SHOBROOKE Park crushed Thorverton by 111 runs to create a logjam at the top of the B Division.

Veteran Richard Pyle and Kiwi Craig James both scored half-centuries as Shobrooke Park totted up 232 for eight.

James Bevan and Tom Youngman had three wickets each as Thorverton collapsed to 121 all out.

Victory puts Shobrooke joint second with former leaders Ipplepen, who surrendered top spot by losing to Tavistock.

Bideford are the new leaders, two points clear of Shobrooke and Ipplepen with Tavistock only six points behind in fourth.

Shobrooke, who visit Seaton on Saturday, will have a keen interest in the outcome of the game between Ipplepen and Bideford this Saturday.

While Shobrooke are in the thick of the promotion race, Thorverton are in the relegation mire. They need to overtake Barton to get out of the bottom three. The two teams meet this Saturday in a no-holds-barred affair.

Shobrooke opener Jon James and skipper Chris Simpson missed out against Thors, but the rest of the top six got runs.

Chris Ford (21) and Pyle (57) put on 43 for the third wicket, then Craig James (65) joined Pyle to put on 88.

Andrew Codling hit six fours in a rapid 40 as the overs ticked down.

Pick of the bowlers for Thors with four for 39 was Jacob Broom. Skipper Andy Pitt had two for 33.

Dave Baldock (31) was the only batter in the Thorverton top six to survive long as the seamers got to work.

Jake Crouch made 15 coming in at 76 for five. No one else got more than eight.

Craig James (2-11) took wickets up top then Bevan (3-25) and Youngman (3-19) got stuck in.

Thorverton’s prospects were not helped by the departure of Aussie all-rounder Seppe Barletta, who has gone home for family reasons.

Winning skipper Simpson he had sympathy for Thors over Barletta’s departure but added his side were good value for the win.

“I really feel for Thorverton losing their overseas as it is a tough division and taking out your best player makes it hard,” said Simpson.

“I am sure if it happened to us it would make my job a lot harder.

“I thought 232 was a good score – and our bowlers were outstanding.”

Losing captain Pitt said having done the hard bit in the field, to lose they way they did was disappointing.

“I thought we bowled well to keep them to 230-odd on what seemed a pretty batsman friendly wicket,” said Pitt.

“We dropped Craig James twice, which might have kept the score down a bit, but we thought it was more than chase-able.

“Shobrooke bowled really well kept it tight but other than Dave Baldock we made it look difficult out there.

“Application is the key really we need to start building meaningful partnerships.”

Click here to read more B Division reports