TORQUAY are off the top of the A Division following their two-run defeat in a gruelling Bay derby with Paignton.
Umpires Chris Shelton and Mike Stockwell could have been excused had they put in for overtime after unravelling a tricky situation at the Recreation Ground.
Time keeping proved crucial to the outcome of the game and when Torquay debriefed afterwards it would have been the topic at the top of the agenda.
Paignton made 255 for nine in the full 50 overs. Dan Wolf (56) and Kevin Renecke (76) compiled a stand of 121 for the second wicket after opener Noah Wright fell in the first over.
Richard Ashworth (46) chipped in too. He went in a 121 for two and was last man out on 246.
Torquay were hit with a 12-run penalty for slow bowling, which upped the Paignton tally to 267, and over-ran their allocated time by 25 minutes.
Both the penalty and the lost time came back to haunt Torquay as the game unfolded.
Torquay captain George Allen (83) and Tom Drake (76) shared a stand of 148 for the fourth wicket that left an asking rate of slightly below six an over for the last 17.
The asking rate started to climb as the overs came down and with nine overs left the target was 63 to win with five wickets in hand and Drake still in. Tough but do-able.
Then the weather intervened. Thunder and lightning flashes forced the players off and, under ECB rules, play had to be halted for half an hour.
Eight of the nine overs were lost. When Duckworth-Lewis was brought into play, Torquay needed eight to win off one over, Drake was dismissed second ball and the chase ended three runs short.
Torquay can only wonder how much further their chase would have gone if they had bowled their overs more quickly – never mind the 12-run penalty.
Cornwood have gone top, two points ahead of Paignton, who were in third spot. Torquay are now third, although there isn’t much in it all, just 11 points between the top three.
And as Cornwood play Paignton this Saturday – and one of them will lose – it could to be all change again.
Torquay are away to Chudleigh this Saturday.
