Devon D division
Whitchurch v Lewdown
AFTER last weeks defeat it was important for Lewdown to get back on track against local rivals Whitchurch.
Lewdown won the toss and put Whitchurch in to bat, the opening bowlers of Phil Yeo and Toby Street quickly got into their stride.
They had the hosts struggling at 29-3, Martin Credicott (55) and Freddie Frost (31) steadied the ship and got Whitchurch up to 149-5 with 10 overs to go, the re-introduction of Toby Street put paid to Whitchurch scoring more than 200 with a devastating spell of 4-15 with Whitchurch totalling 174. Street finished with fine figures of 6-38 and Phil Yeo 2-31.
The Lewdown run chase started with a wobble at 35-3 after 10. Recently arrived Sri Lankan Mevan Porage wasted no time as he dispatched the ball to all parts of the ground, scoring a fine 67 (62 in boundary's) off just 45 balls.
Porage with former Whitchurch player Matt Witcher(15) put on 78 for the fourth wicket, with those two out in quick succession it was left to Justin Gliddon (37no) and Ant Weeks (22no) to see Lewdown comfortably home with 16 overs to spare.
This was a much improved performance over last week and an important maximum 20 points gained which keeps Lewdown in second spot, five points behind leaders Thorverton.
l Next week Lewdown are home to Ottery St Mary
Lewdown v Hatherleigh
TOP of the table Lewdown travelled to third placed Hatherleigh hoping to extend the points gap over their promotion rivals.
Lewdown lost the toss and were put in to bat on what looked a good wicket that Lewdown's batsmen were hoping would bring a hatful of runs. However, Hatherleigh's bowlers had other ideas and bowled superb areas and made run scoring difficult for the Lewdown top order and after 24 overs Lewdown were 83-2, with the hard hitting middle order still to bat a fair score looked on the cards, but for the first time this season they failed to make an impact.
They were reduced to 147-8 with five overs to go, the tail wagged a little and got Lewdown up to 177, with Ad Clements finishing on 21 not out, other run getters were Kris Harris with a patient 23 and Harry Geering with a good and fluent 41.
Lewdown's bowlers were asked to make it difficult for the opposition and in the first 15 overs they bowled with pace and aggression, reducing Hatherleigh to 53-3. That was as good as it got for Lewdown, thereafter dropping Gareth Tidball, who went on to make a fine 87, and the bowlers old nemesis coming back to haunt them, wides, 46 of them in total and a new team record.
Hatherleigh went past the Lewdown total with 10 overs to spare and four wickets down, giving them a well deserved victory and more 19 points to Lewdown's six.
• Lewdown drop down to second in the table, now only 10 points clear of third placed Hatherleigh.