HEATHCOAT lost for the first time this season in the Brights Motors North Devon League when second-placed Bridestowe & Belstone defeated them by four wickets.
The Division One leaders – and they are still top – racked up a 40-over total of 235 for four having won the toss and opting to bat first.
Openers Richard Pugsley (32) and Jeremy Bedford (56) got the innings off to a decent start,. Will Edwards added some urgency with a quickfire 72 not out. Four of the eight bowlers used by B&B took a wicket .
Kian Burns opened the reply for B&B, and thrashed the Heathcoat bowlers for 101 off just 48 balls. He hit 12 fours and six sixes before sportingly retiring.
Heathcoat fought back with the introduction of Matt Harrison (4-21) who decimated B&B’s middle order.
Shaquan Glasgow held firm, and guided his team to victory with six overs in hand, and kept their (albeit faint) title hopes alive.
Hatherleigh lost a high-scoring affair against Bideford at Westward Ho! by just six runs.
Bideford scored 279 for six. Veteran James Ford scored 98 before becoming one of Jasper Presswell’s three victims. He put on 134 with fellow opener John Weeks (39) and 85 with Lukanyo Metu (59). Shrey Ghosh claimed a couple of wickets for Hatherleigh.
Hatherleigh looked in control of the chase at 242 for three. Kirt Forgham started things off with 36. Charlie Presswell (95) and Ghosh (86) then put on 172 for the third wicket.
The introduction of Jack Ford into the Bideford attack was the game changer! Ford junior took four for 25 to leave Hatherleigh needing 10 to win from the 40th and final over.
Ford conceded just three runs to clinch a Bideford victory.
North Devon beat local rivals Westleigh by the comfortable margin of 156 runs on the Instow ground.
North Devon scored 368 for three. Roshan Lakmal anchored the innings with 141 not out, fellow opener Jay Rothery hit 38, Jack Moore bludgeoned 71 until he was lbw reverse sweeping, becoming one of James Morris' two wickets. Harry Nichol (50), and James Tyson (40) had some fun at the end.
Dylan Evans opened the bowling for North Devon and his four for 46 ripped out the heart of the Westleigh batting. Kyle Faber stood firm, until he was caught on the boundary for 68. With Faber’s departure any hope of a Westleigh victory went with him. The innings ended on 212 for seven.
It could not be much tighter at the top of the Division Two table where fractions of a point separate leaders Newton Tracey (13.13), second-placed Victoria Park (13.11) and third-in-the-table Barnstaple & Pilton (13.0).
Newton Tracey are top following an eight-run victory at Lynton & Lynmouth. Newton scored 223 for seven in their 40 overs. Dhavalkumar Patel opened with 54, Oliver Symons and Sumit Ghangas both scored 46, and there were chip-ins from Dom Robson 23 and Rumitkumar Patel 22.
Connor Constable and Alec Spice took a couple of wickets each for Lynton.
Home skipper Jeremy Bingham led the chase with 67, followed by 32 extras as Lynton struggled against the bowling of Shane Andrew (3-42) and the parsimonious Oli Symons (3-16). Will Austen hit a quick 27 not out at the end for L&L, but that was in vain as the innings closed on 215 for nine.
Barnstaple & Pilton started the day as leaders of the pack, but a crushing defeat by 121 runs at home to Victoria Park saw the Park take second place and push B&P down to third.
Viccy Park scored a 40-over total of 249 for nine. Mitchell Power top scored with 55, there was 46 from Adrian Scarrett, 40 more from Jack Ancill and 40 in extras.
Tony Gilbert (2-46) was back in the B&P attack. Josh Cresswell and Febin Francis took a couple of wickets each.
Matt Newton led B&P’s chase with 40, Once he was out there was little to come apart from 25 from Martin Brown. Rob Guppy (3 -31) and Park skipper Dave Branch (4-21) helped bowl out Barnstaple & Pilton for 128.
