Devon Cricket Board - Pens breeze into Aaron Printers Narracott Cup final

Pens breeze into Aaron Printers Narracott Cup final

AARON PRINTERS NARRACOTT CUP SEMI FINAL

IPPLEPEN powered into the final if the Aaron Printers Narracott Cup following an eight-wicket win over Dartington & Totnes at Paignton.

Dartington & Totnes, where 10 for three in the third of their 20 overs, recovered to make 143 for six thanks mainly to a stand of 97 for the third wicket between Ryan Stevenson (52) and Sam Gray (42).

Although the Pens lost opener Dave Harris cheaply, they were always up with the asking rate and accelerated over the horizon at the end with Jamie Watkins hitting a quickfire 36 not out.

Ipplepen will meet the winners of tomorrow night’s semi at Torquay between Bovey Tracey and Brixham in the final at Stoke Gabriel on Friday, July 9.

D&T’s problems started when Jono Lloyd was bowled by Pens’ skipper Keith Wakeham’s second ball in the match.

Bertus Loots was caught at square-leg by Watkins off Wakeham, the Mark Andrews perished caught behind to Paul Thomas.

Stevenson and Gray pushed the score along to 107 when Wakeham (3-26) had Stevenson caught in the country by Steve Bowden. He hit six fours and two sixes.

Gray lasted until 126 when he was fifth out, a second scalp for man of the match Watkins (2-22).

Joe Hockings (14) chipped in quick runs before the overs ran out.

Pens’ opener Harris got a ball that jagged back viciously on him from Stevenson and departed in the first over.

Sam deFriend (47) and Luke Tuckett (29) racked up 69 for the second wicket as the Pens set off in hot pursuit as the game fast slipped away from D&T.

Tuckett and deFriend have both come up through the Ipplepen nursery section and on this showing it wasn’t hard to see why clubs higher up the league ladder locally are showing an interest in them.

Tuckett fell to a tumbling, one-handed catch by Harry Baxendale when he had a swing at the round-the-wicket off-spin of Loots.

Kiwi Watkins arrived in the middle and the tempo increased as the Pens knocked off the remaining runs.

Ipplepen needed 29 runs to win off the last five overs and some lusty blows inflicted on Baxendale and Lloyd hurried them home with two and a half overs in hand.

Dartington & Totnes 143-6 (R Stevenson 52, S Gray 42; K Wakeham 3-26, J Watkins 2-22), Ipplepen 145-2 (S deFriend 47, L Tuckett 29, J Watkins 36). Ipplepen bt D&T by 8 wkts.

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