Devon Cricket Board - C Division 2nd XI round up

2nd XI C DIVISION

HONITON 2nds were beaten by four wickets in a contest that went the distance, Cornwood III winning with just four deliveries of the contest remaining.

Soar-away league leaders Cornwood arrived in Honiton in plenty of time to assess their opposition in preparation for another conquest to add to their 2012 season's tally.

Cornwood called correctly at the toss and opted to bowl first,

Tom Strawbridge and Steve Rampaul wisely opted for caution as the stickiness of the pitch hampered any positive intent.

At last, Strawbridge was unable to contain himself and, having hit one boundary in his 11, edged behind in the seventh over.

Andy Canniford, making his first appearance of 2012, looked confident and Steve Rampaul oozed with ‘Boycottishness’ before departing for a stylish four off a mere 15 overs, leaving the hosts in a spot of bother on 31-3 in the 18th over.

Having strangled the early innings progress with their medium paced dobbers, Cornwood opted to call on the speed dealers, prompting a flurry of runs as Andy Canniford and Andrew Lapping changed gear.

Canniford went for a handy 19 and skipper Lapping began to worry about running out of support having brought up an innings changing half century He then finally perished by the sword having made an excellent 68 that included 11 fours and one 6.

Jake Pulman (5no) and Richard Hill (8) then set about seeing what could be added to the target, while trying to minimise the number of overs which Cornwood would have available for the chase. Together, they ground out 20 for the last wicket as Honiton closed on 143 all out in the 46th over.

The pitch having dried out more than somewhat, Honiton's bowlers were faced with less favourable conditions in which to defend a score which was probably 30 runs short of par. Not that this fact particularly fazed Jake Pulman as he proceeded to blow away the Cornwood top order!

Batsmen two and three went in identical fashion as their middle stumps were mangled by full, straight Pulman deliveries, while Andy Brinsford saw off batsman number one, trapped leg before by a very full delivery.

Pulman ignored the cricketing adage of ‘keep pitching it up’, slamming the ball half way down to the next man who's aimed hook took a massive lump of glove and Strawbridge took the catch. and Cornwood were reduced to two runs for four wickets!

The fight back began with K Weaver and Dave Petherbridge digging deep to move their side past 50.

David Petherbridge (75) top edged a slog as he went past his half century, but the ball fell in no man's land. However, Andy Canniford finally made the breakthrough, to bowl him off an inside edge with the score on 104-5..

But then skipper Graham Jones (13no) and K Weaver (45no) took over as the score crept past 130. With wickets in hand, Cornwood were able to play some more ambitious shots and reached their target in the final over with four balls to spare.

Honiton's paltry five points from a game which they might well have won had one or two catches stuck seemed scant reward for an heroic effort in the field against the supposed leviathans of the 2nd XI C Division.

A lively and often spicy encounter took place in Barnstaple which was the latest venue for Kingskerswell after their promotion as D Division Champions last year.

Being asked to make first use of a decent but damp batting track, Kingskerswell’s innings was looking in a shaky condition at 88 for 4 with the fall of three quick wickets including opener Mark Bryant for 48.

However a critical partnership of 67 between Kris Davis (47) and Erik Gregersen (39) allowed a platform which the later order were able to build upon and lusty hitting towards the end from Pieter Douglas (29) ensured a score in excess of 200.

There were various points in the Kerswell innings when a score in excess of that seemed likely but Barnstaple would have taken the opposite view and been disappointed that they were unable to restrict Kerswell to a score of nearer 175.

The Barnstaple innings started quietly but exploded into life with the dismissal of both Barntaple openers one each for Mickey Noble and Pieter Douglas.

Certainly the celebrations of Douglas caused something of an exchange between batter and bowler with the batter eventually having to make his way after a rather thick edge to a quicker Douglas delivery.

There then followed a fairly explosive period of cricket with the arrival A Iqbal at the crease. His rapid 44 off less than 30 balls threatened to change the game dramatically. However his dismissal sparked a rapid decline in the run rate and from that point onwards the game was over as a contest.

Kerswell tried everything they possibly could to force the win and with 2 wickets a piece for Pieter Douglas, Erik Gregersen, and Chris Hurrell, they almost did so.

However Barnstaple’s ninth wicket partnership stood firm and they were able to secure the points necessary for the losing draw.

The 15 points gained by Kingskersell continues to cement their position in mid table whereas the losing draw moves Barnstaple into the relegation zone.

The old saying of 'it's a funny old game' was never truer on Saturday as Yelverton 2nd's prevailed in a low scoring game at Thorverton.

Put into bat, Yelverton were soon in trouble at 17-2 with both openers, skipper Chris Pearson (0) & Gavin Jones (11) back in the pavilion. The 3rd wicket pair of Pete Garland (9) and Gerry Keen (7) got the score up to 34 before 3 wickets fell on this score to leave Yelverton tottering on 34-5. Garland was bowled, Keen adjudged LBW and 17 year old Rob Grove (0) caught in the Gully. Tom Watkins looked comfortable and was joined by the experienced Chris Cottrell as the pair looked to stage a recovery. It was not to be as Cottrell (5) was adjudged LBW to leave the score 39-6. Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals with U15 players, Ben Pearson run out for 1 and Sam Skelton LBW for 7. A partnership of 22 for the 9th wicket between Tom Watkins and Cameron Dawe (4) got the Bohemians up to 80 with Watkins in sparking form, scoring 4 consecutive boundaries as he looked to give the innings an air of respectability. Watkins was the last to fall for a well played 29 caught at Long-Off looking for another boundary. Veteran Tony Carter was staunch in defence at the other end and remained 0 n/o. WIll Denford took 4-12 and Jock Spry 308 for the home team.

A total of 81 did not look enough on a wicket which although damp had not misbehaved in any way.

Yelverton skipper Chris Pearson rallied his side with some encouraging words, but in reality chasing down a score of 82 in 61 overs did not look too difficult.

Gavin Jones opened the bowling with Pearson, and with Pearson keeping it tight from one end, Jones wheeled away with his subtly flighted spin at the other. The Thorverton reply proceeded serenely to 24 without loss, before veteran Tony Carter made the first breakthrough trapping Milward plumb LBW for 14. Jones then struck twice in consecutive balls with Tait stumped for 1 and Taverner LBW first ball, to leave Thorverton an uncomfortable 25-3 at tea.

Jones continued after the tea interval, but the excellent tea buffet prepared by Thorverton seemed to affect him as he sent down some of his own 'buffet' as several full deliveries were dispatched to the boundary as the Thoverton batsmen looked to seize the initiative. The game then swung back to Yelverton as Jones accounted for Anning (13) bowled behind his legs and he then caught the remaining Thorverton opener at 1st slip off the bowling of Carter to leave the score 41-5. By now Yelverton could sense an upset was on the cards and so it proved to be as the last 4 wickets (one of the Thorverton batsman was unable to bat) fell for the edition of only 9 more runs, to leave the Bohemians victorious by 31 runs. Jones with the fine figures of 13-4-24-5 was well supported by Carter (7.4-3-10-4) with Thorveton's 9 innings wickets falling for the addition of only 26 runs.

"It was a great game and fantastic to win considering we only scored 81. I said to everyone before we started, it's a funny old game, and so it proved to be" said Pearson. "It was good for some of our up and coming younger players to experience playing in a game like this, as it shows you should never give up!" added Pearson.

Next week, 6th placed Yelverton entertain 3rd placed Clyst Hydon at Langton Park, 2:PM.