By OLLIE SMITH
HOWARD Smalley’s last three visits to Kingskerswell read like this, 168no, 73no, and 141. All three scores have seen his side beat a variant of Torquay & Kingskerswell, or the predecessor.
This time, in 2026, it was Torquay & Kingskerswell 3rd XI vs Topsham St James 2nd XI in the G Division Central, and after losing the toss, Topsham were told to bat.
T&K bowler Matt Rossin made an early breakthrough, dismissing Jonathan Hull for two, but that bought Smalley to the crease. His first two partners were dismissed cheaply, Hardik Patel and Obaidulla Wahedi doing the damage, but when stand-in captain for the day, Alex Davison came to the crease, T&K couldn’t dislodge the pair.
The two put on 126 together, Davison reaching 50 before being dismissed for the same number of balls, but Smalley kept going.
He launched 11 sixes and 14 fours, giving the harshest treatment to Matt McCann, whose five overs cost 63 runs. McCann was compensated with the wicket of Davison, and a run out off the last ball.
Smalley was eventually gone for 141 from just 109 deliveries, before opposing skipper Mike Etherington bowled him. A costly number of extras (49) helped Topsham to a total just shy of 300, 297/8.
Rossin (2-42) and Hardik Patel (1-16) being the two T&K bowlers who come away with credit in the bank. Both players operated at below a run a ball, Patel significantly lower, and Rossin claimed two Topsham batters.
In the chase, Steve Waters (55) began to chip away at the Topsham total, but Brian Jeary (3-40) took some early T&K wickets, dismissing three of the top five for single-figure scores.
Mike Etherington helped the T&K case with 77no, as did some quick runs from Sandaru Karunarathne (21), Obaidulla Wahedi (22no), and Hardik Patel (29). 52 extras helped the home side to within 11 of their target before the overs ran out.
Temporary Topsham captain, Alex Davison, was full of praise for his match-winner, “Howard is an outstanding player, and what makes him dangerous is his patience at the crease.”
“He’s been a huge asset for us, and given his recent success at T&K, I’m sure a few of their players are having nightmares about him.”
On his own form, Davison said, “getting up and running early this season with a 50 was really pleasing. Moving down the order to bat at five or six has suited my game much more.”
“I knew after posting 297 that the expectation would be to come away with maximum points, but in the end it was much closer than we would have liked.”
“Brian Jeary was outstanding once again, providing crucial breakthroughs and keeping the run rate down.”
“With ten overs to go they still needed to go at tens, so there were still some nerves. Thankfully, we held ours, and completed a brilliant win for the Saints.”
