Prolific - Thorverton batter Paul Fielder, who top scored against Kilmington with 84<br>credit: https://www.ppauk.com/photo/2130498/

THORVERTON’S last day win at Kilmington was not enough to revive their B Division promotion hopes.

Skipper Andy Pitt backed his side to set a total when he won the toss and was rewarded with 239 for five on the board after 45 overs.

Left-hander Paul Fielder whacked a top score of 84 and shared stands of 80 with Alistair Chillcott, 58 with Shane Yelverton (27) and 52 with Ben Sapiecha, who went on to make 57.

Ollie Reed (2-44) was the only Killy bowler with more than one wicket. Ben Fuzzard (0-26) and Matt Reed (0-33) were hard to score off.

Killy opener Tom Gooding made a season’s best of 71 in the anchorman role.

Josh Short matched Gooding run for run and was involved in partnerships worth 131 before he was last man out on 215.

Ben Slaviero picked off Short on his way to figures of five for 24 – his best return of the season.

Thoverton, who had a turn at the top before hitting a losing streak, finished third in the final standings.

Andy Pitt, the Thoverton captain, said it was disappointing not to go up but he could see why.

“To finish third in such a competitive division is a credit to where we are as an improving club, so I'm incredibly proud of the guys,” said Pitt.

“When you look back it's pretty easy to see where three points could have been made up over the course of the season.

“Only winning three away games shows we need to be more adaptable to playing on slower lower pitches than we are used to at home. 

“We lost to Seaton and Cullompton both home and away so fair play to them and I wish them both the best of luck for next season.”

PLYMSTOCK’S 122-run win at Brixham was not enough to earn the second promotion place out of the B Division on a dramatic last day of the season.

Seaton were already up as champions before a ball was bowled, but anyone of Cullompton Kilmington, Thorverton or Plymstock could have taken the runners-up spot.

Cullompton’s win over Bovey Tracey 2nd XI ended promotion speculation as that meant they could not be caught.

Three more points over the season would have sent Plymstock back to the A Division next season.

A four-game losing streak before the final month of the season, a run that culminated in a five-run defeat at Kilmington, proved Plymstock’s undoing. Not even a three-match winning streak to finish could repair the damage.

James Nicholls, Plymstock’s vice-captain, said the disappointment at missing out on promotion would not last long as the club is already planning another attempt.

“We did all we could, we finished really well and if we had batted and played as we did against Brixham all year we would have been home weeks ago,” said Nicholls.

“We were always playing catch-up after throwing it away at Kilmington and it made us bond as a side and will make us a better unit going into next year.”

Overseas player Karl Vendrasco will be returning in 2020 and batter Scott Mansfield’s availability will improve.

“Karl is a cracking player and having Scott around more will make a difference,” said Nicholls.

“All in all we are happy and are going in the right direction.”

Vendrasco took his run tally for the season to 424 with a top score of 47 in Plymstock’s 233 all out. Next best were Tom Mitch (44) and Hal Kerton (38).

Dan Bullock had four wickets for Brixham and Dhanan Lakshan three more.

Brixham collapsed from 99 for four to 111 all out as Kerton (6-14) turned in a season’s-best performance. Max Thomas bagged a double.

CHUDLEIGH’S up-and-down season ended with a five-wicket defeat at the hands of B Division champions Seaton.

Five wins in a 16-game season were enough to keep Chudleigh up in a division with only one relegation place.

On their best days Chudleigh could beat Cullompton, who won promotion, and Bovey Tracey 2ndXI, who were the form side in the second half of the season. On their bad days Chudleigh lost to regular whipping boys Brixham.

Matt Heather, the Chudleigh captain, was unconvinced that the playing record reflected his side’s strengths and weaknesses.

“Looking back on the season, I think we are slighted disappointed to have finished in the bottom half of the table, but the fact that we've stayed in the division is the main thing,” said Heather.

“Having said that, I think there were about three or four games that we should have won and had those results went our way it would have been a completely different story.

“We're hoping to get some recruitment done early during the off season to improve the squad.

“With the younger players getting another year's experience under their belts, we should be set fair for next year.”

Ed Foreman (34) and Will Lammonby (32) had the only scores of note for Chudleigh in a total of 140 all out.

Wes Holmes (4-23) took out two of the first three, Joel Seward (3-25) got into the middle order then Daley Holmes (2-35) and brother Wesley ran through the stragglers..

Matt Hewer (44) and Ryan Daye (32) gave Seaton and 80-run start before Saquib Hasan (3-26) split them up.

By the time Rob Clarke spun out Seward (29) the target was six to win.

Return to Cullompton versus Bovey Tracey 2nd XI