By OLLIE SMITH
PAIGNTON are through to the last 64 of the ECB National Cup after defeating Truro in a nail-biting finish at Queen’s Park. Two other Devon sides, Plymouth and Exmouth, tried their hand in the competition, but both were defeated by their Cornish counterparts in the first round.
Exmouth were drawn at home to Wadebridge, a re-run of the area final in the National T20 Cup last year. The Maer Ground side were without regular representative cricketers, James Horler, Dan Pyle (both Devon) and George Greenway (England PD).
Noah Musikanth was the standout batter for Exmouth after they chose to bat, but his 61 was one of only two scores to reach double figures as the innings limped to 111 all out. Wadebridge knocked off their target with eight wickets and 24 overs remaining. Rahmatullah Mohmmadi and Lawrence Greenway picked up a wicket apiece.
Plymouth travelled to Truro and thought they had enough to beat them after posting 233 for seven from their 40 overs. Kagiso Rapulana (74) and Teddy Haffenden (77) were the significant contributors in that total.
The Truro overseas, Pakistani Raja Hamza Waheed had other ideas, scoring 104 from just 85 deliveries, making a significant dent in the Plymouth total. Wilfred Bartlett (34) was another key player in the chase, before Ollie Taylor-Jones (16no) and Jonathon Romance (4no) saw Truro home with eight balls remaining.
Paignton visited Callington for their first-round fixture, and it was the Cornish club’s overseas player, Liam Lindsay, who stole the show in the first half. South African Lindsay, who has returned to Callington for his third summer, knocked up 119no in his side’s 221 for six.
The run chase started with a wobble for Paignton, as DCL player of the year Luke Medlock was out for his first ball, but Brenton Pedley (82) Paignton’s returning professional, Aya Gqamana (62), and Ollie Woodcock (32no) helped Paignton secure their round-two place.
“It was a great win against Callington,” said Paignton skipper Harry Ward. “We bowled really well to restrict them to 221 on a pitch with a very short boundary, and 250 probably would have been par.
“The chase did get off to the best start, but we rebuilt around Brenton, who played a match-winning innings.”
Paignton’s victory saw them set up a second-round tie against Truro at Queen’s Park. Batting first, runs didn’t come freely for the Devon side, with four players reaching double figures but only one of those going on to score more than 20. Luke Medlock’s 43 supported his side’s total of 133 all out, just before the completion of the thirtieth over.
In response, the Paignton bowlers shared the wickets around, with both Charlie Ward (3-29) and Rory Medlock (2-15) made significant dents in the Truro batting line-up. Josh Cardigan (29) gave some resistance for the Cornish side but once he was out to Stephen George (3-9 from eight overs) the writing was on the wall for Truro.
George took the winning wicket, Sam Cardigan caught behind by Ollie Woodcock, at the end of the penultimate over, leaving Truro five short of victory.
“It was another great win against Truro, winning the toss was key, as it was the same pitch we had used on Saturday,” said Harry Ward. “Batting first, we felt a good total would have been anything more than 150, so to be bowled out for 133 wasn’t ideal.
“Charlie [Ward] and Stephen [George] made the difference, bowling with real pace and accuracy to put Truro under pressure from the start.
“As a club, our aim is simple, we want to win every game. This is the second time we have reached this stage of the competition in two years, but this is where the standard goes up.
“You come up against sides who can field full first elevens packed with NCCA players and beyond.
“In comparison, we’re often able to field six or seven first-team players and then rely on players from the 2nd, 3rd and 4th XIs to step up.”
Paignton have been drawn away to Bridgwater in the third round.
