North v South  :  East v West  : South v East  :  West v North  : North v East  :  West v South :  home

East v West at Bradninch Sunday 1^st May

Very damp & overcast, continual breeze. East won the toss & elected to field

With a very slow damp outfield, West took the initiative with some very sharp running between the wickets pinching quick singles. The first wicket fell to a run out. After 7 overs the score was 14 for 2. Then a strong partnership developed over the next 16 overs between Olly Mulberry and Alex Carr. East bowling a little too short allowed the batsman to settle and bat comfortably to the drinks break. Some fine shots off the back foot and good running between the wickets kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Drinks break 22 overs: The East had some thinking to do – pitch the ball up & stop the quick singles. After a lengthy discussion on how lucky Stade Francais were to make the Heineken Cup Final and that Toulouse would win at Murrayfield, Miles Lenygon predicted a total of 74 all out for the West.

Resumption: A sharp piece of fielding by JJ Debenham with a direct throw to the non-strikers end ran out Alex Carr with the score on 61 in the 23^rd over. This turned out to be an important breakthrough. Wickets started to tumble quite regularly at one end while Olly Mulberry continued batting. Olly was finally out for a well-constructed 39 in the 38th over. Brendan Parr took 2 wickets, both caught at 1^st slip by Hugh McDowell. Hugh who also bagged 2 wickets off his own bowling. Paris Pinney took 2 good catches and was instrumental in the early run out. Miles Lenygon restricted the run rate, conceding only 7 runs off his 7 overs of spin.

Brendan Parr opened for the East with Miles Lenygon. Brendan made a watchful start with a 6 & 4 before edging to Rob Bennett at slip off the bowling of Josh Coker, in the 4^th over; score on 15.

Enter the ‘Freddie Flintoff’ of East Devon, James Toland. James was a little tentative at the start with a few play and misses, but things looked a little ominous for the West when he started to hit the middle of the bat.  2 fours were hit back up the hill, past the bowler with little effort. He then started to open his shoulders and with five 6s and six 4s, the match was all over after 12.3 overs !!

Result: West total 96 all out (22 extras, so 74 off the bat - spooky Miles) off 38.2 overs. East total 97 for 1 (7 extras) off 12.3 overs. East won by 9 wickets

Special Note: Compliments were paid to the groundsman by both teams for a wicket which played extremely well. Many games in the area were unplayable because of the weather.