Devon Cricket Board - Premier round-up: Querl makes headlines

CRAIG Overton make have scored a century – and some – but Glenn Querl stole the show from the Somerset youngster in the 140-run win at Bovey Tracey.

Overton smashed 142, which came off 133 balls and included 15 fours and three sixes, as North Devon accumulated 267 for six.

He went from 0-50 in 43 balls, 50 to §100 in another 73 and opened up at the end with the last 43 off 14 balls, three of which were sixes hit off Chris Bradley.

Glenn Querl had a six and nine fours in a brisk 63, Jamie Overton chipped in with 23.

Dan Chids with three for 46 was the pick of the Bovey bowlers.

Bovey lost Chris Clayton and Chris Bradley to Querl before reaching double figures, which set the tone for their reply.

Querl took five of the wickets to fall as Bovey limped to 67 for five and made it six of he best when he had Nick Seager caught for a top score of 40.

Zaid Joseph (15) and Sam Wyatt Haines (13) delayed the inevitable for a while until Matt Westaway (2-4) and Overton (1-18) flushed out the tail.

Cricket manager Gwynne Jones said Querl’s contribution could not be under stated,

“Glenn played a gem at number six, coming in at a critical stage then steadying the innings in a large partnership with Craig which enabled nearly 100 runs to come off the last 10 overs,” said Jones.

“That was exactly the game plan - one of the first three staying until the 45th over with wickets in hand to double the score with 20 to go.

“When we bowled Glenn assessed the pitch perfectly - slow and uneven bounce - and bowled within himself, relying on late outswing to undo most of the Bovey batsmen with only one bouncer to keep the batsmen honest.

“Roger Newman, the Devon supremo was very impressed with Glenn’s all-round display and said he would love to have him playing for Devon, if only he would make himself available.

“By the end there was little fight in the opposition as they had no appetite left to make us fight for a win, having been really up for it at the start.”

BRADNINCH beat Heathcoat by seven wickets to ease their relegation fears considerably and heap more pressure on their rivals.

Sam Smith (73) and Liam Lewis (33) were Heathcoat’s main run getters in a total of 206 for five.

Chris Small (26) got early runs before Eliot Acton (3-22) took three in a row to slow Heathcoat down,

Smith and Pete Randerson (27) got Heathcoat moving again by adding 65, then Lewis and Smith notched another 68,

Bradninch got off to a flier with openers Ross Acton (31) and Tim Piper (27) putting on 61.

Both went in quick succession, but a stand of 116 between Brad Cachopa (64) and Gary Chappell (69no) took Bradninch within sight of victory.

Chappell and Joe Webb (3no) finished it off with nearly three overs to spare.

Defeat leaves Heathcoat nine points adrift of Plympton and in the second relegation slot. Bradninch now have a 16-point safety net.

Heathcoat captain Lewis said another 25 runs may have made a different game of it.

“He added: Sam Smith batted well but too many of the top order got in then got out.

“A few more runs would have made it interesting, and we could have helped ourselves by bowling just one side of the wicket.”

Chappell said he felt the game was there to be won from the second-innings drinks break and the result had eased a few jangling nerves.

“We were 85 for two at half way and ideally placed to kick on, which we did,” said Chappell.

“I feel a lot more comfortable than I did, but we still have Plympton to play who are below us and could do with one more win before we get to them on the last day, just to be on the safe side.”

OPENERS Sandy Allen and James Burke made light work of knocking off 161 to win in a one-sided affair against bottom side Paignton.

Paignton made it to 160 for nine in their 50 overs – opener Connor Bryan hitting a top score of 63.

Budleigh were home and dry inside 25 overs with Burke 83 not out and Allen unbeaten on 72.

Allen hit 11 fours from 69 balls faced while Burke had 12 fours and two sixes in his 78-ball stay.

All the Paignton bowlers suffered under the lash, with the Benton brothers – Seb (0-22 off 3) and George (0-35 off 5) having a particularly bad days.

Bryan was the only bowler to get away with going for less than six an over.

When Paignton batted the made a solid enough start with Mark Smith (35), the consistent Bryan (63) and Seb Benton (27) getting the score up to 117 for three with 15 overs to go.

Instead of kicking on using their wicket s in hand, Paignton struggled as Bob Dawson (3-46) and James Hudson (5-42) worked through the lower order.

Victory leaves Budleigh second in the table 26 points behind leaders North Devon with four games and 80 points to play for.

Paignton are 76 points adrift at the bottom of the table and already planning their A Division campaign next season.

PLYMPTON skipper Andy Walter praised his team’s stickability for earning the one-wicket win at Plymouth which may just save them from relegation.

With Imran Ali Pasha taking five for 35, and Keith Donohue claiming three for 43 on his comeback from 2nd XI retirement, Plympton appeared to have done the hard bit by bowling out Plymouth for 142.

Without 32 from Doug Hewitt at the top of the order, and Matt Hooper making 45 to rescue them from 81 for seven, Plymouth would have been lucky to get a hundred.

Any thoughts Plympton may have harboured of a gentle stroll to victory were shattered as Plymouth reduced them from a promising 111 for five to 139 for nine.

David Wrench was run out for 27 – he ran, Dan Robotham didn’t – Richard Skinner had 29 and Walter chipped in with 24.

Wickets were falling a bit too often at times though with Charles Hill (4-20) doing the damage.

Donohue has been in a few tight spots during a career that included 100-odd games for Devon, appearances for the Minor Counties XI against Pakistan and India and a tour to South Africa to play side such as Transvaal and Natal.

Plymouth couldn’t budge Donohue and when Hill finally bowled bad ball it was dispatched for the match-winning boundary.

With Heathc oat losing to Bradinc h, they have slipped nine points behind Plympton in the second drop spot with doomed Paignton.

With 80 points to play for Plympton aren’t safe yet, but Walter feels far more confident about staying up than he did.

“It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on, and 143 was always going to be a hard to get,” said Walter.

“We needed to show some guts to get the runs and when the chips were down we ground out a result that we needed.

“In the grand scheme of things it is a great result for us. Heathcoat losing was a bonus too.

“We need to win one more game to be sure of staying ahead of Heathcoat and as we have to play them that is the one we will be targeting.”

Plymouth captain Callum Whittaker was generous in his praise for Plympton, but not blind to his own team’s failings.

“We bowled brilliantly, but couldn’t repair the damage done when we batted,” said Whittaker.

“Imran bowled well – terrifyingly so at times – but we sold ourselves short. Another 20 runs would have made a massive difference.

“Credit where it is due though. Plympton are fighting for their lives and showed real spirit when the pressure was on them.”

Defeat leaves Plymouth 28 points clear of the drop zone, which is almost enough to be safe, but not quite.

“A lot of things have to go wrong for us to get sucked into it, but if we win one more game we won’t have anything to worry about,” said Whittaker.