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PREMIER DIVISION - MAY 24

EXMOUTH captain Richard Baggs had a list of gripes as long as his arm after the five-wicket defeat at Plymouth.

   Plymouth seamers David Burke and Andy Horril took six and four wickets each as Exmouth were skittled out for 82 in the 24 th over.

   Plymouth went on to win before the tea table was even laid, despite Mark Woodman's three for 23 haul that had the wobbling for a while.

   Baggs said the Peverall Park pitch was close to being ‘sub-standard' although that couldn't be used to excuse all his side's failings.

   “The pitch was bad and probably claimed a few, but we should not have allowed ourselves to be bowled out for 82 on it,” said Baggs.

   “They bowled well, we played some poor shots and maybe a decision or two went against us.

   “Had we made it to 120, then I think it would have been game on a they would have struggled to get there. Plymouth lost five wickets making 83 – and we only needed another wicket and you are into number eight and down.

   “I was very disappointed to lose the way we did as we aren't showing enough fight.

   “We are one off the bottom now and the game against Torquay this Saturday is one we have to win as they are the only team below us.”

   Plymouth skipper Luke Minett, whose side is fourth in the Premier table, said this wasn't the city side's performance, not that he cared too much how they won.

   “Wins are like gold in this division and I will take any of them any way,” said Minett.

   “We were a bit off the pace to start with, then we had a bit of luck when Andy Horrill had Arul Suppiah caught behind cheaply.

   “Dave and Andy kept bowling wicket-taking deliveries and Exmouth kept finding ways of getting out to them.

   “It wasn't the best pitch we will play on this season, but it still takes some doing to bowl an established Premier side out for 82.

   “I was a bit disappointed that we lost five wickets knocking off the runs, particularly as we were 58 for one and cruising.

   “Perhaps there was an element of ‘the job's done' and we started to play big shots that got us out.”

   It all started to do wrong for Exmouth when their Plymouth-based former England U15 star James Burke was caught behind off Horrill in the second over without bothering the scorers.

   Somerset staffman Suppiah went soon after – possibly a rough decision as the ball might have flicked his pads not his bat on the way through to keeper Callum Whittaker – then Burke had Exmouth skipper Richard Baggs caught behind.

   When Ed Yeo went lbw to Burke almost immediately, Exmouth were 26 for four and in deep trouble.

   Surviving opener Mike Paine (15) and Andy Buzza (10) took the score up too 51 for five. When Burke had Paine caught by Charlie Hill at mid-on, it sparked another clattering of the wickets.

   Three wickets fell for five runs added – Paul Thompson taking a smart catch at slip off Horrill to dismissed Phil Holland among them – and it was only thanks to Robbie Debenham's 17 not out that Exmouth got as many as 82.

   Plymouth's only casualty early in the chase was opener Barr, who nibbled at a ball from ex-Devon seamer Woodman and was caught behind for eight.

   Whittaker (21) and Mark Thompson (24) pushed the score up to 58 and it was starting to look like a cakewalk.

   Thompson got out caught and bowled to Suppiah, Whittaker was caught half way back to the long-on boundary, then Woodman trapped James Nicholls lbw for nothing.

   Josh Bryant (10no) and Minett got Plymouth level and but the time the skipper was dismissed pulling Woodman (3-22) the conclusion was foregone.

 

STEVE Spoljaric hit an unbeaten century in a game of two tons at Exeter as Budleigh Salterton beat the city side by seven wickets to stay hard on the heels of Plympton at the top of the Premier Division.

   Exeter opener Marshall Hood batted from start to finish for an unbeaten 130 in a total of 239 for four.

   Aaron Williams was caught behind for nine with the score on 15, but Budleigh didn't see another breakthrough until Hood and Glen Lammonby had added 128 for the second wicket.

   Lammonby had just reached his half-century when he took a swipe at former West Indies Test star Omari Banks and was caught by a circling Budliegh skipper Ian Bishop.

   Hood and left-hander Rob Holman added another 68 as Exeter tried to make up for the slow start imposed on them by the bowling of Bishop and Spoljaric.

   Holman got out to Bob Dawson (2-39), as did Tshepo Legodi, as the Exeter innings petered out.

   Exeter's total always looked around 30 runs shy of a working majority, and so it proved as Budleigh won with more than two overs to spare.

   Had keeper Holman not fumbled the chance to catch Spoljaric when the Aussie all-rounder was in the 60s, there might have been a different outcome.

   Had spinner Adam Gribble been fully fit and not struggling with a back injury, which affected his mobility more and more as the game went on, it might have been harder for Budleigh to chase.

   Gribble can be relied on to go for two and a half runs an over averaged over a season – so 13 overs for 75 runs was a disappointing return for him.

   Simon Bird did the honours by dispatching Budleigh opener Ben Howgego in the first over after tea, but that was as good as it got for Exeter.

   Sandy Allen (79) and Spoljaric put on 149 for the second wicket and from then on the outcome was never in doubt.

   Dawson (23) helped Spoljaric put on 48, leaving Banks to whittle away the last few.

   Spoljaric reached his ton shortly before the target was passed, having hit nine fours and a six from 140 balls faced.

   Budleigh are five points behind leaders Plympton while Exeter are among the mid-table bunch with 41 points.

 

SIDMOUTH are up to third in the table after an embarrassingly easy nine-wicket win away to Sandford.

   Sidmouth captain Will Murray was a whisker away from a new career best as he took seven for 33 to help speed Sidmouth on their way for 132.

   Murray's previous Premier Division best was seven for 32 against Seaton way back in 2000.

   Sandford captain Richard Foan had to watch an unhappy procession of batsmen get in, and get settled then get out again without making more than Adrian Small's top score of 24.

