Devon Cricket Board - A Division round up: Abbott clubs Braunton

MARK Abbott clubbed a century and kept on going as Plymstock raced to a 155-run win over doomed Braunton.

Abbot made 155 not out as Plymstock totted up 293 for four at Kelsey.

It was runs all the way for Plymstock with Abbot and Ollie Mullbery (26) opening up with 70 for the first wicket.

The big stand was one of 112 for the second wicket between Kiwi Abbott and Hal Kerton (45).

After Kerton went there was a brisk 65 for the fifth between Abbott and skipper Dave Orchard (14).

Braunton’s bowling got a bit ragged after a while – Jon Baglow (2-36) excepted – and the Plymstock total included 43 boundaries.

Braunton knew there was rain about and a quick start might give them a chance of thieving a result on run-rate.

Mike Paine (35) and James Windsor (21) went for it and at 86 for two it was game on.

The Abbott, by now rested after his marathon innings, was ready to have a bowl.

Abbot took six for 15 as Braunton nosedived from 86 for two to 95 for seven and on to 138 all out. Only Baglow (24) resisted once the slide started.

That’s two wins on the spin now for Plymstock, who clambered ahead of Abbotskerswell and out of the bottom two.

Skipper Orchard is quietly confident the team can keep going to reach safety.

“We are clear we have to beat the teams around us and that’s 40 out of 40 from the last two games against Braunton and Abbots,” said Orchard.

“If we can beat Hatherleigh and Brixham when the time comes, and pick up points where we can against the top clubs, we should be fine.”

PLYMPTON came away from Abbotskeswell feeling a little hard done by after getting into a winning position before it rained.

Ryan Skinner took five wickets and there were three for Jamie Carr as Abbots were hustled out for 121.

Abbots were 19 for five at one stage and only got into three figures thanks to Charlie Garrett (35) and Marcus Green (25) baling them out.

Plympton got as far as 26 for one – Andy Walter the man out – when play halted in the 12^th over, to early for run-rate to be used.

Skipper Jeremy Williams said there were things Plympton could have done to improve their chances had they killed off Abbots when they had the chance.

“Obviously we were all very disappointed to have the game ruined by the weather,” said Williams.

“We did well to bowl Abbots out for what we did, although in hindsight if I was being ruthless perhaps we could have got the job done a little more quickly after having them 18 for four and 19 for five.

“That may have given us a bit more time to set about knocking off the runs, but credit to Abbots they stuck around and saw off the majority of their overs.

“Ryan Skinner was outstanding with the new ball picking up a deserved five-for.

“Abbots bowled nicely up front, but we looked as though we were just getting going when the rain came.”

SANDFORD gained ground on Heathcoat at the top of the A Division table by getting on with it to win on run rate at Barton.

Heathcoat remain top of the table, but their lead is down to three points as they were rained off batting second against Brixham before the 20-over point.

The two sides meet at Creedy Park on August 17 in what looks increasingly like the title decider.

George Biggs, the former Ottery batter who switched to Sandford earlier this season, made a top score of 46 not out on only his second outing in the 1^st XI.

A stand of 47 for the third wicket between Matt Theedom and Dave Dredge (33) helped Sandford reach 156 all out in the 36^th of what would have been 48 overs had it gone the distance.

Adam Parker (3-27) and Damon Calland (2-12) vied with each other for the leading bowling performance by Barton.

Barton’s problem was they found it hard to get the Sandford bowling away. Ryan Glass (2-18) and Linton Terblanche (2-23) were particularly miserly.

Calland was in for 91 balls making 18 not out, although he was probably doing the right thing by staying there as wickets had fallen at the other end.

Tom Drake made 25 and Andy McVeigh 19 when the rain became too bad to continue at 101 for six in the 34^th over.

Although Sandford won on run-rate, Barton still had 14 overs to go to make 56 to win with wickets in hand and may feel the rulebook did them no favours.

“Positives to come out of the game were that we were in a strong position to win game if it had not rained,” said Barton skipper Parker.

“The rain put a stop to a game that looked like it was going to be a good finish.

“We did well to bowl them out for 156 although at one point we should have got them out for less.

“Sandford batted well lower down the order.

“Our batting didn't get off to a great start and we found ourselves behind the run rate, once the rain started it was always a challenge to make up the difference.

“Hatherleigh this week is a yet another big game for us where we will be looking to get back to winning ways.”

HEATHCOAT will feel the weather robbed them of a probable win over Brixham as they were ahead of the clock when it rained.

Rules are rules though and another 14 overs needed to be bowled for run-rate to come into play.

Brixham were asked to bat first by Heathcoat skipper Sam Smith and were all out for 181 in their 47^th over.

Kyle Schreuder made a top score of 73 and was involved in significant stands of 59 with Andrew Lewin (20) and 27 with Chris Sleep (11).

Openers George Northcott and Tom Hopper put on 40 before Steffan Jones (2-14) broke them up.

Brixham found the turning ball hard to play and lost wickets in the last 10 overs to Jean Rossouw (3-41) and Jack Menheneott (3-43).

Heathcoat were 51 for one after six overs – skipper Sam Smith unbeaten on 21 – when umpires Jim Hicken and Paul Dart pulled the plug.

Heathcoat are away to fading promotion hopefuls Paignton this Saturday.

PAIGNTON skipper Connor Bryan will think twice about declaring early in future after his positive intention backfired against Hatherleigh.

Chasing extra points for a declaration win, Bryan came off five overs early when Paignton were 235 for seven.

Bryan had made 74 – he was fifth out at 145 – then Fanie deVilliers (44no) and George Benton (37) stroked 83 unbroken in eight overs to prompt the declaration.

Rob Fishleigh with three for 25 took the bowling laurels for Hatherleigh, backed up by Jack Cherrington (2-38).

Run-rate comes into play once 20 overs have been passed in the Premier and A Divisions – so Hatherleigh had one eye on the weather forecast and another on the scoreboard.

Gareth Tidball stuck and unbeaten 57 and Rob Davies was 18 not out in a total of 116 for one when the rain set in during the 24th over.

“Hatherleigh needed 11 off three overs to win and got them with three balls to spare,” said a disappointed Bryan.

The result knocks Paignton’s promotion prospects as they now trail second-placed Sandford by 26 points with leaders Heathcoat to play this Saturday.

Hatherleigh are now eight points clear of the bottom two going into this Saturday’s home game against Barton.