Devon Cricket Board - Lye and Allen steer Devon to victory

Lye and Allen steer Devon to victory

SUNDAY. MAY 16

Conrad Sutcliffe's podcast

DEVON are in wait-and-see limbo land after defeating Wiltshire by five wickets to move in at the top of their qualifying group in the Minor Counties KO Cup.

   What Devon have to wait and see is if Cornwall or Wiltshire can go past them by winning their games in hand.

   Should Cornwall beat Wales in their final game, and Wiltsihre defeat Buckinghamshire, all three counties will be level on six points, which will mean run rate being used to decide which two counties go through.

   Had Devon lost yesterday that would have been the end of the line for them. After holding Wiltshire to 135 for eight in a game reduced to 45 overs each by bad weather, that didn’t look likely.

   Wiltshire hit back by taking Devon’s first four wickets for 20 runs – three of them in one over – and from that point it was game well and truly on.

   First to go was opener Dan Bowser, who was lbw to Richard Bedbrook.

   Rob Holman came in, survived a confident caught behind shout first ball and was bowled Bedbrook by the next one.

   Former captain Bob Dawson exchanged singles with surviving opener Chris Mole and was caught at cover the next time he faced Bedbrook. Devon had gone from seven for none to nine for three in the space of five deliveries.

   It didn’t get any better as Mole was bowled on 20 when he stepped out to drive Alex Senneck and was deceived by a ball that swung late.

   Twenty for four chasing 136 to win is not a great situation to be in. Devon needed a rescue act which Josh Bess and David Lye delivered.

   Bess (25) was the pacesetter in a stand of 51 with Lye that made it possible for Devon to win the game. Bess never looked like getting out until he did: lbw to James Hibbered despite a significant stride towards the pitch of the ball which on another occasion may have earned him the benefit off the doubt. Not this time.

   Acting captain Sandy Allen gave a deft touch on the accelerator when he arrived and with Lye making a watchful 47 not out from 85 balls the win was sealed.

   Allen (25no) and Lye put on 65 unbroken for the sixth wicket – the greatest partnership of a low scoring match. Lye was denied the chance of a deserved half century when Wiltshire brought on occasional seamer Henry Langford to get it over and done with and he slung a wide down the leg side with one needed to win. That was the one!

   When Wiltshire batted they were in trouble from the start and never really recovered.

   Bess opened up with the new ball by having Mike Coles caught at slip then Ian Bishop (2-18) took two in a row. Mitchell Stokes was caught behind fishing at a ball he should have left and James Haywad had his off-stump knocked back.

   Langford and Steve Bullen added 49 before Chris Bradley split them up by having Langford caught at long-on by Scott Barlow.

   Owen Alsop was stumped swinging wildly at Dawson stumbling out of his ground in the process.

   Dawson had Bullen caught at mid-on by Bradley and made it two and two with a sprawling catch of his own bowling as Bedbrook departed at 88 for seven.

   Senneck hit out as the overs ran down and reached 29 off 27 balls in the late slog for runs,

Hibberd had a go – he and Sennnck posted 34 for the eight wickets – only to perish on 23 trying to hit Bradley over long-on and finding Barlow instead.

   Barlow suffered a bit under the Wiltshire assault in the latter stages. Having bowled his first seven overs for just 12 runs he came back for two more and was thumped for 19.

    Wiltshire 135-8 (H J Langford 32, A Senneck 29,S T G Bullen 25; I E Bishop 2-18, R I Dawson 3-8, C Bradley 2-23), Devon 136-5 (D F Lye 47no, A P W Allen 25no, J J Bess 25; R D Bedbrook 3-25). Devon (2pts) bt Wiltshire (0) by 5 wkts.

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