Devon Cricket Board - Toms ton points Plymouth to first league win

Toms ton points Plymouth to first league win

JAMES Toms hit a chanceless century as Plymouth beat Plympton by 52 runs to get off the mark and off the bottom of the Premier Division
Both sides went into the match without a win so something had to give.
Toms slammed 21 fours on his way to 115 off 147 balls to underpin Plymouth’s total of 242 for eight.
Opener Josh Mailling top scored for Plympton with 74, but the only significant support he got came down the order from skipper James Carr (35).
Spinners Mike Simmers and Harry Ramsden kept Plympton progress behind the clock.
Wickets fell trying to catch up as Plympton faded to 190 all out with more than two overs to go.
Winning skipper Sam Stein said he was relieved to win after three previous defeats – and beating arch-rivals Plympton made it a little bit sweeter.
“The win was much more important than who it was against as we didn’t want to stay where we were any longer,” said Stein.
“We needed a win just to build some confidence and we can go into this Saturday’s game against Exeter feeling cautiously optimistic.
“James Toms batted superbly – not a chance anywhere – to set us up, then Hal Kerton and Joe Walsh took it away from Plympton in the late overs.
“They put on 30-odd very quickly for our last stand and took us to a very respectable total.
“Dave Burke – great to have him back at last – and Hal bowled up top for us, then the spinners strangled them.
“Once we got Mailling and Carr in successive balls caught on the boundary, it was only going to end one way.”
Opposite number Carr wasn’t sure whether to be disappointed, annoyed or frustrated to lose.
“Those are just a few of the words to describe the feelings in our camp,” said Carr.
“Plymouth fielded better than we did, James Toms batted superbly and Dave Burke tied us down, as always does.
“We probably gave away 20 runs in the field before the last three overs, when we went for 40, meant instead of chasing 200-210 we were chasing 240.
“I felt we could get 210 and 240 wasn’t impossible, but we left a little bit too much to do
“Josh and myself getting out consecutive balls didn't help.
We’re close to getting our first win. The others have just done the little things better. We go again this Saturday against North Devon looking for it.”
Toms lost opening partner Ben Stein with 36 on the board before going on to add 62 with Ramsden (15), 29 with Simmers (15), 24 with Rob Bennett (12) and 40 more combined with George Stephenson and Kerton.
Ryan Skinner got Toms out when he returned for a second spell with score on 191 for six.
Joe Hagen-Burt didn’t linger long, which left Kerton and Walsh to tuck into the bowling.
During the 14 balls they were together Walsh hit three sixes in a seven-ball knock of 21 and Kerton moved on to 30 not out.
Plympton didn’t construct a partnership worth more than 32 as the laboured to 121 for six with 34 of their 50 overs gone.
Mailling had seen a succession of batters depart to Sam Stein (2-4), Burke (2-29) and Ramsden.
Carr joined Mailling in a stand of 57 for the seventh wicket , which kept Plympton in the game a bit longer.
Simmers coaxed both of them out on after the other, caught on the long-off boundary by Plymouth skipper Stein.
That left Kerton and Joe Hagen-Burt to wrap things up with a tail-ender each.

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