By Conrad Sutcliffe

DEVON can forget thoughts of Lord's for another year at least after Cornwall scraped past them by one wicket in game that was low on runs but high on drama.

   Cornwall bowled Devon out for 153 – former Somerset staffman Chris Hunkin taking five for 45 – and at 104 for five on the chase looked home and dry.

   But, for the second time in their innings, Cornwall had a mini-collapse, this time sparked by a burst of wicket-taking from Exmouth's David Court.

   After Court had finished toying with Cornwall, and Ian Bishop had got among them for the second time in the match, Cornwall were a bruised and bloodied 114 for eight.

   Devon's cause was helped   no end by some sticky fingered fielding, including a low slip catch by Neil Hancock and a one-handed pluck out of the air by Arul Suppiah at point.

   Court also had the reactions to hold on to a catch that sent back Alex Tunnidine. Pacer Ian Bishop appealed for lbw but was turned down. However, the ball cannoned from bat to pad to Court at slip. Umpire Kingston-Davey gave it out on the second appeal.

   Cornwall had come back once from 35 for three – Bishop doing the damage then – but the question was could they do it again?

Crucially, former Cornwall captain Gary Thomas was still there and he wasn't about to throw his wicket away – far from it.

   His task was to squeeze another 30 runs out of tail-enders Mark George and Justin Stephens. Between the three of them they got there, although it took nearly 10 overs.

   Devon thought they could roll over the tail-enders if the quick men got at them, but Thomas backed his partners to survive to the extent he wasn't bothering to farm the strike.

   Mark George was finally removed by Neil Hancock with a beat of a ball that was too full and quick for the burly left-hander to get his bat down on.

   That left Thomas, by now past 50, and last man Justin Stephens to make 18 more to win, which they looked like doing in singles for a while.

   The turning point was an over from Hancock that went for nine runs – including a heave over mid-wicket by Thomas for six.

   Devon went from being a wicket away from victory to another lusty blow away from defeat and that's how they lost it, to a swing by Stephens that produced four runs through fine-leg.

   So ended a game of swaying fortunes in front of a sun-drenched and largely partisan crowd at the hill-top Trescobeas Ground on the outskirts of Falmouth.

   It could have gone either way, right to the end, although Devon skipper Bob Dawson was spot on when he said it was ‘criminal' his side didn't bat out their 50-over allocation. Had they done so they could easily have won.

   Dawson top scored with 47, which came fairly sedately in one-day terms from 88 balls, although the Devon captain found himself engaged in rebuilding work not once but twice.

   Devon were in trouble at 36 for three – or would have been had they lost another wicket then – but were hauled round by Dawson and Nick Folland on a one-off comeback appearance.

   When Folland went – the first of five victims for Hunkin – followed by Chris Mole to a great diving catch by Ryan Driver, Devon were back in the cart at 79 for five.

   Dawson and Hancock got up to 108 when the skipper was well caught at mid-wicket. Hancock did what he could with the tail enders and was last man out for 30.

   Devon 153 (R I Dawson 43, N D Hancock 30; C A Hunkin 5-45), Cornwall 154-9 (G M Thomas 61, C M Gazzard 23, N J Edwards 21; D G Court 3-27, I E Bishop 3-35). Cornwall bt Devon by 1 wkt.