Devon T20 Round Up | Another ton for Elstone in run-fest at Cullompton | Tavistock edge out Bovey Tracey | Thorverton comfortably get past Kilmington | The rest of the games from round one
By OLLIE SMITH
SIDMOUTH’S Sam Elstone slammed a ton past Cullompton as his side progressed to the second round of the Devon T20 Cup.
Sidmouth openers E J Cunningham and Elstone put their side in complete control. Their partnership was worth 148 by the time Cunningham was out at the end of the 13th over for 76.
Keeper Matthew Matravers came and went for a quick 11 runs, before Luke Bess scored 24 off just nine balls. Elstone was the one constant throughout the innings, reaching his century in the 18th over, from which he and captain Luke Bess took 19 runs.
Sidmouth’s 20 overs saw them fall one short of 250, Elstone finishing on 127 from 57 deliveries, including 21 boundaries.
Two recent recipients of Devon Lions call-ups, Brendan Parr and Akshay Bharadwaj, were the stand-out batters for Cullompton, hitting 39 and 81 respectively. Both fell at the hands of Charles Brock, Bharadwaj quite literally as he was dismissed caught and bowled!
The best of the Sidmouth bowlers was overseas Cunningham, who finished with figures of two for 21 from his three overs.
Victorious captain, Luke Bess, was pleased with the way his openers went about their business.
“They set the game up for us, and meant that at no stage we were ever on the back foot,” said Bess.
“Sam [Elstone] showed his class. Runs are a batter’s currency, and Sam's now hit three hundreds and a 50 in eight days. He was intelligent with the areas he chose to hit to and did it without slogging.”
Bess also thought that his side never gave Cullompton a chance in the game.
“They [Cullompton] started well, but to chase a score like that you need everything to go your way, and even then, to sustain clean hitting for such a long period is very difficult.”
Elsewhere, there were wins for Thorverton, Cornwood, Tavistock, Paignton, and Exmouth. 
The Maer Ground side posted 218 for five from their full allocation, overseas Lachlan Fisher scored 129 of them from just 59 balls. Five Barton bowlers took a wicket each. Fin Last top scored for the visitors, however, his side fell 89 runs short.
Paignton saw off visitors Plympton by seven wickets after star performances from Ayabulela Gqamana and Luke Medlock. Gqamana, the Paignton overseas this year, took three wickets from his four overs, and Medlock continued his fine Premier Division form with 85 not out as his side chased down 130 with more than five overs remaining.
Jake Pascoe was left stranded on 99 not out as his Bovey Tracey team crossed the 200-run mark against Tavistock. Sam Harvey provided a strong supporting act as he and Pascoe posted a 173-run opening stand. In reply, Billy Barriball scored 73 and Rodney Mupfudza a quick 46 as they reached their target of 202 with two balls spare.
Thorverton raced to a six-wicket victory against Kilmington, chasing 100 in ten overs and one ball. Ben Slaviero and George Daldorph shared the new ball and took five wickets between them, as Kilmington struggled to get motoring from there. Daldorph was the leading man with the bat too, hitting nine fours in his rapid 42, before Freddie Fenner hit the winning runs.
In one of only two all Premier Division ties, Cornwood edged out Exeter at Oak Park. Matt Skeemer scored 69 and Samarpit Joshi was next best with 42. Extras damaged the Exeter bowling, as Cornwood benefited from 32 of them. Skeemer and Ben Privett took three wickets each, and there were two for Jack Ormsby as Cornwood secured a 76-run victory.
