Devon Cricket Board - Devon Womens Indoor Finals

Devon Womens Indoor Finals

The Devon Womens Indoor Competition entered the final knockout stages on Sunday 22nd March following four weeks of round robin matches. Having all played each other once, the teams were seeded into the knockout rounds depending on their final league position. Plympton and Cornwood A automatically progressed to the semi finals having finished in 1st and 2nd place respectively, whilst Cornwood B, Hatherleigh, Plymouth and Plymouth University had to fight it out in preliminary rounds.

The first two matches went very much by the form guide with Plymouth defeating Plymouth University by 34 runs and Hatherleigh losing out to Cornwood B by 70 runs. The latter game looked set to be a closer affair after a good start from Hatherleigh scoring 26 from their first pair, but they proceeded to lose 11 wickets in their remaining two pairs, which left them in a tough position. Cordwood took the game away from Hatherleigh quick with Hannah Parsons and Emma Gibson scoring 39 in the 1st pair followed by 31 from Debbie Horner and Laura Cosby in the 2nd.

PRELIMINARIES

Plymouth 75 beat Plymouth University 34 by 41 runs

Hatherleigh 17 lost to Cornwood B 87 by 70 runs

The semi finals brought about two very different matches with the favourites, Plympton A and Cornwood A, coming into the competition. In the first semi final Cornwood A nudged out Plymouth by 13 runs in a tightly contested contest. Plymouth batted first and posted an under par 35, starting well with 29 scored by opening pair S Maskelyne and G Beriot, which was quickly pegged back by the Cornwood A bowlers who took 4 wickets in the middle pair. Cornwood A made steady progress with the bat leaving them two runs ahead with the last pair to come in, but the Plymouth bowlers couldn't take the wickets required to get back in the game as Cornwood A finished on 48 to progress to the final. The other semi was a much more one sided affair with Plympton dominating with both bat and ball against Cornwood B. Cornwood B batted first and were in a good position having scored 20 off the 1st pair, but the Plympton bowling attack kept things tight, allowing Cornwood to add just a single run off their remaining 8 overs. Plympton's Steph Hutchins and Jemma Horton (57) and Evie Pitman and Sophie Knapp (38) scored freely with the bat helping Plympton secure the win.

SEMI FINALS

Cornwood B 21 lost to Plympton 112 by 92 runs

Plymouth 35 lost to Cornwood A 48 by 13 runs

So it was the top two teams, Cornwood A and Plympton (pictured), who met in the final to contest the trophy, with Plympton opting to bowl first. Cornwood A started poorly only scoring one run from the first pair, mainly thanks to two wickets from Steph Hutchins in the final over. Charlotte Milner and Holly Grafton pulled Cornwood A back into the game as they added 20 to the score and Gemma Lancaster and Amy Gibson continued the hard work, adding a further 14 to the total despite a rare wicket maiden from Jemma Horton. Cornwood may have felt they were a few short as they left Plympton requiring 36 to win the trophy. Cornwood got off to the start they needed taking three wickets in the first pair, two of them falling to Gemma Lancaster in the fourth over. Plympton produced a much stronger batting display in the second pair adding 26 to the total without losing a wicket, which left Plympton needing just 3 runs from their final pair. Cornwood needed to take wickets to get back in the game and Charlotte Milner delivered in the first over to put the pressure back on Plympton. Steph Hutchins and Jemma Horton recovered from their early set back though to secure the win and the trophy, adding another 24 from the final 3 overs.

FINAL

Cornwood A 35 lost to Plympton 57 by 22 runs

The Womens Indoor League consists of 6-a-side pairs games with a softball, which makes it the perfect competition for any ladies or girls sections looking to compete in a fun competition over the winter. It may also interest any developing clubs who might not have quite enough players for 11-a-side games yet as it can be be the ideal stepping stone to summer competitions and attracting more players. If anyone is interested in taking part next year or would like more information, please contact Warren Carr, warren.car@devoncricket.co.uk

DCB Ltd, University of Exeter Sports Hall, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon EX4 4QN Company Registration Number: 7024773