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Posted:
Sunday 6th June 2010
Source: Stephen Birley
The 1st XI rubber stamped their status as the Francis Clark
Devon League Premier Division’s 'best of the rest' behind this
season's current top two of Sidmouth and North Devon, with a
superb six-wicket Kensham Park win over Exeter.
The visitors batted first and had a centurion in their ranks but
Holman (108) apart, there was no one else able to master the
accurate home bowlers as the innings closed on a below par 202-7
from 50 overs in what can only be described as excellent batting
conditions.
The most successful home bowler was Eliot Acton who sent down
six overs, returning figures of 2-19. Haydn Murray also bagged a
brace with 2-51 in 14 and the only other wicket taker was
skipper Ross Acton (1-51 in 11).
Jacobus Pienaar was wicket-less, his nine overs costing him 42
runs. There was no wicket either, somewhat surprisingly, for the
previous wicket's eight-wicket man, Gary Chappell who finished
with figures of 0-32 from ten.
The reply was timed to absolute perfection with five wickets in
hand and ten balls still to be delivered, when the winning line
was breached!
Ross Acton led by supreme example with a superb 85 and, when he
was finally out the attack was carried by Chappell (42no) and
young Joe Webb (16no) who sae the side safely home. The other
wickets to fall, apart from the skipper, were those of Murray
(18), Tim Piper (15) and Richardt Saaiman (3).
So the home winless sequence is ended and the side can now
consider themselves to be part of the higher echelon in the top
level of the county game. One thing coming from this game being
that on the day, whilst there was no stand-out bowling star,
they restricted a decent top-flight side to a total that they
knew could be overhauled, and they overhauled it. In some style
too!
The second third of the campaign is launched next Saturday (June
12) at Bovey Tracey.
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