DEVON captain Jamie Stephens is only looking in one direction going into the three-day game against Herefordshire starting at Sidmouth tomorrow (11am).

A combination of rain-affected games, and draws involving all five teams in Division One of Durant Cricket Championship, has produced a concertinaed (corr) table with one round of fixtures to go.

Any of the top three teams – Berkshire (50pts), Oxfordshire (43) and Devon (35) – could win the Western Division title AND any of the bottom three sides, which are Devon, Cheshire (24) or Herefordshire (21) could be relegated.

For Devon to win the title they have to defeat Herefordshire and hope Cheshire do them a favour by beating Oxfordshire at Banbury. Berkshire cannot gain further points as they have finished their programme.

If Herefordshire beat or draw with Devon, and Cheshire defeat Oxfordshire, Stephens will be relying on first-innings bonus points for survival. Four points are awarded for taking nine wickets, four more are available for runs scored up to 325 and there are 16 points for an outright win.

Devon go into the game against Herefordshire fresh from a hard-earned win over Cheshire, which has encouraged Stephens to concentrate on the positives against Herefordshire.

“It’s not just that we won against Cheshire it was the way that we won, that’s why we will be looking up the table and not down it,” said Stephens.

“I said before the game our problem batting out overs was just a blip and the way we batted at Chester confirmed that.

“Jamie Horler (165) batted superbly and the rest of the top six batted in the right manner appropriate to the state of the game.

“Ben Privett (43) set the tone before lunch then Matt Thompson, Elliot Hamilton, Calum Haggett and Ben Beaumont all made good runs to get us past 400.”

Rain washed out the entire second day at Boughton Hall CC, which meant Stephens and opposite number David Wainwright had to find a way to keep the game meaningful.

Two declarations later – Devon did not bat a second time – Cheshire were left nearly a day to make 351 to win. Cornwood’s Matt Skeemer took six wickets to put Devon on the way to victory, although it was not a one-man show.”

“The afternoon session was the key one when Jonty Walliker, myself and Matt Skeemer aimed to keep Cheshire around two an over to build pressure,” said Stephens.

“Although Jonty did not take any wickets, he bowled straight rather than swinging the ball away from the batsman in one of the best spells I have seen in red-ball cricket for a while.

“Jonty is improving all the time at this level of cricket and, despite having been in and out of the side, is always keen to play.”

It is hard to see any scenario in which Walliker is not retained in the XI to play Herefordshire. Devon have added off-spinning all-rounder Sam Read to the XII on duty at Cheshire, which potentailly gives them more spinning options than they require. Stephens, Will Christophers, Max Shepherd and now Read all turn the ball into right-handers – and part-timers Ben Beaumont and Elliot Hamilton offer other options as well. The can't all play!

Whatever team takes the field against Herefordshire, there is no doubt Stephens is backing Devon to come out on top.

"We don't lose at Sidmouth very often and seem to play well there in most of the formats," said Stephens. "Matt Thompson in particular likes scoring runs at Sidmouth. Hopefully he can get a few more."

Thompson's best day at Sidmouth was in 2013 when he scored centuries in both innings against Oxfordshire. Three of his five three-day tons have been compiled on the Fortfield, along with 99 against Cheshire in 2017. A 50-over ton off Cheshire in 2014 is also in the record books.

With 60 Devon games under his belt since his debut in 2010. Thompson is the most experienced three-day player in the current squad. He only needs 29 runs against Herefordshire to become the third Devon batter to reach 3,000 Championship runs since the three-day format was introduced in 2001. Bob Dawson (4275) and Josh Bess (3052) got there first!

A less happy memory for Thompson and Devon is the last meeting with Herefordshire on the Fortfield back in 2015,  which finished inside two days and resulted in an eight-wicket win for the visitors.

Herefordshire are again missing their captain Matt Pardoe as the former Worcestershire batter is unavailable, but they can call on the services of Worcestershire batter Rehaan Edvalath, who made his debut in the defeat by Berkshire. 

The experienced Barney Morgan returns along with Conor Smith and Charlie Williams.

Devon (from): J A Stephens, M W Thompson, J D Horler, B H Privett, E H Hamilton, C J Haggett, B A Beaumont, S O Read, M P Skeemer, J E B Walliker, W R Christophers, M B Shepherd, K B Szymanksi.

Herefordshire: R B S Venkataraman, L J Powell, O G Rogoff, B E I Morgan, R M Edavalath, C J Smith, N A Hammond, J W Rudge, B J Chapman-Lilley, H J Cullen, C S Williams.