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NORTH
DEVON LEAGUE - WEEK 23
THE
2008 North Devon League season continues to be hit by
the soggy summer and there is a very real chance that
the First Division title will be determined by the elements.
The main game in week 23 was the ‘all or nothing'
clash between top flight heavyweights Sandford and North
Devon but a waterlogged Creedy Park left the game having
to be postponed and it means that, as things stand,
North Devon are one game away from being crowned Champions.
To claim the top honour the men from Instow must win
at Bradninch this coming Saturday.
Should the Mid Devon side win then the title will not
be decided until the very last game of the campaign
when at the same venue, Bradninch host Sandford.
Just four games across the five Divisions, survived
the rain.
In Division Two Westleigh have completed their programme
and now must sit and wait to see if their point's average
keeps them in the section next summer.
As things stand their ten wicket win over Braunton,
whilst ending the Kelsey side's hopes of returning to
the top flight also gives James Tythcott's sides a chance
of avoiding the drop.
Their fate now depends on the outcome of Sundays game
at Barnstaple & Pilton where if Bratton Fleming
win they will survive and Westleigh will drop down,
but a home win will see Westleigh reprieved, but of
course there is also the weather to consider and if
the game does become an addition to the mounting ‘cancellation/abandonment'
count then that too would leave Westleigh playing in
the Third Division next summer.
If Sunday was indeed to be their last Division Two game
for a while they certainly signed off in style, crushing
Braunton by 10 wickets.
The visitors batted first and laboured their way through
no fewer than37 overs before losing their final wicket
with just 57 on the board.
John Baglow top scored with 57, Chris Brown, Richard
Pearson and Neil Merrick each bagged a brace of wickets.
James Ford hit an unbeaten 30, including the final boundary
of the game which chalked up a ten wicket win; Lee Merrick
was the other unbeaten batsman with 27 to his name at
the close.
Division Four was a hive of action with two games being
played and the contest at Bideford will be remembered
for one particular reason.
The September 7 th meeting between Bideford II and champions
elect Shebbear, marked the final appearance in a league
game for Bideford by Kevin Fishleigh, who, in an age
when money seems to be taking players to all sorts of
quarters to ply their trade Fishleigh is the epitome
of a club player having served Bideford over a quarter
of century during which time he has scored over 10,000
runs.
Bideford Secretary Paul Argyle says of Fishleigh: “As
a player he will most certainly be very sadly missed.
He is hugely respected both as a player and a skipper
by his team mates and opponents in the game.
His contribution to all things Bideford CC on and off
the cricket square are, to out it into a single word,
immense.
He is quite simply a living legend of Bideford CC.”
Fishleigh could not mark his final league outing with
a victory, but that's because visitors Shebbear are
well on their way to sealing the Division Four title
and in openers Martin Bray and Mike Furber, they have
two of the sections top run getters this season.
Bray, struck a quite superb 105 ball 155 with eleven
4's and ten 6's, Furber chipped in with 40 and the pair
put on 154 runs for the opening wicket.
Bray was finally out in the most unfortunate of circumstances
when a shot from Furber off the bowling of Darren Hart
was fielded by the bowler and Bray was run out at the
non strikers end! Hart went on to affect a second run
out as the Shebbear innings closed on 256-5, Hart, Tom
Farnell and Martin Stewart each claimed a single wicket
for the home side.
The reply was steady with Alan Withecombe hitting 42
at the top of the order.
The wickets fell until the man of the moment, Fishleigh,
strode out from the Pavilion for the final time in a
league game and 52 balls later, when the game was completed,
he was not out 48 and his side had closed their innings
on 183-5 to give victory to the visitors by 95 runs.
For Shebbear there remains the small matter of one to
play, and one to win , to claim the title for that final
game is next Sunday when they travel to Bude for a classic
end of season, ‘winner takes all' confrontation.
Bude and Shebbear have both already sealed the two promotion
berths, Sunday's winner, weather permitting, will determine
who goes up as Champions.
The only other game to see any action was played at
Instow where Victoria Park registered a 50-run win over
North Devon III.
Tim Lane, not for the first time this term, top scored
for Victoria Park with 38 in a total of 198-7.
Craig Overton and Tom Cook each bagged a brace of wickets
for the home side who replied with 148-6.
Dan Payne was unbeaten with 39 at the close; the next
best home contribution was the 38 of Jamie Overton.
Mark Stevens picked up two wickets for the winners.
The Division Five schedule was rained off – again,
that section has now seen 31 of its 55 games not played
– just one to go, Sundays meeting of Barnstaple
& Pilton II and Bradninch II, and don't bet against
the rain taking out that one !
RESULTS
Division
One:
Sandford versus North Devon. Match
cancelled, waterlogged pitch.
Division
Two:
Braunton versus Hatherleigh. Match
cancelled, waterlogged pitch.
Barnstaple & Pilton versus Ilfracombe
Match cancelled, waterlogged pitch.
Braunton 57 (J Baglow 16; C Brown 2-11, R Pearson 2-9,
N Merrick 2-13), Westleigh 61-0 (J Ford 30no, L Merrick
27no). Westleigh (20pts) bt Braunton
(0) by 10 wkts.
Division
Three:
Barnstaple & Pilton II versus Sandford II.
Match cancelled, waterlogged pitch.
Morebath versus Incorrigibles. Match cancelled, waterlogged
pitch.
Division
Four:
North Devon III versus Bideford II. Match cancelled,
waterlogged pitch.
Shebbear 256-5 (M Bray 155, M Furber 40; T Farnell 1-37,
D Hart 1-43), Bideford II 183-5 (K Fishleigh 48no, A
Withecombe 42; Brock 2-23). Shebbear
(20pts) bt Bideford II (6) by 95
runs.
Victoria Park II 198-7 (T Lane 38, W Anderson 26: T
Cook 2-13, C Overton 2-32), North Devon III 148-6 (D
Payne 39no, J Overton 38; M Stevens 2-23). Victoria
Park II (20pts) bt North Devon II (6) by 50 runs.
Division
Five:
Bradninch II versus North Molton II. Match cancelled,
waterlogged pitch.
Black Torrington versus Barnstaple & Pilton III.
Match cancelled, ground waterlogged.
Tables
Week
One | Week Two
| Week Three | Week
Four | Week Five
| B H Mon | Week
Six | Week Seven
Week
Eight | Week Nine
| Week Ten | Week
11 | Week 12 |
Week 13 |
Week 14 | Week
15 | Week 16
Week
17 | Week 18
| Week 19 |
Week 20 | Week
21 | Aug BH Monday
| Week 22 | Week
23 |
