Devon Cricket Board - Sidmouth can clinch Premier title against Plymouth

SIDMOUTH can clinch the Premier Division title with three games to spare if they beat second-placed Plymouth on the Fortfield tomorrow.
The long-time leaders need to come out of the game with 15 points or more than Plymouth to be sure of the crown.
Realistically, if Sidmouth don’t get the points they need this Saturday, they should cobble them up against Exmouth, Heathcoat or North Devon in the three games left.
Will Murray, the Sidmouth captain, generally isn’t that coy about his side or their aspirations.
“If we can beat Plymouth we can wrap up one of our aims for the season, but we still have plenty to do,” said Murray.
“Our aim is to win the Premier Division unbeaten, which has not been done before, and get through the season without being bowled out.
“No one has bowled us out yet.
“Then we can turn our focus on to the Devon Cup and what should be a great game at Torquay against Exeter on Bank Holiday Sunday.
“First we have to beat Plymouth though and that is not just a formality.
“Of all the teams in the division below us they are the ones who have been most consistent and seem to have more players regularly in form than anyone else.”
Murray expects to name the same side that would have played Exeter last Saturday had it not been for a waterlogged pitch.
“I am waiting to hear from Adam Dibble whether Somerset will let him play, but if not Greg Chaplin will stay in,” said Murray.
Plymouth will be without holidaying skipper Matt Hooper, but are otherwise unchanged.
The city side has only finished second once before in the Premier Division, way back in 1987 when they were runners-up to Barton. Eric Willcock topped the batting averages for Plymouth with 701 at an average of 50.07 that summer.
For three years running – 89, 90 and 91 – Plymouth finished third.
Plymouth aren’t going to win the league this year, but will settle for second and nothing less.
“We have had a great year so far and are in a strong position but have four of the top teams to come,” said opening batsman James Toms.
“If we take our foot off the gas, we could still end up fourth or fifth, which would be disappointing.
“We have had some cracking games with Sidmouth over the last few years and hope to have another one.”
Cornwood can’t contemplate losing to Bovey Tracey if they want to retain their Premier status.
Last Saturday’s three-wicket defeat by Plymouth left Cornwood bottom of the table with 28 points to find in four games to get out of the bottom two and ahead of Torquay.
“Losing last Saturday to Plymouth was disappointing, but the team still have belief,” said senior player Matt Butterworth.
“If we win three out of the last four games we have a chance.
“The team will go out on Saturday against Bovey and fight for every point possible.”
Ryan Rickard comes in for Adam Goodliffe, who is away on holiday.
“Ryan will bolster the middle order and also provide an option with the ball,” said Butterworth.
“The bowlers have been working well as a unit all season, which we have seen over the last few weeks.
“Losing Adam is a blow, but we have more than adequate cover.”
Bovey captain Andy Fairbairn finds himself in an awkward position as he has to drop … his wife!
Rosalie Fairbairn played for England Ladies when she was younger as Rosalie Birch and still turns out for Bovey in the 2nd and 3rd XIs when needed.
Bovey had a shortage of players across their teams last Saturday, so she was called up against Heathcoat for a perfectly valid reason.
“With four players unavailable due to holidays, I was reluctant to recruit senior players from the other three teams so selected a number of players not usually playing at first team level,” said Fairbairn, who is pictured (right) with Rosalie waiting to bat against Heathcoat.
Exmouth, away to Exeter, are without seamers Ian Bishop and Ollie Dawe. Aaron Conway and Greg Marks come in.

Exeter still believe they can finish second by beating teams above them and have Exmouth (3^rd), Plymouth (2^nd) to play as well as bottom two Sandford and Cornwood.

“We still want second place badly and we know this is a must-win game in order to achieve that,” said Exeter captain Miles Lenygon.

“Last time we played Exmouth we were aggressive and put their batters under pressure through tight bowling.

“A tight steer with the ball will be crucial again.”

Exeter are without batter Rob Holman but welcome back fit-again Joe Barrs and bring in Robin Fern to keep wicket.

The big game at the bottom of the table is the clash between Torquay and Sandford on the Recreation Ground.
Sandford (103pts) are bottom of the table and have to get past Cornwood (105pts) and Torauay (130) to reach safety.
Torquay’s win over Exmouth last time out gave them a helping hand away from danger.
Another will just about make them safe.
“it is the biggest game of our season,” said Torquay captain Justin Yau.
“We played excellently last time out and must repeat that performance this weekend to maximise our chances of escaping the drop.
“Fahad Iqbal has been immense in the last couple of games with bat and ball and there have been significant contributions from everyone within the side recently.
“Sandford are still lurking dangerously and a win against them would put lots of pressure on them in the last few games.
“They have some good players in Tom Mitcham, Adrian Small and Russell Discombe and we will not take them for granted.
“We must continue to fight for every point as we enter the business end of the season.
“I am confident if we produce a performance similar to last week, we will be victors this weekend.
“It's a must-win game for both teams, there is a lot at stake and I am sure we will hit the ground running as we cross the whitewash.
“The boys have been talking about this game for a long time and we are all incredibly motivated to succeed.
There is no Max Waller - still recovering from injury. Max Brewer drops out and Joe Crooks steps in.
Elsewhere in the top flight, Heathcoat entertain North Devon.