The tightly contested game between the West and the South provided great entertainment for all watching at Whitchurch. The West won the toss and chose to bowl, taking advantage of a green, May pitch. West Devon put the South right onto the back foot within the first few over’s as Callum Watkins (5-7) made early inroads, using the new ball to great effect. At 14-4, South Devon looked in serious trouble, but opening batsman Danny Escott was still persevering. Confusion between the wickets then struck as the important wicket of Escott was taken, reducing the South further to 14-5. As West looked to tighten the screw on the South batting line up, a come back appeared to be on the cards. Danny McKenna (15) did well to keep the score ticking over, whilst Josh Newman (18) improved the outlook with some hard hitting through the ‘V’. The pair got to the first drinks break having now boosted the score to a respectable 56-5 off 14 over’s. However, the excellent partnership of 54 came to an end as McKenna was run out from a direct hit by Hunt. Newman shortly followed when he was beaten by the pace of Olly Sale. Now at 79-7, the South Devon innings once again looked shaky, but a couple of good cameos from the lower order including a vital 18* from Taylor pushed the South’s score up to an eventual 114 all out. A more than competitive score on a hard wicket.

As the West openers walked out to bat, it seemed that batting all of the 42 overs would be instrumental in guiding them to victory. Disaster struck however, when Barriball was run out without facing a ball in the first over. Ackford and Nicholls both looked good as they saw out the new ball, despite the slow run rate. Ackford then fell to a good ball from McKenna (3-24) as West started to become uncertain. Yet another excellent partnership of 71 occurred between Nicholls (15) and Watkins (38). All appeared to be fine as West looked headed for victory. Determination prevailed for the South as they continued to never give up. Good spells from the returning opening bowlers brought the wickets of Nicholls, Watkins and much of the lower order. As the pressure mounted the West’s lower order found it hard to come straight in to the tight lines of Escott (3-13). A couple of shots from Hunt gave hope to the West batting, but it wasn’t to be, so the West finished 4 runs short. A fantastic game, and a credit to all of those involved, win or lose. A great lesson to all the players that a game is never won until you get across the line. Thank you to Whitchurch for hosting the game and to the umpires for doing a hard job well.

The North/South match dominated by the South throughout as they chased the competition title with focused determination.  A watchful opening by Barrett and Atkinson saw the North through to 18 in the sixth over when the first wicket fell.  After that, there was a steady procession of wickets as the South bowlers took control resulting in the North being bowled out for 58 in the twentyseventh over.  Escott and McKenna stood out with the former taking 5 for 11 and Danny Mckenna 3 for 8.  Dan Escott was superbly supported by a very animated, agile and active Peter Taylor behind the stumps who took three stumpings.  South continued to dominate when batting, achieving the target in 12 overs without loss.  A great performance to round off a superb three matches by the whole team whether batting, bowling or most importantly, fielding.