Devon Cricket Board - Four out of four for Torquay at top of the table

Four out of four for Torquay at top of the table

NORTH Devon skipper Barney Huxtable claimed the 84-run defeat at Torquay doesn’t mean his side aren’t title contenders.
Table topping Torquay made it four wins on the trot at the expense of North Devon, who were tipped as potential champs themselves at the start of the season.
North Devon were bowled out for 143 chasing 238 to win – Ryan Stevenson and Sach Galhenage taking three wickets each.
“I feel the league is completely open and whoever ends up winning it will have lost four or five games,” said Huxtable.
Aussie Mitch Pugh stroked 116 of 153 balls with 12 fours and three sixes as Torquay totted up 237 all out. Matt Thompson (22) and Tim Piper (24) chipped in.
The big partnerships were between Pugh and Thompson – 67 for the second wicket – and 75 with Tim Piper for the fifth.
Pugh was last man out to Jack Popham having batted the entire 182 minutes.
Callum French, the Cambridgeshire left-armer thought to be interesting the Devon selectors since moving to the area last month, picked up three Torquay wickets for 31 runs.
North Devon were never really allowed to get going in reply with Ryan Stevenson (3-12) ripping out the front three and Max Waller slowing down the middle order.
Quintin Dryer’s 44 was as good as it got for North Devon, whose last four wickets went for 23 runs as Sach Galhenage (3-31) spun out the tail.
Tom Allin was one of then for a patient 24. His stand of 34 for the sixth wicket with Dreyer was the best North Devon could muster.
North Devon were 120 for seven when Thompson stumped Allin off Galhenage and the outcome of the game no longer in question.
Where did it go wrong for North Devon? Huxtable said losing the toss didn’t help, neither did some slipshod bowling.
“It was most definitely a bat-first wicket, so losing the toss was important,” said Huxtable.
“We bowled two sides of the wicket from the start which made it impossible to set fields.
“Great spells of bowling from Matt Dart and Callum French in the middle got us back in the game.
“They both bowled very straight and made it very difficult to score runs.”
Chasing more than they would have liked. Huxtable wanted to keep wickets in hand early on then mount a chase.
Being 64 for five with 20 overs gone wasn’t what Huxtable had in mind.
“Ryan Stevenson bowled fantastically straight and didn't give anything away, piling on the pressure,” said Huxtable.
“Jack Popham hit a low full-toss straight back to Stevenson, Max Curtis got a great yorker first up from Stevenson - and he also bowled me a very good ball to take the outside edge.”
Although Allin and Dreyer fought back, a piece of bad luck cut the comeback short.
“Quintin batted with real aggression and took it to the bowlers from ball one,” said Huxtable.
“He was very unlucky to be run-out backing up. Had him and Tom gone on we would have got a lot closer.
“Our lower order had pressure to score from the first ball they faced, which bought Torquay two or three wickets as they had to play big shots from the start.”
Torquay face defending champions Sidmouth next, although on this form that won’t bother them.
“We are playing with freedom and a positivity, which is running through the whole team,” said skipper Justin Yau.
“Sidmouth will be a huge test, but we're steamrolling through teams at the moment and hope we can keep the momentum going.”
Yau said the win over North Devon – one of Yau’s ‘Big Three’ rivals for the title – was a signal of Torquay’s intent this season.
He added: “Mitchell Pugh's innings was absolutely first class- a top drawer knock in the circumstances and on a tough wicket to accumulate runs.
“It was a match-winning century and it couldn't have come from a nicer bloke.
“We bowled brilliantly- everyone played their part and Ryan Stevenson is fast becoming the most talked about player in the Premier Division.
“Ryan is so level-headed and grounded - and he's bowling out of his skin at the moment.
“He was assisted well by our spinners. It was great for Sach to get himself up and running- he bowled a fantastic spell in a critical stage of the game.”

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