Asselman and Singh (pictured) among the runs as Clyst climb out of bottom two | Barton fade on chase
CLYST St George clambered off the bottom of the DCL B Division by inflicting a 50-run defeat on visiting Barton.
Opener Ridouan Asselman made a top score of 66, and skipper Par Singh and improvisational 42 not out, in Clyst’s total of 209 for eight.
Despite a batting marathon from left-hander Tom Drake – in at 54 for three, still there at the end – Barton only got as far as 159 all out.
Clyst’s win lifted them ahead of Ashburton and Braunton and completely out of the bottom two.
Asselman and Kasey Elliott (18) got CSG away to a 72-run start which grew to 122 for two by the time the latter was bowled by Nick Watkin (2-48).
“Rids and debutant Kasey gave us something we’ve lacked so far: a strong foundation at the start of the innings,” said skipper Singh.
“Rids batted exceptionally well and he’s been in good nick all season. He was due a good score and thankfully it came when we most needed it.
“After the inevitable Clyst collapse – we stumbled to 136 for six – regular partnerships between myself and the lower order enabled us to accelerate towards 200.”
Tom Cox (3-49) was largely responsible for the Clyst stumble.
Only Drake in Barton’s top six went past 20 as what Singh described as an ‘exceptional’ performance by his bowlers pinned them down.
“Ollie Manning (2-26) led from the front with the new ball, ably supported by Andy Donovan who got the huge wicket of Barton’s overseas Muhammad Basit,” said Singh.
While Drake batted on and on – 122 minutes, 90 balls, seven fours – Inder Singh (2-25) and Owain Saville (2-42) chipped away at the other end.
“Inder and Owain bowled fantastically and with great control to build plenty of pressure,” said Singh.
A hostile spell from Bertie Creer (2-14) ended it in the 39th over.
Steve Lewis, the Barton captain, said similar issues keep repeating in games.
“We bowled well in the middle passage, but couldn’t bowl them out and shipped 50 runs too many,” said Lewis.
“One key decision went against us when we batted, but other than that no one batted long enough with Tom Drake to get over the line.
“Plenty to work on.”
Singh had the final word when he said: “Barton were great both on and off the field and look forward to the reverse fixture at their place.”
