Devon Cricket Board - Premier Division - Bovey hauled back by chasers

Budleigh Salterton 1st XI, who are: Back row. Jack Dart; Elliot Rice; Matthew Plowman; Andy Parker (scorer); James Burke; Lloyd Murrin; Bob Dawson. Front Row: Charles Morris; Neil Murrin; Joel Murphy (capt); Lloyd White; Gamindu Amarangsinghe
BOVEY Tracey skipper Peter Bradley said the 102-run defeat by Sidmouth proved what he has known all along about this season’s title race – it really is wide open.
Anthony Griffiths stroked 93 not out and Matt Cooke made a brisk 39 as Sidmouth amassed 199 for five in 35 overs.
Bovey slumped to 38 for six in reply – Will Murray and Bess brothers Josh and Zac among the wickets – and despite a battling 36 from Chris Bradley were a long way short on 97 for nine when the overs ran out.
Exmouth’s win at Sandford means they are only six points behind in second with Sidmouth four points further astern in third.
Peter Bradley said he had never subscribed to the school of thought that Bovey were title bankers, not that he was happy to have been proved right.
“Matt Cooke hit my first over for 17 and I thought then it wouldn’t be our day,” said Bradley.
“It would be easy to say we were rubbish and had a bad game – and it is fair to say we didn’t bat or bowl at all well.
“People have been saying since the first few weeks of the season we are the red-hot favourites, but I have never been one of them.
“I always expected it to be a close finish and that’s exactly what it is turning into.”
Sidmouth skipper Will Murray said he hoped the win at Bovey would be a springboard to winning the title.
However, like Bradley he knows everything could change in the last four games.
“Beating Bovey has put us back in the mix – now we need to keep winning, which is easier said than done.
“Budleigh and Torquay are fighting to stay up, Bradninch aren’t totally out of it either and we finish with Exmouth.
“I can see more twists and turns ahead.”

EXMOUTH overwhelmed Sandford by nine wickets with Devon batsman David Lye cracking 92 not out as his current side beat his former with seven overs to go.
Neil Bettis (52) and George Greed (43) were Sandford’s prime run getters in a total of 153 for six.
Max Curtis was Exmouth’s only casualty as Lye and Barney Huxtable (40no) put on 151 unbroken.
Exmouth skipper Richard Baggs has been looking at the fixture list – Heathcoat, Bovey, Budleigh and Sidmouth – and believes it is too close to call.
“Four huge games against title rivals and teams fighting hard to stay up as well,’” said Baggs.
“Budleigh now have an excellent bowling attack and Heathcoat have won three on the trot and are playing well.
“All four games are tough ones and it is impossible to say what will happen?”

