SHOBROOKE Park are probably safe from the threat of relegation in the B Division after beating Thorverton by three wickets in the derby clash at Station Road.

But the waiting and the worrying goes on for Thorverton, who are hovering just above the drop zone with three games to stay out of it.

Thorverton were all out for a disappointing 157 in the last of their 45 overs after being put in.

Three of the first four failed to reach double figure with James Hope – 37 off 91 balls – the only exception.

Hope was fourth out at 92 – run out by Phil Anning – which put the pressure on the bottom half of the order.

Jake Crouch batted gamely for 36 off 66 balls, but when he was collected by Shobrooke skipper Chris Simpson (4-46) there wasn;t much to come.

Andy Pitt (11) and Adriane Morrison (18) stuck around for a while prior to Thorverton’s last four wickets going for just 11 runs.

Shobrooke started poorly – Morrison accounted for Jon James and Chris Ford in the first five overs – but Anning was settled and had a willing running mate in Simpson.

Simpson made 45 off 55 balls in a stand of 73 that put Shobrooke on their way.

By the time Anning was fifth out at 121 for 51, Shobrooke were closing in on victory.

There were minor successes for Gill Crouch (2-23) and Morrison (3-37) in the time left, but veteran left-hander Richard Pyle and Will French comfortably saw it through with six overs and some to go.

Shobrooke entertain promotion chasing Bideford this Saturday with a 39-point safety margin. That should be enough.

Thorverton are 23 points clear of the relegation places with three games and 60 points to go.

A win at Dartington this Saturday should ease Thorverton’s situation, otherwise they will be sweating on beating struggling South Devon the following week to be sure of stay up.

Paul Fielder, who captained Thorverton in the absence of Dave Baldock, said there is nothing complicated about the rest of the season.

“We need to win two games from the last three,” said Fielder.

“It's in our hands in the two games coming up and it would be nice to know we are safe before travelling to Tavistock on the last Saturday.

“Dartington are now down but that won't make it any easier they now can play with a bit more freedom than they probably have been.

“We have to go there with the right attitude to come away with the result we want.”

Fielder said Thorverton will have to bat and bowl better than they did against Shobrooke to get the desired result.

“The pitch was a bit tough to bat on, but getting into a position to put 170-180 on the board and ending up 20-30 short was a bit disappointing,” he said.

“We didn't bowl as well as we have done in previous weeks but to have them seven down - and seeing their tail - the extra 20 runs would probably been enough.”

Shobrooke add quotes:

Shobrooke entertain promotion chasing Bideford this Saturday with a 39-point safety margin. That should be enough.

“We had had a good win, the boys gelling well together with the bat and ball,” said wining skipper Simpson.

“The three games left are big ones leading to the next season.

“We are focusing on the basics that helped us win the past few games.”