E Division West round-up – week nine: Stokeinteignhead off the mark at last | Russell (83no) the match-winner
TABLE-topping Babbacombe moved on from their defeat by Cornwood 3rd XI with a three-wicket win over Whitchurch that keeps them comfortably top of the E Division West.
Defeats for chasers Cornwood and Plympton 2nd XI did Babbacombe a huge favour by repairing the damage done by losing for the first time this season. They are now 28 points clear of second-placed Kenn.
Whitchurch remain in the bottom two for another week, but have a great chance to get out of it this Saturday when lowly Lewdown pay them a visit.
Babbacombe seamers Henry Stubbs (4-52) and Ben Passmore (2-31) had Whitchurch on the rack at 55 for six before the shine went off the ball.
Steve Payne with 59 not out – 48 of it scored in boundaries – and Marc Kerswill (17) hung around long enough to add 44 for the eighth wicket towards a total of 144 all out. Babbacombe’s Jack Smith (4-22) finished off the tail.
Darren Sambells gave Whitchurch some hope by removing Babbacombe opener Chris Mabbutt with the first ball after tea.
Rob Redding, the Babbacombe captain, dug in for the duration and his 53 not out guided the Walls Hill side to a patient victory in the 43rd over.
Sambells (2-18), Richard Potts (1-18) and Kerswill (2-18) made run scoring tough for Babbacombe during the 27 overs they sent down.
STOKEINTEIGNHEAD ended their wait for a win in the E Division West when they overturned Plympton 2nd XI by two wickets.
The villagers had not won any of their first eight games and went into round nine anchored to the foot of the table. Plympton arrived in third place.
Stokeinteignhead are still bottom, but are only 16 points adrift now. They were 21. Plympton are still third, but now trail leaders Babbacombe by 31 points instead of 20.
Principle scorers for Plympton in a total of 192 all out were Nannapat Khoncharoenkai (55), Craig Donohue (41) and Matt Duckworth with 33 at six wickets down.
Plympton collapsed in a heap at the end with Jonathan Robertson taking their last three wickets in one over. Jamie Clinkett and Abymon George took two wickets each.
Plympton had Stoke on the back foot at three for one after two overs. Twenty-nine for four was hardly an improvement! Sai Yerradla had two of the wickets to fall.
Paul Russell, in at three for one, made himself comfortable for the next two hours and 43 minutes to make a match-winning 89 not out.
There were occasional blips from time to time, Donohue and Ian Duckworth generally to blame with identical stats of two for 23, but support from Chacko John (29), and Clinkett (17) got the job done.
CORNWOOD fell back from second to fourth in the wake of a seven-wicket defeat away to Stoke Gabriel 2nd XI.
Opener Evie Privett made a top score off the bat of 26 before the Wood were skittled for 98.
Privett was the first of two wickets claimed by Stoke’s opening bowler Harriet Duke (2-31).
Once spinners Dan Bullock (5-13) and Kyle Lardner got into the middle order, Cornwood lost wickets regularly. Five getting from 62 to 67 summed it up.
Stoke lost two wickets on 48 in successive balls – Jack de-Vere and Mitch Trewin (33) – and Bullock was a gonner on 74.
Olly Brown’s 27 not out had the game wrapped up with more than 22 overs unused.
DALE Chadwick hit an unbeaten 65 to steer Bridestowe & Belstone 2nd XI to a three-wicket win over Lewdown in the West Devon derby.
Lewdown recovered from early issues with Sree Sundan (2-42) and Alex Fllingham (3-35) that left them wobbling on 72 for six to reach 158 all out.
Ollie Jordan (61no) stopped the rot and was still there in an all-out total of 158. Andy King (3-29) went through the lower order.
Bridestowe & Belstone’s reply was a virtual mirror image of Lewdown’s as they were 77 for six in reply and had to regroup. The Maynards – Keith (2-16) and Matt (3-44) – did the damage.
Dale Chadwick made 65 not out to see B&B over the line with 12 overs to go in the E West tussle.
KENN imposed a crushing 10-wicket defeat on Paignton 3rd XI, who were unable to defend a sizeable total of 202 for five.
And one of Paignton’s old boys – Martin Swannell – was in the thick of the humbling run chase.
A unbroken stand of 110 for the fifth wicket between Harry Knight (81no) and captain Tim Ward (49no) helped Paignton recover from 92 for five to 202 without further mishap.
Kenn won with more than 10 overs to spare with openers Swannell (83) and Charlie Francis (106) the not out batters.
Victory took Kenn past Plympton 2nd XI and Cornwood 3rd XI up to second. Paignton remain just below halfway.
