Devon Cricket League E division west Yelverton 1st XI v Exeter Civil Service YELVERTON are champions of the division following their dramatic draw with second placed Exeter Civil service at Langton Park. The toss was won by Exeter and they had no hesitation in batting first. This looked to be a poor decision as Shrivastav (4-35) ripped into the Exeter top order, bowling with great hostility in his final match before flying back to Mumbai. But Murphy (48) and Carryl (38 not out) rebuilt the Exeter innings and despite tight bowling and good fielding they recorded a respectable 165-8 in their allotted overs. Yelverton knew that they only had to draw to win the championship and their reply began well as they raced past 50 as Shrivastav (41) took the attack to the Exeter bowlers and Farnham (7) dug in at the other end. But things fell apart for Yelverton once Shrivastav departed to the first ball after the drinks break and wickets fell at regular intervals. When Farnham departed after 25 overs Yelverton were facing defeat at 88-8 with 20 overs remaining and it looked as if they had blown their chance of winning the title. But no-one could have predicted what followed as 17 year old Paul James (4 no) and 20 year old Joel Avery (0) staged a remarkable rearguard action. With the light fading, the pitch and every Exeter fielder crowded around the bat giving them a continuous barrage of sledging they blocked out the next 18 overs as the Yelverton players and supporters paced up and down in the pavilion. With two overs remaining Avery edged to the keeper leaving only Yelverton skipper Rob Guy (0no) to come into bat. James blocked out the penultimate over and Guy blocked out the final over to draw the match and beat Exeter to the title by just two points. Yelverton have a chance of completing a league and cup double when they take on Roborough in the Plate Final on Saturday September 8. Devon Cricket League C division Yelverton Second XI v Bideford YELVERTON?S hopes of promotion ended on Saturday after their losing draw away to Bideford. Bideford won the toss and elected to bat on an excellent batting wicket. The home team raced to an imposing 249-6 before declaring. Bradbeer, Barrett and Hart all passed 50 for Bideford and Yelverton skipper Tony Carter (5-45) bowled superbly in the trying conditions. Yelverton gave Bideford a fright as they steadily chased down their target aided by the extra overs Bideford?s declaration had given them. Lee Johns (51) scored early runs before Fraser Coleman (97 not out) took Yelverton to within a blow of winning the match. With six required off the final ball to win the match Coleman could only manage a single and it was drawn. l This week Yelverton play Whitchurch at home in their final game of the season. Moorland Bats Tamar Cricket League B section Yelverton Third XI v Launceston YELVERTON came away with a win after a tight encounter. Batting first, Yelverton scored 168 with captain Brian Spear (24), Peter Garland (38) and Ben Vince (30) all in the runs. Werrington got to within five runs of victory and finished on 163-4. Yelverton play their final league fixture against Delabole on Saturday.
