboured to 85 all out.

Yelverton’s Rob Bennett (5-29) and Colin Broughton (4-18) made the most of the bowler-friendly conditions.

That low score proved sufficient to win the game though as Andy Mason claimed 5-26 to bundle the home side out for 61 with only Geoff Brain (20) and Richard West (15) able to muster much resistance.

With the halfway stage of the season approaching, the Pens are 12 points clear of Ottery St Mary, who obliged by losing to Whimple.

Ottery St Mary remain second in the D Division but were subjected to the surprise score of the day when they fell to a first defeat of the season, beaten by a Whimple side who were winning for the first time in five weeks!

Paul Gillard (35) and Trevor Griffin (33) led Whimple to 142 with Rob Johns the pick of the visiting bowlers with 4-26.

Sam Loud then hit the Otters’ top score of 28 in the reply, but wickets fell at regular intervals to Phil Hope (5-31) and Whimple skipper Jono Burden (3-33), the final one falling at 116.

A delighted Jono Burden said: “We were good value for that.

“I told the team before the game it was a contest they were more than capable of winning and, if they could it would kick start the season which has been disappointing so far.

“There’s plenty of cricket left in the campaign and I would expect this performance and result to set us up for the second half of the season.”

Ottery aren’t too badly off though as they are 12 points behind leaders Ipplepen and 25 up on Fention.

Feniton are now the best of the rest behind the top two after they recorded a comprehensive 177-run Acland Park win over visiting Countess Wear.

The game was marred towards the end by a horrific incident that resulted in Countess Wear’s Pete Darke being left unconscious in the outfield.

Darke got into position to take a catch in the deep when the ball appeared to hit him on the chest then spring up onto his chin knocking him out.

Feniton were asked to bat and then went on to score a commanding 250-6, led there by a hard -hitting 90 from just 42 deliveries, by Alex Frankpitt.

The foundation for the innings though came from the opening pair as skipper Mark Kingdon (55) and Charlie Selley (24) put on 79.

Kev Heaver was the pick of the Exeter side’s bowlers with a brace of wickets.

Mark Davey then hit the top score of 22 for the visitors as Russell Witton claimed a six-wicket haul with a superb spell of bowling.

Witton finished with 6-13 and, with Norman Bedford taking 3-14 the final Wear wicket fell on 73 to leave Feniton big winners.

Kingdon said: “We played some great cricket. I was a little concerned when I lost the toss for, to be honest had I won it I’d have been looking to my bowlers to get at them.

“So to bat first and post 250 was a job very well done.

“Then we bowled, and fielded, superbly and were worthy winners. It sets us up nicely heading into this weekend’s half way mark of the season games and I am keen for us to march on now and look to break up the top two as soon as possible.”

Plymouth Civil Service and Roborough landed their third success of the term with a four wicket win at Whitchurch where the home side were bowled out for 140, passed for the loss of six wickets by the visitors thanks to Dave Bayliss (30) and Jason Williams (28). In the home sides innings Ben Powell (34) and Billy Barriball (29), there were three wickets for Dan Windsor (3-20) and a pair for Jack Dent (2-28).

Bridestowe’s pitch was still suffering the effect of the Friday night rains and therefore not a ball could be bowled in their game with a very disappointed Halberton ,whose skipper John Chilcott said: “We were very surprised, indeed disappointed that the game was called off.

“The weather picked up dramatically on Saturday and we feel we could have got some sort of a game in up there.

“It’s disappointing because it’s a missed opportunity for us and it means we have been washed out two weeks running in the middle of the season!”

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