SHOBROOKE Park quickly bounced back from their defeat at Bideford with a no-frills five-wicket win over B Division stragglers Ottery St Mary.
Kiwi Craig James bagged five for 33 and skipper Chris Simpson four for 28 as Ottery were bowled out for 146 in the 35th over.
Ottery had some serious recovering to do after James took three in a row to reduce them to 13 for three.
Alex Clements (28) and Rob Crabb (22) put on 53 for the fourth wicket and at 82 for five when Clements go out there was some hope.
Harry Conway batted the rest of the innings for an unbeaten 38, but no one stayed with him long until last man Tom Jeacock came in at 110 for nine.
Clements and Jeacock kept Shobrooke out in the field longer than they anticipated while putting on 36 for the last wicket.
Shobrooke made a discouraging start as Jon James, Dan Robbins and Chris Ford all went reaching eight for three. Joe Birch picked up two of the wickets to fall.
Skipper Simpson was still there though and cracked along to 74 not out to win the game.
Key support for Simpson came from James (20) and veteran left-hander Richard Pyle who contributed 20 not out to an unbroken stand of 50 that sealed the deal in the 39th over.
Shobrooke (80pts) are third in an all-change top three that has Bideford (84) now top and Ipplepen (83) second.
Shobrooke will go second this Saturday if they beat Ipplepen – and could be back on top if Bideford lose at Abbotskerswell, which is not a far-fetched suggestion.
Most independents would have picked Simpson as man of the match, but the genial Australian was keen to share the credit round in James’ direction.
Craig James bowled really well for his five wickets,” said Simpson. “He was sharp and bowled at the stumps.
“We should have bowled them out for 110 but their tail wagged a bit.
“When we lost a few wickets early the game could of gone either way.
“Craig an myself put on a good partnership the Andy Codling and Richard Pyle came smashed a few.
“Very happy to come away with the points.”
For Ottery skipper Will Harrison it was an improvement on the defeat by Tavistock seven days earlier
“A couple of dropped catches and a few more runs would have helped but overall it was a better performance,” said Harrison.
