Atkinson gets North Devon off the hook in ding-dong battle with Heathcoat | 'Some of his hitting wasn't just slogging but genuine ball striking' – Jack Moore

HEATHCOAT were one wicket away from snatching North Devon’s unbeaten record at the top of the A Division in an intense showdown at Knightshayes.

Dan Butler top scored for Heathcoat with 71 in their all-out total of 210. North Devon lurched from 71 for two to 84 for six in reply, then swayed to 109 for eight as Matt Knight dismantled their middle order with a six-wicket haul.

That would have been that 99 times out of a hundred. But no one had told North Devon trio Josh Atkinson, James lake or Richard Screech. Between them they added 105 to win the game by one wicket with more than three overs to go.

North Devon remain top, where they have a five-point advantage over Torquay & Kingskerswell. Heathcoat have dropped back from third to fourth.

Butler, in at 25 for one, added 151 with assorted chaperones to take Heathcoat up to 195 for seven. Best of the 20s in support of Butler were Will Bucknell (28) and a pair of 23s from Dylan Penberthy-Hutchings and Joe Parkinson.

Jack Moore and Definate Masadzi both entered three-wicket returns in the digital scorebook.

North Devon set off solidly enough with Jay Rothery (22) and former Devon opener Tom Ansell (34) making early inroads into the deficit.

Knight had to wait until his fourth over to open his account – Rothery then Moore in the space of three balls – and had a quiet spell before striking again. Four more wickets followed for five runs given away for a combined analysis of six for 30.

The revival was kick-started by a ninth-wicket stand of 90 between Atkinson (63) and Lake (36no). Freddie Bucknell removed the former to break the stand, which brought last man Screech into the fray.

Heathcoat’s Kiwi seamer Archie Goodrick picked a bad time to have a radar failure as, with one wicket to take, or seven needed to lose, he bowled three wides in a row. A couple of scampered singles, and another wide, levelled the scores. Screech ended it by hitting the ninth ball of what would have been a 10-ball over for four.

Winning captain Jack Moore said if ever there was a game won through grit and graft, this was it.

“On a very good wicket with a quick outfield, all our bowlers did extremely well to restrict Heathcoat to 210,” said More. It felt like they were at least 50 under par .... until we batted!

“Our top-order batters aren't clicking as a group at the moment, but fair play to Matt knight and also young Freddie Bucknell who showed a lot to keep coming back.

“James Lake’s knock under some extreme pressure was brilliant and Richard Screech showed his years of experience to be able to finish of the game.

“As good as those two were, special credit must go to Josh Atkinson for his knock. Some of his hitting wasn't just slogging but genuine ball striking and mixed in with the defensive game of a proper player. 

“Josh’s 61 not out in our one-wicket win at Sidmouth in 2022 was good, but this topped it for me.”

Jamie Drew, the Heathcoat captain, said losing the game the way they did was hard for the team to swallow.

Drew added: “There is an old saying ‘catches win matches’ and our fielding really let us down.

“Three catches dropped when North Devon were eight wickets down proved to be the difference maker and really swung the momentum.

“North Devon still had to score the runs so fair enough to them for getting over the line.

“The only couple of positives for us were Dan Butler batting really nicely for his 71 and Matt Knight taking his first ‘five-fer’ for the club.”