HEATHCOAT’S latest win was a four-run verdict over Torquay, which drags the Seasiders right into the relegation mire and moves them within 14 points of safety.
Matt Parkes (45) and Sam Smith put on 86 for the third wicket in a total of 150 for nine.
Despite Matt Thompson’s half century, Matt Hague (4-30) and Ned Menhendott (2-29) bowled Torquay out for 146.
“We remain in striking distance and leave ourselves a chance to stay up with two or three wins in our remaining games,” said Heathcoat skipper Chris Small.
Torquay appeared to be in the driving seat after Callum Wilson reduced Heathcoat single handed to 34 for three.
Smith and Parkes got Heahcoat off the hook, but after Tom Field (3-29) broke the stand by having Smith caught by Aqeel Ahmed no one else made a double-figure score.
Thompson was the kingpin Torquay had to bat around and in bits and pieces they seemed to be getting there.
The turning point came in the 19-ball period when Torquay dipped from 89 for three to 93 for seven with Thompson one of Hague’s victims.
Wilson, who launched Menheneott for three successive sixes, made 21 off 11 balls as Torquay fought back.
Ahmed (15) and Mawgan Penrice (15) scuttled 27 for the ninth wicket, but Hague got one and Small the other to wrap up Heathcoat’s third successive win.
PLYMOUTH pacer Sam Stein took a career best six for 26 as the city side humbled defending champions North Devon by 161 runs at Mount Wise.
With Chris Barr hitting a top score of 45, and handy contributions from George Stephenson (34), Ben Stein (19), Rob Bennett (29) and Sam Stein (19no), Plymouth posted 195 for nine in their 50 overs.
North Devon slumped to three for five in reply – Bennett taking two wickets and Sam Stein one – but appeared to be recovering slowly through Dan Bowser and Glenn Querl.
Then the wheel fell off. Bennett nipped out Querl then Stein took the rest as North Devon collapsed from 21 for thee to 34 all out in just 15 overs.
A delighted Stein said: “I have never taken more than three wickets in a 1st XI game before, never mind six.
“I feel I have been bowling pretty well this season, but things started to improve after our Devon Cup game against Exeter a couple of weeks back.
“When Dan Bowser nicked one between the keeper and slips, I thought it was going to be one of those days,
“Instead, it just got better and better after that.”
Plymouth skipper Callum Whittaker, who had a hand in two if the dismissals by taking catches behind the stumps, said Stein had never played so well for the club.
“North Devon are a dangerous side when they bat, but thanks to Sam we were in a different class with the ball,’ said Whittaker.
“In my 14 years with the club I have never seen an all-round bowling performance like it.
“You often see batsman play and miss and get away with it. This time we were finding the edge or getting through them.
“It seems North Devon are becoming prone to falling on the floor as Heathcoat bowled them out for 69 last week.
“We shouldn’t forget Sam’s contribution with the bat either. He and Rob Bennett put on 48 for the last wicket, which made a big difference to the way we felt going out to field as we had a decent total to defend.
Plymouth had lost opener Jake Luffman to the third ball of the game – Querl doing the damage – then Jack Brant and James Toms by the time they reached 50.
Barr’s anchorman knock saw Plymouth from 28 for two to 144 for seven and included stands of 66 with Stephenson and 27 with Ben Stein.
Five Plymouth wickets fell for six runs – Barr among them – as Matt Dart (3-49) and Querl (2-34) reduced Whittaker’s men to 147 for nine.
Then Sam Stein joined Bennett to shore things up at the end.
Having been bowled out for below a hundred for the second week running, things can only get better for North Devon against Bradninch this Saturday.
“We were second best again,” said North Devon captain Matt Dart.
“Plymouth were better prepared and played better cricket again. Nothing more to say on that.
“Everyone knows where they went wrong and I am sure we will see different result this week. Let’s hope Bradninch feel the backlash.
BUDLEIGH Salterton go into the derby clash with Sidmouth this Saturday out of the bottom two after a 33-run win at Bradinch.
Bradninch, still without captain Gary Chappell who is poorly, were set 177 to win in the 49-over game.
Opener Gammy Amaransinghe (35) scored early runs for Budleigh and when he went James Hudson (38) kept the board ticking over.
Both fell to Will Squire, who with five for 31 was easily Bradninch’s most successful bowler.
After Budleigh dipped from 126 for four to 144 for eight, captain Joel Muprhy (22no) and Matt Plowman (10no) put on 36 in the final five overs.
Bradninch struggled to keep up with the asking rate from the word go and were 38 for two in the 16th over after James Street (15) and Matt Jarrett (0) went in the space of three balls.
Veteran Chris Acton dug in for 20 and Matt Golding made a patient 48 not out off 72 balls.
Hudson (4-36), Plowman, Murphy (2-24) and Amaransinghe (2-24) tied Bradninch down with some miserly bowling for over after over. Two blinding catches by Bob Dawson helped the Budleigh cause.
By the time Paul Tweddle arrived and stroked 24 off 26 balls the game had already got away from Bradninch, who were al out for 143.
Budleigh are by no means safe yet, but back-to-back wins over Sandford and now Bradninch have given them a lift.
“I have said before if we had been able to play our games we wouldn’t be at the wrong end of the table and now we are showing it,” said skipper Murphy.
“You are never too sure what is a good score at Bradninch and I wasn’t certain we had enough.
“It didn’t really matter though as we bowled excellently and backed our bowlers with some fine fielding.
“Charlie Morris and Matt Plowman deserved more wickets than they got and you have to give credit to James Hudson.
“His 38 runs were crucial in the context of the match – and he has the happy knack of being able to get out tail-enders, which is how you win matches.”