D Division East round-up – week eight: Brooks (pictured) man of the match for B&K in win over Topsham St James
WHIMPLE won for the first time this season when they defeated visiting North Devon 2nd XI by 93 runs.
Spencer Wilcock made a top score of 94 for Whimple before Dylan Evans (3-39) denied him a century.
Nathan Kidd (28), Henry Gordon-Lennox (48) and David Culshaw (26) all chipped in towards Whimple’s all-out score of 229.
Noah Tovell (3-43) joined Evans in the three-wicket club. Jools Hughes and Jed Foster picked up a couple each.
North Devon made an ominous start in reply as opener Richard Clarke was out second ball to Kris Connabeer.
Although Regina Lilii (20) and Foster (27) made some progress after joining forces at 40 for four, there was not a lot left in the locker.
Oscar Meech thwacked seven fours on a brisk 37 down the order. He was the last man out on 136.
Connabeer had three North Devon wickets for 15 runs from nine overs bowled. Wilcock and Matt Brown claimed two apiece.
BUDLEIGH Salterton 2nd XI inflicted a 74-run reversal on Barnstaple & Pilton to knock them off the top of the D East table.
Lee Russell top scored for Budleigh with 53 in their total of 218 for eight. Barnstaple & Pilton were all out for 144 in reply.
Bradninch & Kentisbeare 2nd XI are the new leaders with Budleigh just two points behind them. Then come Alphington & Countess Wear and B&P in joint third place.
Russell carried on the good work done by opener Marc Troman (36) as he and Cohen Naido (28) put on 58 for the third wicket. Harvey Shipton and Nick Bolt added 27 each as the score increased.
George Elnough’s recent run of wicket-taking for B&P continued with three for 48. Joe Hastie and Connor Nash had two each.
Barnstaple & Pilton’s top four batters were workmanlike but not able to turn starts into anything more than the 20 scored by James Poole.
Losing four wickets between 62 for two and 79 for six ended any real hopes of a chase. Elnough (27) made the only notable contribution down the order towards a total of 144 all out
Joe Marley (3-20) and Ryan Harris-Cotton (3-12) did the damage with the ball for Budleigh.
CULMSTOCK successfully defended a modest total of 139 all out to beat D East strugglers Braunton 2nd XI by 80 runs.
Braunton’s Andy Jones (3-29) got into Culmstock’s top order as they laboured to 46 for four.
Bits and pieces are always useful in low-scoring games, especially down the order from nine, ten and 11.
Ben Franks (19), Adam Rimell (19no) and Sid Berry (11) all played a part getting the tally from 79 for seven to 139. Earlier Zac Salter (21) and Marco Bell (16) made handy contributions.
Braunton’s veteran spinner Andy Paddison (4-31) worked through the lower order once Bell was accounted for.
Franks and Marco Bell then switched to the business of taking wickets with two each in a Braunton running total of 28 for five. Steve Aston made 19 of those runs.
Lucas Bell took a wicket with the second ball he bowled and went on to claim four for eight in 4.5 overs as Braunton were skittled for 59.
BRADNINCH & Kentisbeare 2nd XI beat Topsham St James by 118 runs to go back to the top of the D Division East.
Barnstaple & Pilton had displaced the Kensham Parkers in round seven, but their defeat by Budleigh Salterton meant they dropped down to fourth.
Alex Brooks, now free to focus on cricket after retiring from his Cullompton rugby career, walloped 10 fours and a six during a 55-ball knock of 76 in B&K’s hefty total of 314 for eight.
Sam Franks had opened up with 66 before Brooks got in and shared stand that took the tally to 141 for four.
Brooks and Joe Gillett (25) kept the scoreboard ticking over… as did 39 wides! And in the latter overs there was a brisk 33 from George Holding.
Although the Shells top order had few problems batting time, scoring runs proved a trickier task. Ross Treleaven (37) was the lone batter to get out of the teens, although Jonathan Sapwell (19) and Dan Croxall (19) almost did! Wides (23) were next best.
Brooks capped a man-of-the-match performance with bowling figures of three for 23 as TSJ were bowled out for 196.
ETHAN Goddard hit an unbeaten half-century to steer Alphington & Countess Wear to a five-wicket win over Woodbury & Newton St Cyres.
A target of 131 to win was passed with more than 18 overs to spare with Goddard 56 not out at the time.
Opener and captain Lawrence Marsh made 23 of the first 35 in the scorebook prior to Goddard taking control of the chase. A two-wicket burst from Mukesh Purohit (2-11) came too late in proceedings to change the outcome.
Tynan Hill, the brother of Somerset’s Fin Hill, had a four-for-32 bag that helped dismiss Woodbury & NSC for 129.
There were three wickets each for Connor Nance (3-31) and Ben Pinkney (3-16).
Riordan Deehan-Jackson (24) and Oliver Brealy (24) were the only W&NSC batters to get out of the teens. Seven of them didn’t get that far!
[O] The funeral of former Alphington & Countess Wear cricketer, and Exeter City footballer Graham Weeks, will take place at the Exeter & Devon Crematorium on Friday, July 10 at 12.30pm. Friends attending the service are asked to wear club ties. A reception will be held at the Alphington Sports Club after the service.
