Devon C East

Bridestowe v Chagford

BRIDESTOWE continued their excellent form with another comprehensive victory, this time against second-placed Chagford.

With captain Mark Butler pulling out due to injury, Sam Ewen took the reins and Alex Jopling came into the side from the seconds.

Chagford won the toss and asked Bridestowe to bat first. Tom Fogerty and Gary Sizmur were slower in their scoring than in previous weeks, due to accurate opening spells from Del Lammonby and Jon Wright.

After again looking comfortable, Fogerty (13) was first out, as he was smartly stumped by Lord from a wide down the leg-side from Lammonby (2-20). The next over, Sizmur (14) was caught in the slips off Wright to leave the hosts in trouble at 28-2.

Khan then departed lbw and Bridestowe needed a partnership to stay in the game. James and Sam Ewen stuck around and got a few balls away to the boundary before Sam (13) was given out stumped, as he was adjudged to have lifted his back foot.

James (10) was then caught behind from the bowling of Rowlands, taking the Bridestowe score to a rather precarious 68-5.

Jack and Phil Hatton looked solid in defence and began to strike the ball around confidently as the change bowlers came on. One over from Will Lammonby was smashed for 18 by Jack, including two sixes into the car park. Phil Hatton (19) then became another victim of the leg-side bowling trap, as he was also stumped. Mark Fogerty and Jack Hatton (32) both fell in Rowlands' last over, giving him excellent figures of 4-17.

Dan Fogerty (8) hit a couple of boundaries before he holed out to a long-hop from Hancock. The final pair of Lavis and Jopling came together with the score at 132-9, with more than 10 overs left. It soon became clear to Chagford that neither were mugs with the bat, as they both smashed anything loose to the boundary.

Lavis (19 not out) took the score past 150 with a big six and Jopling continued to clip anything on his legs through mid-wicket for four. He eventually mis-timed one and was well caught at mid-on for 23. The last two batsmen had put on an invaluable 48, taking the score to a very competitive 180 all out.

The Chagford chase began in disastrous fashion, as first Fuller was lbw to Dan Fogerty and then Lord was bowled by brother Tom Fogerty. The big wicket came straight after, as league top run-scorer Divan Marais pushed his first ball straight back to Tom who gleefully held on to the catch. At 9-3, with Chagford's main run-getter back in the pavilion, Bridestowe were now confident of claiming an important win.

After a brief show of resistance, Dan (2-24) had Penberthy compre-hensively bowled and Wright (14) suffered the same fate to Tom Fogerty to leave the score at a scarcely believable 26-5. Manners-Chapman became Tom's fourth victim, as he was also bowled to cap an outstanding spell of 4-14.

Sizmur removed Hancock caught behind in his first over, and any hopes of a Chagford win were fading fast. Lavis' first two balls were sent to the boundary, but with the following two he bowled Will Lammonby and then Luke Mortimer. Chagford were stunned at 53-9, but with two capable batsmen at the crease in Del Lammonby and Rowlands, they set about getting the visitors to a more respectable score.

The pair looked solid in defence, and put away the bad balls, which were beginning to creep in. With the drizzle now setting in, there were a few fears by the home side that Chagford would be able to sneak past the required run rate, and steal the most unlikely of victories if the players were forced off.

The Chagford score passed 100, and just as the Bridestowe final pair had looked comfortable, so did Chagford's. It took a great delivery from Lavis to finish the game; he bowled Lammonby for a patient 34, leaving Rowlands stranded on 26 not out. The Chagford innings finished on 119, giving Bridestowe a 61-run margin of victory.

This was one of Bridestowe's most important DCL wins in recent years, and certainly reaffirms their credentials as C (West) title contenders.