On a cold, breezy start to the afternoon at Kentisbeare CC, captain Matt Jeacock won the toss for East Devon and elected to field.

The East quickly took advantage of the green wicket with Jeacock himself quickly reducing the visitors to 10 for 2. Jake Agnew batted well for an aggressive 15 before being caught and bowled by Sam Dormor. Jacob Kopparambil batted very sensibly before being removed LBW by Fisher for 8. After Attwell was removed by a smart stumping by Walker for 5, Johnston batted well for his well-constructed 11 runs before being removed by a great delivery from James Tyler. The West batted through their 35 overs and set the East a target of 111 to win.

In reply, Ben Fitzherbert played himself in before dragging on a delivery from Agnew for the first wicket. This bought the stylish eight year old Harry Southgate to the crease who looked really comfortable for his ten runs before being trapped leg before by a good delivery from Lewis Clarke. Lawrence Walker came in at number four and after a hesitant start to his innings, saw the East home with a solid 20 not out in partnership with Alec Holifield and with 14 overs to spare. Underpinning the whole effort was a well-disciplined innings by Matt Jeacock who scored 39 from the 50 deliveries he faced and was out tantalisingly close of the winning target.

Our thanks go to Nigel Gillett and Kentisbeare CC who as usual did a fantastic job of hosting the day.

North Devon vs. South Devon

Jake Pascoe of the South won the toss and asked Cameron Ford’s North team to bat.

Andrew Norman and Jack Whittaker opened the batting and made their way into the 30's when some quick witted keeping stumped Norman for six. Whittaker was joined by Cameron Ford and together they put on 70-plus runs when Whttaker was eventually caught for a fine 44.

Nic Jones joined Ford and was magnificently run-out with a direct hit from the deep.

Ed Butler then took up the charge eventually finishing on 38 not out And with Ford unbeaten on 35 the total reached 167 for three.

After a succulent tea supplied by the mums, the North made an early breakthrough with Will Popham hitting the stumps .

From then on it became the Jake Pascoe show as the Ashburton batter took the North bowlers to task hitting a magnificent 74 No, that included nine fours, sharing a major partnerships with U9 player George Tapley (32) and Harry Passenger (24).

The North toiled hard with little effect, the skipper tried eight different bowlers but only Popham with 2 for 20 off 6.4 overs, Norman with 2 for 14 off three overs and Edward Broggio (1 for 10 off 2) bowled with penetration.

“A big thank you to Baz Norden and his team for preparing such a great wicket and Mr and Mrs Ford who managed the teas and provided a barbecue after the match,” said organiser Mark Overton.

“I would also like to thank Claudia McCarthy, who scored for the first time, the sheet is brilliant! Also another huge thank you to the umpires Mr Mallet and Mr Ford.

“Congratulations to the South who deserved their victory.”

The North got a win under their belts when they met the West at North Devon CC on Bank Holiday Sunday.

The West won the toss and elected to bat. Ford marshalled his bowlers superbly with Whittaker (3-15) and Popham (1-11) working with the onshore wind helping their inswing and Ed Butler (2-6) and George Nickel (1-15) with their away swing.

Accurate bowling, along with an attacking field, put the West under great pressure.

The West were struggling at 20 for 5 however with a great rear guard action the batters managed to use all their overs and reach well-earned 82 in 35 overs. Given the strength of the wind the North only conceded 14 wides.

Tea was taken in the thatched pavilion, sausages and chips with loads of tomato sauce, what more could a ten year old want. Oh yes, and Ice Cream with chocolate sauce.

“Thank-you Sarah Kelly for serving up hot and cold food - it was just the ticket,’ said Overton.

With a little bit of rain about the North batters decided to chase with vigour, Nic Jones set the tone with a magnificent off drive for four off the first ball, Jack Whittaker scored a breezy 19 which left the skipper on 31 not out and U9 Justin Hayter was two not out in an eight-wicket win.

“Again, a big thank you to our volunteer umpires Messrs Charlie Popplewell and Tony Richards,” said Overton.

Whittaker and Ford shared man of the match.

“On day when many District matches were cancelled due to rain, I would like to thank Andrew Cameron, the NDCC grounds man, who covered the square on Saturday evening guaranteeing a match for the players of the West and North,” said Overton.

“It took probably 2 hours to fully cover. The pitch was dry, hard and fast, pretty standard for Instow.