Devon Cricket Board - A Division prospects: Williams wary of Braunton

PLYMPTON captain Jeremy Williams is anxious his side don’t catch a cold when they entertain Braunton.
The Kelseymen were winless until last Saturday when they put one over on Abbotskerswell.
The promotion picture is finely poised – 21 points between the top four – and Williams doesn’t want any cock-ups.
“We are looking to continue the form from the last two weeks where we have performed solidly as a unit.
“We still need to keep improving and will need to be at our best as Braunton will be buoyant after their victory on Saturday.”
Bowler Ryan Skinner is unavailable so left-armer Matt Gregory returns to the side.
BARTON captain Adam Parker believes a modest improvement could go a long way in the derby clash with Paignton at Queens Park.
Leaders Heathcoat scraped a 20-run win at Barton last time out in a high-scoring affair.
Seven days earlier Heathcoat handed out a hiding to Paignton so the form lines point Barton’s way.
“We pushed Heathcoat all the way and if we had performed for the whole game I think we could have come out on top,” said Parker.
“We bowled well in the middle of the innings but were on the wrong end of some very clean hitting.
“This week we have to bowl tight lines for the whole 50 overs, not just for the middle overs.
“We have started to show that we score runs now so this week its more of the same, create a couple of big partnerships and value our wickets.”
Paignton captain Connor Bryan has no time at all for suggestions his side are any sort of underdogs.
“We are really looking forward to the game against Barton and making ground up on Heathcoat,” said Bryan.
“Things are starting to click for us now so we are looking to continue the good run with another 20 points.”
George Yates is away at a pop concert so Mark Smith has come in, hardly a shock after he has scored back-to-back tons in the 2nd XI.
PLYMSTOCK are looking to get straight back to business against Brixham after their 55-run defeat at Paignton.
Despite losing last time out, Plymstock took a lot of positives from a very good and high-scoring game of cricket.
“Yes we did lose at Paignton, but we played very good cricket throughout and took a nice bunch of points back with us,” said vice-captain James Nicholls.
“The wicket and outfield was made for lots of runs and that’s what we got.
“They batted very well and I thought our bowlers executed their plans brilliantly to keep them to a score we thought was very gettable.
“This week we have Brixham at home and there is no doubting it is a big game, but isn't any other?
“We go into Saturday looking for a win and looking for a performance from our lads.
:A lot of people around the division see both of us at the bottom at the end of the season, which is absurd seeing we are only six games into an 18-game season.
“So our message to them is there is still a lot of cricket to be played this year.”
Plymstock welcome back seamer Hal Kerton which is useful for them.
“Anyone with his sort of pace will boost your team’s line-up,” said Nicholls.
Brixham skipper Richard Ward had a lot less to say as he puzzles how to get his side ahead of Hatherleigh and out of the bottom two.
“Selection is not getting any easier with pressure on availability and so on,” said Ward.
“It's good to have (spinner) Craig Eaves back, a stalwart of the club.”
SANDFORD clash with Heathcoat in a mid-Devon derby which could cause a realignment at the top of the shop.
Heathcoat are 15 points clear of Plympton (101pts) in second place with Paignton (96) then Sandford (95) the best of the rest.
A Sandford win will shunt everyone closer together as the halfway stage of the season approaches.
“Everyone realises this is a big game and they are all ready for the challenge,” said Sandford captain Simon Ashplant, who reports a near full-strength side with Pete Steer the only absentee.
Heathcoat welcome back Tom Frankpitt for Barney Goss. Otherwise they are unchanged.
IT’S approaching make-or-break time for Hatherleigh, who are at home to Abbotskerswell tomorrow.
The euphoria of an opening day win over Brixham has been tempered by five successive defeats since then.
Coming next for Hatherleigh (8th) after Abbots are Plymstock (7th), Braunton (10th) and Brixham (9th) again
“We feel the next four games are massive to our season, playing the teams in and around us,” said captain Mark Lake.
“If we can get positive results in the next month or so, it will stand us in good stead for the rest of the season,
“After pushing Sandford so close last weekend, we feel we are in the right frame of mind to get the wins we now need.”
Andy Collier comes in for Rob Chapman.
For Abbots the task in hand is to bounce back from losing at Braunton, where they lost to a six hit from the final ball.
“We haven’t dwelt on the defeat from last week, it didn't go our way in the final stages but we'll learn from it as we look to improve all the time,” said skipper Richard Acton.

“Hatherleigh presents another opportunity for a win, which I know if we can get if we perform well.

“These are the games we have to target if we want to move towards the top half of the table.”
Alex Birt is back so Chris Robson-Close drops back to the 2nd XI.