Devon slipped to their first defeat in Division 3 as they were well beaten by a well disciplined Staffordshire side. After losing the toss Devon were asked to bat first and were soon in trouble as Olivia Anderson was first bowled by Cheryl Alcock and was closely followed by Claire Ramsay who hit a ball straight to mid off giving opposition skipper Georgia Elwiss a simple catch. Heather Knight and Amara Carr briefly threatened to post a partnership but Alcock picked up Knight caught behind. The introduction of Kelly Evenson was the key turning point as she first dismissed Amara Carr who was unlucky to play on, but then bowled Nicole Richards and had Lottie Miles stumped to leave the innings in tatters at 42-6. There followed a magnificent 7 th wicket stand of 80 between Giselle Ansley and Jodie Dibble which looked like taking Devon to a score of around 150. When Ansley was dismissed by off spinner Elsa Marie Evans for 37 and Jodie Dibble was bowled by the impressive Evenson any hope of 150 disappeared and Devon had to settle for 129. From 42-6 a good effort but not enough to set Staffordshire a challenging target to chase down.

Devon needed quick wickets if they were to have any chance of restricting their hosts to a score below what was required. When Rebecca Donohue had Danni Wyatt caught close in by skipper Lottie Miles there was the hint of a chance. Had Becky Piddock held onto a catch offered by Penny Thane then Devon may have been able to apply some pressure. This did not materialise as Thane was joined by Georgia Elwiss who between them set their stall out to see the home side home. Taking no chances they took advantage of any bad balls and when Thane was dropped for a second time by Donohue at square leg any remote chance of victory disappeared as Staffs coasted home with 12 overs to spare. A lot to learn for Devon who get the chance to overturn the result when they entertain Staffordshire in September back in Devon.

Giselle Ansley (37) and Jodie Dibble (33) who shared a 7th wicket stand of 80