SKIPPER
Mike Burnett starred with bat and ball as Woodland Fort
stay tucked in behind the D Division's top three following
a 48-run win over Ipplepen.
Fort, who were put into bat, made a slow
but steady start and reached 48 without loss. Marc Humphries
was first to go for 28.
Wickets fell steadily to leave Fort 88 for five with
surviving opener Luke Dennis (25) the last of the five
to go.
The innings was rebuilt by skipper Burnett and Ross
Jowett (20) who put on 39. Burnett continued on to make
39 not out in a 46-over total of 161 for nine. Pick
of the Ipplepen bowling was Steve Bowden (4-34).
Ipplepen's reply started poorly as Marcus Draper (3-32)
picked up early wickets to leave them struggling on
16 for three.
Tom Cooper and Lee Curtis then set about
the Fort's bowling, putting on 84 to leave Ipplepen
poised for victory at 100 for three with 25 overs left.
As soon as Matt Ashton accounted for Curtis (47) Ipplepen
imploded as they lost their next six wickets for just
13 runs.
Ashton (3-19) and Burnett (4-17) were the bowlers who
did the damage with Ashton sealing victory by bowling
Keith Wakeham.
The only team below Ipplepen in the week four table
are Lustleigh , who possibly surprised
a few people as well as themselves by taking a respectable
losing draw off leaders Hatherleigh .
Three batsmen hit half-centuries for Hatherleigh as
they reached 273 for five – Gareth Tidball, Darryl
Barnes and Simon Gillespie.
Tidball, a Devon U15 player last year, top scored with
67 and shared in a useful stand of 67 with Barnes (60).
South African Barnes was with Heathcoat last season,
where he scored 630 runs in a relegated side, but switched
clubs when he landed a job at the cheese factory in
Hatherleigh.
Rob Fishley and Gillespie (55no) put on another 42 with
David Penberthy (26no) adding another 63 before the
overs ran out.
Lustleigh weren't allowed to build the sort of partnerships
that would win the match – Fishley and Josh Stacey
did a good job slowing them down – but did manage
to reach maximum batting points.
Mike Wright with 66 was the leading Lustleigh run scorer.
Will Sawry-Cookson (37) and Paul Foot lent a helping
hand as well.
Whitchurch Wayfarers
suffered a 10-wicket pasting at the hands Bridestowe
, who needed less than 20 overs to knock off
the 87 needed for victory.
After Jez Stokes (26) and Shane Daymond (21) were dismissed,
Whitchurch had no answer to Chris Lavis (4-27) or Steve
Draynor (3-19).
Phil Hatton (34no) and Eddy Jones (44no) knocked off
the runs needed with the minimum of inconvenience.
Lewdown captain Charlie Hughes was
unimpressed with his side's batting as they slumped
to a five-wicket defeat at Chelston .
“We got it all wrong,” said Hughes. “We showed them
too much respect and not enough aggression and capped
it all by playing the wrong shots on a slow-paced pitch.”
Klemens Cathcart (28) and Jack Scuse (20) got Lewdown
up to 77 for two where they ran into a devastating spell
from Howard Carter, which reduced them to 74 for six.
Carter finished with five for 17 as Lewdown were bowled
out for 123 – and the former Barton seamer hadn't
finished with them yet either.
Vivek Kulkarni (51) and super veteran Mike Burdett (19)
took Chelston to the brink of victory depite the odd
interruption from Hughes (3-25). Carter finished the
game off by hitting three successive fours as Chelston
won with 25 overs to spare.
Chagford's batting performed a disappearing
act Paul Daniels would have been proud of as they slumped
to a five-wicket defeat away to Dartington &
Totnes .
There was no hint of the carnage to come as Del Owen
(28) and Jeremy Christophers (22) steered the score
towards 71 without loss.
D&T skipper Harold Stevenson offered
youngster Kallon Veale a chance to break the partnership
– and once he started wheeling away there was
no stopping him.
Veale's off-breaks claimed four for 36, medium pacer
Bertus Loots claimed three for 21 and only Josh Rankin
(20) hung around long as Chagford slumped from 71 for
none to 85 for five and on to 128 all out.
As run chases go it was a non event as D&T had 56
overs if they wanted them and got where they wanted
to be with more than half to spare.
Loots (37), Jamie Palmer (35) and Scott Stevenson (32)
dealt with the target between them. Paul Wakefield's
three for 31 was an inconvenience more than anything
else.