Devon Cricket Board - Lewdown up as champs despite draw

D DIVISION

OTTERY St Mary denied champions elect Lewdown the win they wanted on the day they secured promotion to the C Division.

Lewdow banked the nine points they needed to go up, but Ottery blocked out for a draw. It was only the second time this season that Lewdown had failed to win a game they had started.

South African Rob Mutch top scored with 87 and there were useful contributions from Jack Skuse (48) and Harry Geering (44) in a Lewdown total of 242-8.

Mark Woodman, the former Devon and Exmouth seamer, was the most successful of the Ottery bowlers with 3-52.

The Otters made a real hash of their reply, slipping to 23 for five

then 83 for eight before Sam Lynch and Robert Bradshaw-Smith led them to safety and a close of 165-8.

Lynch finished unbeaten on 46 and Bradshaw-Smith’s offering was an unbeaten 38.

Mutch was the pick of the promotees’ bowlers with 4-30.

THE race for who goes up to C Division with Lewdown – confirmed as champions after drawing with Ottery St Mary - is really hotting up.

Ashburton stay second despite losing to Uplyme while Ipplepen are up to third following a runaway win over Tiverton and Bickleigh.

Yelverton, who were third, slipped up against Feniton and are now down to fourth.

However, with only five points between Ashes and Yelverton, and with Feniton another eight points behind in fifth, it’s anyone’s guess who is going to finish runners-up.

Ashburton were edged out by three wickets at Uplyme for whom skipper Ashley Caddy played the match winning innings with a superb unbeaten 68 as he and brother Adam (43) led their side to a three-wicket win after the visitors were restricted to 191-6.

Kev Nicholls (44), Ashley Berry (42) and Adam Peters (26) all chipped in for Ashburton with the bat.

Jack Lamb-Wilson picked up three wickets for the hosts. As the Caddy brothers led their side to victory, Ashley Harvey claimed 4-42 and there was a brace of wickets for Tom Durman.

Ashburton, beaten then, for the fifth time but they stay second by virtue of having won one more game that Ipplepen who also now sit on 191 points.

Victory was sufficient to lift Uplyme out of the bottom two.

IPPLEPEN’S rise into promotion contention was confirmed with a whopping win over hapless Tiverton, who seem to be plunging headlong in the opposite direction.

Ipplepen bated first and powered to 255 before declaring. Dave Harris (57), Luke Tuckett (55) and Lee Curtis (22), together with no fewer than 48 extras, made up the hosts’ total.

Les Rendall with 4-66 and a pair for John Hall, accounted for all but two of the home wickets to fall.

It took just 15 overs for the visitors to be hustled out for a meagre 53. Only Dane Williams (13) and Ben Schofield (12) made it into double figures as Jamie Watkins claimed six wickets for just 18 runs in five overs.

Watkins accounted for the first six wickets and looked set to run through the lot before his victim count dried up. Steve Bowden bagged a brace.

FENITON are very much part of the six sides battling it out for that second promotion berth. The Acland Park men are now just 14 points off the pace after a sixth win of the campaign at the expense of another of the promotion hopefuls, Yelverton.

Russ Whitton and skipper Mark Kingdon shared the four wickets that were taken as visiting Yelverton closed on 164-4. Geoff Brain top scored with 70 and the other main contributions were one of 40 from Rikki McDowall and an unbeaten 23 from Rob Bennett.

Martin Swannell, who has yet to play on a losing side for Feniton since arriving from South Devon, top scored from the opening slot with an unbeaten 65.

Adi Pullin continued his fine run of form with 42 as the hosts won with five wickets and as many overs, to spare at 165-5.

Ian Cunningham (2-40) was the only visiting bowler to have any success.

HALBERTON suffered a result few people would have expected when they lost by three wickets to Whitchurch Wayfarers.

For the Moorlanders had got through the previous 14 games without winning any of them!

Had the Mid Devon men won they could have been within seven points of a promotion place!

Dan Coles (55), Tom Sambrook (44) and Dave Gollop’s (17no), made the bulk of the home side’s runs in a total of 216 for nine.

Josh Meadows (3-29) and George Webb (3-40) claimed wickets.

Joel Wheatley (41), Ben Powell (36) and Freddie Frost (32), all made contributions during the run chase, one seen to a successful conclusion by Josh Meadows who completed a fine all-round individual performance with an unbeaten 36.

Coles vied with Meadows for the games star all-round effort as he claimed three wickets and there was a brace for the veteran seamer Fred Harding.