   Richard Tucker, caught at slip by Josh Bess off Scott Barlow for seven, was the only real failure among them.

   Murray had Foan caught behind for 18, David Lye (19) caught on the boundary, trapped Trevor Anning lbw then persuaded Small to dolly a catch to Neil Hancock in the covers as Sandford slumped to 89 for four.

   Matt Theedom (13), Shane Evenden (14) and Peter Randerson (14) all chipped in before Murray picked off the stragglers.

   The contrast between the sides couldn't have been more striking as Sidmouth raced to 107 without loss in the first 20 overs,

   Opener Anthony Griffiths, who hit 41 off 60 balls with six fours, was the only Sidmouth batter out on the chase.

   Josh Bess, who made 68 undefeated with 13 fours, and Matt Cooke (7no) applied the finishing touches.

 

PAIGNTON are up and running at last after ending their wait for a win with a 50-run verdict over defending champions North Devon.

   Opener Seb Benton helped himself to 96 in a Paignton total of 199 all out.

   Benton's hopes of the man-of-the-match award were snatched away by team-mate James Hudson, who followed up his 45 with the bat by taking four for 51 with the ball as North Devon were hustled out for 149.

   Paignton were winless in league and cup prior to Saturday to the result as enormously welcome for skipper Justin Mann.

   However, there wasn't much batting back up for Benton – he made 96 of the first 137 on the board – which could prove costly against stronger sides.

   North Devon might be the defending champions, but they have had a terrible start to the new season and look to be facing a fight to stay up this term.

   Paignton have been struggling for an opener to sit with Benton this season so gave seam bowler Stephen George the chance to try the slot out at Instow.

   George made 18 at a run an over while Benton got on with it at the other end, taking the score up to 84.

   Kobus Pienaar came and went cheaply – he was caught at slip by Rob Gear off spinner Matt Dart for a couple – but Hudson and Benton forged on to reach 137.

   Benton was within touching distance of what would have been his second Premier ton – he took one off Chudleigh last season – when North Devon spinner Rob Gear won an lbw shout.

   Gear (4-38) did most of the damage to the lower half of the order, but Hudson refused to yield until opening bowler Stuart Rhodes sent him back caught and bowled with the score on 187 for eight.

   Rhodes wrapped it up for North Devon by dismissing Mann last to finish with figures of three for 38l.

   North Devon started disastrously with county players Rob Gear and Neil Bettis both getting out to Mike Pedley.

   Gear got yorker he couldn't dig out then Bettis chopped the ball on to his stumps and was gone for 11.

   Rhodes (55) and Mike Hedden (15) rebuilt in a stand of 32 that ended in a run-out when both batsmen were at the same end.

   Dan Bowser was in and out for two – Bhanu de Silva had him caught behind – and at 64 for four the game was Paignton's for the taking, or so it seemed.

   Martin Gear, Rob's older brother, joined Rhodes in a fifth-wicket stand of 52 that gave North Devon fresh hope of pulling this game out of the fire.

   Gear went on to reach 32 in no time at all, then spooned Hudson in the air and was caught square of the wicket by Mark Gilmour.

   Hudson had Rhodes lbw for 55 and from then on it was downhill all the way to 149 all out as the last four wickets went for just 12 runs.

 

TORQUAY gave Plympton a real run for their money before going down by three wickets to the early Premier Division leaders.

   Torquay might be ailing at the bottom of the Premier table, but they aren't going to roll over easily for anyone. They were bowled out for 153 with more than five of their 50 overs to go, but had Plympton wobbling more than once on the chase.

   A critical stage of the chase came when Jeremy Williams and Alex Trevarthan were fifth and sixth out on 133 and 134, followed closely by Wasim Mohammed at 139.

   Some wayward bowling by Torquay did Plympton a favour – five wides are always handy - as it helped Karl Prescott and Craig Miles scrambled the last 14 needed to win.

   Plympton soon had Torquay on the rack with Donohue pinning opener Jonathan Rice in the second over and bowling Tim Western soon after.

   When Wasim had Torquay captain Justin Yau caught at slip by Williams for eight, the home side were 23 for three and in danger of floundering.

   The rocks were avoided by surviving opener Matt Thompson anchoring the innings together with a dogged 27 that helped get the score up to 108 for seven.

   But the time Thompson was caught at slip to give Lewis Gregory the second of his two scalps, he had put on 43 with UsmanMalvi (26) and 24 with Kris Davis (15).

   The Torquay tail wagged pretty emphatically as well with Joe Thompson – Matt's older brother belting a quickfire 39 at number eight.

   Thompson, in the side as an opening bowler, hit three fours and a six off Wasim before Kark Prescott ended his fun.

   Plympton's reply didn't start well as Indian paceman Malvi sent back Dave Walter and Dave Wrench leg-before, either side of Rice uprooting Gregory's off-stump.

   Williams and Dan Robotham consolidated – they put on 32 for the fourth wicket – then Trevarthan joined Williams in what looked like a match-winning stand.

   From 62 for four the score advanced to 133 for five when Trevarthan was caught for 29 having a swing at spinner Davis.

   Williams went for a priceless 69 in Malvi's next over then Wasim got out to Davis and there was cause for concern in the Plympton camp at 139 for seven.

   Miles and Prescott saw the chase to a conclusion, although they were glad of Malvi turning the radar off and chucking down five wides, not once but twice.

   Plympton top the table by five points from Budleigh Salterton, who won at Exeter, and are 11 clear of Sidmouth, who defeated Sandford by nine wickets.

   Torquay are still bottom, but that could easily change this weekend as they visit Exmouth, who are the next side up and just seven points clear.

   If Torquay win at Exmouth they could get out of the bottom to completely. Next up from Exmouth are North Devon, who will be vulnerable to being overtaken should they lose to form side Sidmouth.