Devon D division Bridestowe v Ottery St Mary ON a warm overcast day Bridestowe hosted Ottery St Mary in this league match, looking to bounce back from their first defeat of the season last week. Losing the toss, Bridestowe got put into bat on a damp track favoured for bowling. Making a positive start, they punished some wayward bowling with an opening stand of 90. E Jones (55) and P Hatton (37) raced along at more than five runs per over, providing a solid base to build upon. First to fall was Hatton, having been caught in the covers, followed shortly by Jones moments after bringing up his half century. With two new batsmen at the crease it was important for Bridestowe to consolidate. B Down (32) and G Sizmur (23) kept the scoreboard ticking with some fluent stroke play, taking the score past 140 before the next fall of wicket. The introduction of B Burns in to the bowling attack dried up one end with a tight spell of bowling finishing with figures of 4-30 from 10 overs. Bridestowe set their sights on 200 runs to enable maximum batting points to be secured. A late onslaught from C Lavis (15) and N Griffiths (14) pushed Bridestowe up to a competitive score of 209-9 at tea. The Ottery St Mary openers rode their luck trying to negotiate a tricky spell of hostile bowling from A Griffiths and G Sizmur. After an opening stand of 41, Edwards was the first to fall, clean bowled by A Griffiths. An inspired bowling change from captain C Lavis saw G Macdougal brought into the attack. His accurate wicket to wicket bowling had the Ottery St Mary middle order in disarray. A collapse then ensued with Macdougal (5-40) and Lavis (3-18), taking 7 wickets for just 16 runs in a devastating spell of bowling. R Johns was the only one to contribute, scoring 35 through a number of thick edges and powerful drives. He eventually fell to E Jones caught and bowled, concluding the innings and securing an emphatic 68-run victory for Bridestowe.This obtained a maximum 20 points moving Bridestowe back to the top of the table. l This week sees Bridestowe travel away to Uplyme and Lyme Regis where they will be looking to cement their position at the top of the Devon D division.
