SHOBROOKE Park lost for the first time this season in the D Division East when they went down by five wickets to mid-Devon neighbours Bradninch & Kentisbeare 2nd XI.
Defeat cost Shobrooke the divisional leadership as Upottery defeated lowly Topsham St James to move past them by a single point.
With the exception of opener Chris Simpson, who batted for 135 minutes compiling his 36, Shobrooke’s top six had a collective off day.
Bits and pieces from the bottom half of the order – Chris Ford (13), Bruce Kerry (24) and Henry Field (19) – got the total up from 109 for seven to 168 for nine.
Eliza Heard (4-29) was bowler of the day for B&K, aided and abetted by James Mills (2-26).
Knocking-off the runs was a routine mission for B&K, who had captain Scott Chappell playing the anchorman role with a patient 54 not out from 95 balls.
Jed Findlay (25) and Todd Scrace (25) got the chase going, After some disruption caused by Ford (3-34), Chappell and Josh Richards (21no) finished the job.
CLYST Hydon suffered a 147-run battering when they ran into D East promotion chasers Whimple.
Whimple’s top four all made sizeable contributions to a team total of 288 for seven in 45 overs.
Openers Mike Searle (50) and Nathan Bright (28) hoisted 76 for starters, then Andrew Codling and Fraser Campbell got stuck into the Hydon bowling.
Campbell made 49 and Codling contributed 45 to a partnership that added 101 to the total.
Codling reached 89 before he was prised out with the score on 279 for seven.
Cheap wickets were hard to come by, as Chris Holmes (3-72) and Alex Newman (2-59) could testify. James Billington (0-32 off 9) and Will Thornton (1-29 off 9) kept the runs down.
Codling came back with the new ball to grab a couple of wickets, but there were few issues at the other end as Hydon got to 105 for three. Graham Trude (27) and Haris Reshi (36) were the main run getters.
Losing Reshi then Newman (17) to Keith Brown (2-37) was the start of Hydon’s slide to 141 all out. Batting two short due to absences did not help.
Greg Benson (2-20) got in on the wicket taking act as Hydon faded away.
BARNSTAPLE & Pilton ended a three-game wait for a win in D East when they defeated near neighbours North Devon 2nd XI by 80 runs.
Fin Tapp (52) and James Roe (38) gave B&P an 85-run start, but trouble arrived in the form of a mini slump to 86 for three. James Starkey (2-42) took two wickets in successive deliveries.
Roe consolidated then left it to Andrew Fewings (30), Matt Smith (25), Joe Hastie (22) and Tom Poole (34) to push the total up to 228 all out.
North Devon bowler Archie Popham (3-47) paved the way for David Hartley (3-52) to clean-up at the end.
North Devon were already behind the clock at 99 for five with 17 overs to go – Navindu Vanderbona had long gone by then for a top score of 42 – and just could not catch up.
When the end came it arrived in a rush as North Devon slid from 140 for six to 148 not out. Popham (31) was among the fallen.
Wickets were spread around the B&P bowlers. Jimmer Thomas had three for 38 against his former club and there were two each for Poole and Charlie Holm.
THORVERTON 2nd XI are still looking for a way out of the D East bottom two following a two- wicket reversal at the hands of Ottery St Mary.
Andy Daldorph (59) top scored for Thorverton in an all-out total of 219. Along the way he put on 60 with James Meredith and 41 with Paul Thomas (34).
Paul Stirling (27) and acting captain David Baldock (17) added 58 for the fourth wicket in the only other partnership of note.
Wickets were shared in the top half of the order – Will Harrison (2-34) had a couple – with Zac Johns (4-30) feasting on the lower downs.
Ottery appeared to be coasting to victory at 190 for three with runs in the book for Steve Forbes (53) and Dave Weeks. It was a different picture at 199 for six with Weeks out for 82 – Jack Stirling (3-29) doing the damage – and a little gloomier at 203 for seven.
Charlie Mitchell (15no) got Ottery over the line with six overs to spare, despite a run-out scare in the over beforehand.
Baldock, standing in for Ben Coe, said it was a game that could have gone either way.
“Ottery were cruising, then once we got the Forbes and Weeks we probably should have won,” said Baldock.
“Charlie Mitchell, the lad who got 15 not out, played really well.
“Ultimately, we were 20-30 short with the bat.”
Thorverton need to find 15 points to get ahead of Clyst Hydon and out of the bottom two.
TOPSHAM St James went back to the bottom of the D Division East table following a 110-run defeat at the hands of promotion-hunters Upottery.
Thorverton were below TSJ going into round eight, but earned more points from their defeat by Ottery to trade places in the bottom two. There is only a point in it.
Upottery batsman James Mitcham’s run of centuries had to end eventually. It did against Topsham, but only just.
Having reeled off five successive centuries in the league, Mitcham (95) was five runs short of a sixth when he was bowled by Nibu Thomas.
Jack Larcombe (68) was the other main contributor to Upottery’s final tally of 244 for four. He and Mitcham put on 172 for the second wicket.
Thomas and Jack Meill claimed two wickets each for TSJ.
Topsham got to 106 for four in reply without too many issues. Jacob Taylor (33) and Ross Treleaven (55) supplied most of the runs.
A middle-order collapse to 124 for eight with Treleaven among them signalled the end of the chase.
Robert Machin picked-up five wickets for 26 runs and there were two apiece for Ryan Pulman and Matt Frost as table-toppers skittled TSJ for 131.
