CONRAD SUTCLIFFE REPORTING
PAIGNTON 2ndXI and Bovey Tracey 2ndXI will meet in the final of this season’s Aaron Printers Twenty20 Cup after wins over Torquay and Ipplepen respectively in last four.
South Devon CC hosted the first semi-finals festival day in the competition’s 70-year history, which opened with Paignton defeating Torquay by nine runs.
Paignton opener Luke Medlock made 88 on the same ground the day before the semi-finals and he picked up where he left off with 50 off 35 balls in Paignton’s total of 136 for nine. Best of the rest with 25 off 23 balls was Sam Woodcock.
Torquay captain Chris Kelmere, who bowled despite a hand injury, took five Paignton wickets for 36 runs.
Spinner Harry Baxendale bowled had two for 10 from four overs – one of them that T20 rarity a maiden.
Torquay opener Reuben Stanley was dismissed by the first ball of the innings – Sean Kirk (3-1) bowled him and it went from bad to worse as Paignton reduced their oldest rivals to 43 for six.
Rob Shergold (52no) and Kelmere then started a revival that kept Torquay in with a feint chance.
Although Shergold and Kelmere (36) put on 87 for the seventh wicket, scoring 53 off the last four overs to win it was just too much.
It came down to 24 to win off the final over from Cole Harford, who dismissed Kelmere with three balls to bowl to end the contest.
Bovey Tracey’s 84-run win over depleted Ipplepen – availability issues meant they only had 10 players – was a more subdued affair.
Sam Taylor (36), Dan Green with 41 off 21 balls and Tom Andrew (24) were Bovey’s leading run scorers in a total of 166 for six.
Two players at opposite ends of their careers – veteran Marcus Green (2-29) and youthful Freddie Harvey (2-18) were Pens’ bowling successes.
Ipplepen were never in with a realistic chance after an early battering from Green (4-12) helped reduce them to 51 for six.
No one made more than opener Marcus Gadie (15) as Pens subsided to 82 all out with more than fur overs to go.
Paignton and Bovey are due to meet in the final at South Devon CC on Sunday, August 8. However, that may be liable to change if Bovey reach the festival final of the Corinthian Cup, due to be played the same day.
