A NAIL-gnawing finish to the D West promotion scramble is on the cards in the Tolchards DCL D West with five teams chasing two places in the next division up.
The one-to-five at the top of the latest table is Plymstock 2nd XI (245pts), Ipplepen 2nd XI (244), Kenn (242), Babbacombe (241) and Plymouth CS&R on 234.
Plymstock missed out on a chance to pull away from the chasing pack as they were rained-off away at Ivybridge 2nd XI.
Plymstock entertain Babbacombe this Saturday in a game with promotion decider etched all over it!
Plymouth CS&R dropped down from third to fifth following a 43-run reversal at Babbacombe. Can they do enough at home to relegation battlers Dartington & Totnes to creep into the top two?
Kenn’s task is to win at Hatherleigh and see where that leaves them? Much the same applies to Ipplepen, who have a derby date with next-door neighbours Abbotskerswell 2nd XI.
With so much riding on the Saturday’s results, and so little between all involved, every point is going to be crucial.
IPPLEPEN 2nd XI moved-up to second place in the D West table on the strength of a 188-run win over Dartington & Totnes.
Ipplepen made 247 for seven with Ross Kennard top scoring on 78. Gareth Penrice (35) got Pens started, Chris Needham (28) and Kennard put on 53 and the stand of the innings was one of 92 for the fourth wicket between Kennard and Hudson Edkins (36).
Ali Selby, Lewis Starkie and Ollie Perkins had two wickets each for D&T.
Jonno Lloyd (18) and Jonny Perkin (13) had the only double-figure scores for D&T in a miserable total of 59 all out.
Eight wickets fell for just 17 runs scored once Chris Cook was run out for four.
Teenage off-spinner Warrick Green topped the bowling stats for Ipplepen with three for 15. Paul Thomas (2-25) and Needham (2-1) were also involved.
This defeat leaves Dartington & Totnes staring a third successive relegation squarely in the face.
After dropping out of the B Division in 2022, and the C Division West this time last year, D&T players and officials were hoping for some respite down in the D Division East.
One win in the first nine starts hinted at trouble ahead and with only two more in the eight games since then D&T are stuck in the bottom two.
Dartington & Totnes have to defeat promotion candidates Plymouth CS&R this Saturday – and hope Barton 2nd XI mess-up spectacularly against Ivybridge 2nd XI. The alternative is E Division West cricket.
HATHERLEIGH 2nd XI quashed any lingering fears of relegation from the D Division West with a six-wicket win away to Abbotskerswell 2nd XI.
It looked like job done for Hatherleigh after they skittled Abbotskerswell for 95. It wasn’t quite that simple.
A double strike by Abbots’ young seamer Harrison Vickery had Hatherleigh a little wobbly at 60 for four in reply. They were glad to have Adam Quick and skipper Danny Forrester to guide them home.
Abbots, resigned to relegation going into the game, dragged Paul Mitchell out of retirement to open the batting and he top scored with 33 before falling to Cameron Rowlands (2-18).
Apart from 26 extras – 20 of them wides – there was no other score above seven on Abbots side of the page.
Luke Westacott was Hatherleigh’s leading bowler with four for 24. Henry D’alberti-Nicholson (3-9) vacuumed up at the end.
Hatherleigh did not start well as opener Rowlands called for a risky single and was run out by a direct-hit chuck by Aron Owen.
Kirt Forgham (15) and Zak Spears (25) made inroads into the deficit, before Vickery took out the former and replacement Sam Clark four balls apart.
Quick (25no) and Forrester (11no) ended any doubt about the outcome.
BABBACOMBE made 182 for one in their 40-over game against Plymouth CS&R with the top three all in the runs.
Veteran opener Marcus Thompson batted from start to finish for 74 not out and put on 25 up-front with son Josh (25).
Skipper Rob Redding’s run of form with the bat continued with an unbeaten 71 in a stand of 138 with Thompson senior.
Civil were always up against it after slumping to eight for three, 24 for five and 37 for seven as Josh Thompson (3-22) and super-veteran Dave Stubbs (4-24) ran through the top order.
Ritesh Dubey (56) and Paul Butson (45) proved their mettle with a stand of 98 for the eighth wicket that got Civil back in the game.
Jack Alcock (3-11) broke the partnership by bowling Butson on 135 and from there it was a short descent to 139 all out.
TALK about leaving it late. Barton 2nd XI are out of the D West bottom two for the first time this season after winning by five wickets at Kenn.
A nine-point lead over second-from-bottom Dartington & Totnes gives Barton a fighting chance of avoid relegation.
Defeat was a slight setback for Kenn’s promotion prospects as they have fallen back from second to third. But with just four points separating the top four in the table, there is everything to play in the final round of games this Saturday.
Kenn took a scenic route to a total of 198 for nine. They started brightly with runs for openers Chris May (22) and Martin Swannell (40), only had runs from Alfie Mason (22) in the middle order and were glad of jump start down the order from Lyle Muir (22), James Mason (16no) and last man Harry Gaydon (26). A 10th-wicket stand of 39 between Mason and Gaydon kept Barton in the field longer than anticipated.
Barton’s man of the moment on the chase was opener Adam Last, who got his head down for 68 not out.
Runs from Lewis Crocker (21), Greg Shelton (33), Tom Porter (37) and a four-ball hit of 14 for Andy Hele made it mission accomplished with eight balls to spare.
