Devon Cricket Board - B Division - Wins for Shobrooke and Chudleigh

THORVERTON remain too close for comfort to the wrong end of the table after a 132-run dressing down by Chudleigh.

Ed Foreman (32) and Mark Solway (23) got Chudleigh off to a 71-run start, then Scott Schaw (56) and Mat heather (40) posted exactly 100 for the third wicket.

With Sean Day chipping in 30, Chudleigh totalled 263 all out. Pick of the bowlers with four for 53 was Jake Choules.

Thorverton were in the card at 46 for five in reply – Ben Holmes (2-34) and Rob Clarke (2-18) doing the damge.

Harry Choules (30), Gareth Hess (24) and Gillam Couch (20) put up a fight but the damage was done.

Day (2-18) and Jon Martin (2-8) wrapped things up as Thors were dismissed for 131.

Dave Baldock, the Thorverton vice-captain, said his team-mates were outplayed in almost every department.

“They played better cricket than us,” said Baldock.

“When we bowled there were too many loose balls to score off plus 29 wides.

We did well in the last 10 overs to rein Chudleigh in and bowl them out.

“Chudleigh bowled very tightly and scoreboard pressure led to our wickets falling.”

Thorverton remain outside the bottom two, but the pressure is on against Barnstaple this Saturday to win and preserve or extend the eight-point cushion over Stoke Gabriel.

OPENER Jon James set Shobrooke Park on the road to a five-wicket win at Ivybridge with an anchorman knock of 77.

Ivybridge, up there with Lewdown and Chudlegh in the promotion race, were bowled out for 197 with seven balls to go.

Gareth Andrews made 27 at the top of the order, Jeewan de Silva had 67 in the middle and Harry Soloman chipped in with a bright and breezy 27 at the end.

Shobrooke shared the wicket-taking around with two each for Ben Trennaman, Andrew Codling, Chris Simpson and James.

James and Simpson (42) set Shobrooke on the right path by getting the score up to 137 for one.

James and Matt Blakeney went in successive balls to Kelvin Trent (2-32) then Simpson departed to Paul Veale.

Richard Pyle played it safe to make 30 not out and see Shobrooke home.

Shobrooke make the short trip to Alphington this Saturday.

SOUTH Devon may be heading for the relegation trap door in the B Division, but there remains plenty of fight in the Newton Abbot club.

It’s Chudleigh away for South Devon this Saturday – a derby game which almost always brings out the best in South Devon.

South Devon won’t be afraid of taking the game to their near neighbours after a gallant rearguard action against Tavistock last time out. They might have lost by 72 runs, but sure put up a struggle.

Tavistock amassed a hefty 256 all out in the last of their 45 overs – Ian Gray (76) and Rhys Davies (56) getting 100 of them in a second wicket stand.

Gray and Dave Manning (35) put on another 72 for the third wicket.

At 207 for three it seemed South Devon were in for slim pickings, then James Hart got Gray out and started something of a collapse.

South Devon have barely seen Hart this season as he has been away at college.

Hart’s figures of six for 54 helped run through the bottom half of the Tavvy order as the Moorlanders were bowled out for 256.

It looked looked like another early finish was on the cards as the pacy Travis Muller (3-29) and Chris Hutchins (4-45) got stuck into South Devon’s early order.

Richard Beaumont stopped the rot for a while with 29 which got South Devon from 33 for five to 81 for six.

Knocking over the tail proved a little harder than Tavvy captain Shaun Daymond expected.

Dax Oliver, home from his teaching job in the Middle East, dug in for 50 and in Cameron Scott (27) found a willing partner. They put on 54 for the ninth wicket.

Daymond got Scott out, but last man Tirun Joshi held out to add another 38 with Oliver before Hutchins was brought back to prise him out.

STOKE Gabriel will be out to inflict more doom and gloom on Ivybridge when they visit Filham this Saturday.

Ivybridge suffered a setback against Shobrooke last Saturday which dropped them back from second to third in the promotion race.

Stoke defeated Barnstaple & Pilton by 16 runs in a thrilling finish to move 14 points and two places clear of the drop zone.

Ian Coulton (42) and Jack Tolley (60) put on 120 for Stoke’s second wicket towards a final tally of 256 for seven.

There were plenty of chip ins down the order from Josh Dowling (29), Kris Davis (37) and Simon Phillips (23). Phillips, who was Stoke’s overseas player in 2011, helped out while over here on holiday.

Barnstaple, one of the teams Stoke have moved in front of, took the chase all the way with Lee Cole hitting 102 to keep them in it.

Tom Popham (75) and Cole put on 132 for the fourth wicket, but Stoke managed to keep the visitors behind the clock.

It came down to 35 to win from the last two overs – and it got interesting when James Thomas hit the first to balls for sixes!

Thomas holed out and with Nick Sandbrook (4-49) keeping the last over tidy B&P were dismissed for 240.