BOVEY Tracey are off the mark in the Premier Division following an 11-run win over visiting Cornwood.

And they achieve d their win without Aussie keeper-batter  Rob Honeybul, who split a finger in a pre-season game and was ruled unfit to play.

Bovey were roughed up early on by Matt Skeemer (4-46) and Craig James (3-41) as they laboured to 52 for four in the 14th over..

Youngster Ashley Causey (31) and Lewis Hammett (45) got Bovey moving with a stand of 37 and when Causey fell to Jason Hall (1-43) Tom Andrew joined Hamett to really crack on.

The sixth-wicket stand of 60 ended when Hammett was bowled by Adam Goodliffe.

Andrew (21) went almost immediately, but new skipper Sam Hickenbottom with a run-a-ball 31 wrung another 58 runs out of the bottom end before he was last man out on 212 to the returning Skeemer.

Cornwood cracked along to 136 for three with Jackson Thompspn (21), Skeemer (33) and a patient Hall all chipping in.

Hugo Whitlock on his Bovey debut after transferring in from Abbotskerswell, had a hand in all three wickets to fall – one of them a run-out.

The game started to get away from Cornwood when Whitlock came back for a second spell and removed skipper Elliot Staddon and Shazad Ahmed.

And when Hall was bowled by Whitlock for 53 off 115 balls, Cornwood were 168 for seven and looking unlikely winners.

Tail-enders Matt Butterworth, Adam Richards and James all made 10 or more to nudge Cornwood closer, but not close enough.

Needing 12 to win off the last over, Richards was run out and James bowled by Ryan Bougourd to give Bovey victory with three balls to spare.

Skipper Hickenbottom said although it was a close finish, it shouldn’t have been.

“We could have made life slightly easier for ourselves by hanging on to a few more catches as we put down too many,” said Hickenbottom.

“That is something we'll work on and take into our next game but was a great win and really pleased with how well the lads stuck at it throughout.”

It wasn’t the result new Cornwood skipper Staddon was looking for, but the performance was encouraging.

“There were a lot of positive points to take from the game, misfields and extras being the difference for us and something we need to work on,” said Staddon.

“Bovey did well to peg us back and Hugo Whitlock was the pick for them with the ball, bowling a superb first and second spell.

“It was an up-and-down game, but one we can learn from

“Overall a lot of good points to take into next week’s game against Plymouth.”