The second half of the Division Three season gets underway this weekend with three intriguing fixtures as the promotion race begins to take shape and teams look to build momentum heading towards the business end of the campaign.

 

Holsworthy vs Ottery St Mary. 

League leaders Ottery St Mary travel to Stanhope Park to take on Holsworthy as they look to continue their remarkable debut season in the Devon Women’s Cricket League.

After being named the Tolchards Devon Women’s Cricket League Team of the Month for May, Ottery have continued to impress and will be aiming to strengthen their grip on top spot with another positive result on Sunday.

Ottery St Mary captain Abbie Sullivan is delighted with how her side have adapted to life in the Devon Women’s Cricket League.

“We’ve had a really successful first half of the season with lots of individual wins as well as strong team performances. Our juniors have really stood out and I look forward to them getting involved in this weekend’s game against Holsworthy. We’ve had players step up to open the batting, like Ava Fripp, Melissa Wall and Cath Dockley – a new role for them all – and they have all been really key to us setting a batting foundation for others to continue building on.”

Holsworthy are still searching for their first victory of the campaign but have shown encouraging signs of progress. Freya Godfrey remains the key figure with the bat after becoming the club’s first half-century maker of the season, while Layla Godfrey has continued to impress with the new ball.

Holsworthy team manager Hannah Steadman believes her side are moving in the right direction.

“We’ve competed in every game we’ve had this season, and there have definitely been improvements from the previous year. Freya Godfrey’s half-century and a confident bowling attack resulted in us bowling a team out for the first time. We’re looking forward to welcoming Ottery to Stanhope Park on Sunday for what we hope will be a competitive game, as we all know the best games come down to the final overs.”

Bradninch & Kenstisbere vs Exmouth 2nd XI

 

Third-placed Bradninch & Kentisbeare welcome fourth-placed Exmouth 2nd XI in what could prove to be one of the closest contests of the weekend. Bradninch have made a strong start to the season with two wins from their opening three matches and will be looking to strengthen their promotion credentials on home soil.

Bradninch captain Megan Acton said:

“There’s no denying that we’re looking forward to getting back on the pitch on Sunday, especially at home, after a few weeks without a game. We always enjoy playing against Exmouth, so it should be an enjoyable day regardless of the result.

“That said, like every team, we’ll be going out there hoping for a win, and I believe the side I’m putting out has the ability to achieve that.”

The hosts also boast two of the league’s standout performers, with Emma Farley currently leading the Division Three run-scoring charts, while Yvonne Jackson tops the wicket-taking standings after an impressive start to the campaign.

Exmouth head into the fixture having played just twice so far this season, recording an impressive victory over Chagford before pushing league leaders Ottery St Mary all the way in a narrow defeat. Having not been in action for a number of weeks, they’ll be eager to return to the field and continue the encouraging form they have shown so far.

 

Bovey Tracey vs Chagford 

The final fixture sees unbeaten Bovey Tracey host Chagford, with the home side looking to continue one of the league’s biggest success stories of the season. After failing to win a game in Division Two last year, Libby Hooper’s young side have developed into genuine promotion contenders and come into the weekend fresh from an impressive victory over league leaders Ottery St Mary.

Their batting has been led superbly by Olive McCauley and Amelie Webber, with both players featuring among the league’s top five run scorers. Having already claimed the full 20 points against Chagford in the reverse fixture, Bovey will be hoping to repeat that performance on home soil.

Chagford remain rooted to the foot of the table but arrive with renewed confidence after recording their first victory of the season against Holsworthy last time out. They’ll be hoping that breakthrough win can provide the platform for a stronger second half of the campaign.

With the race for promotion gathering pace another entertaining weekend of Division Three cricket awaits.