CONRAD SUTCLIFFE AT CORNWOOD CC
FOUR wickets each for Sam Read and Jamie Stephens appeared to put Devon on top against Cornwall at Cornwood, but there was a twist in the tail before the end of day one.
Cornwall were all out for 286 in the last of the. 90 overs set aside for first-innings batting – and had done well to get that far.
Devon found themselves none for two four overs into their reply and took the safety-first route to 28 for two at the close. The men out were skipper James Horler to a catch at extra-cover and former captain Matt Thompson to a caught-and-bowled off the shoulder of the bat.
The teams had broken for lunch with Cornwall 123 for four from 33 overs – a running total that soon deteriorated.
Opener Karl Leathley was not long out for 38 at lunch – the first of Sam Read’s (4-82) wickets – and assistance from Tom Orpe (43), Xavie Clarke (19) and not-outer Alex Blake had helped the score along.
Cornwall were on the back foot at 140 for seven before an hour had passed after lunch with Blake and Alex Bone both out on 138 to Stephens (4-46), followed by Max Tryfonos two runs later to the same bowler.
Blake, who survived a fumbled stumping chance one ball earlier, was caught in the slips taking an ambitious swing at Stephens. Having scored 48 and 160 not out in the corresponding fixture last year, Devon’s fielders had plenty to whoop about as Blake trudged off.
A gritty partnership of 73 between Will MacVicar and Jake Rowe took Cornwall through to tea at 213 for seven. There were 17 overs left to close in on the maximum bonus points available for reaching 325.
Read broke the stand by trapping MacVicar lbw for 46 with the first ball down after tea. The Cornwall fightback continued with Rowe, another thorn in Devon’s side in games gone by, jogging along to 46 from 123 deliveries before Read induced him into playing on.
Cornwall’s last pair of Ellis Whiteford (34no) and Ben Ellis had another 30-odd runs in the in the final five overs.
All ten Cornwall wickets fell to Devon spin bowlers with left-armer Callum Harvey (2-74) augmenting the work done by Read and Stephens. Seamers Matt Skeemer and Craig Penberthy were wicketless.
Seamer Ellis (2-12) took both Devon wickets to fall at the opposite end from MacVicar. No signs of a spinner in the 17 overs bowled before close of play.
