AFTER four hours of absorbing cricket on a glorious Saturday afternoon, Whitchurch Wayfarers 1st XI were in the driving seat against Paignton 3rd XI, writes Graham Curson.

Chasing a modest total of 179, they had reached 79-2 with over 25 overs remaining. Pete Freedman (28) and Ben Hodge (26) were both well set.

Earlier, Paignton had won the toss and, electing to bat, had set off like a train. Kirkup (42) in particular was dismissive of anything off line; Paignton 37 to the good after the first six overs. Whitchurch brushed off the cobwebs and began to apply real pressure.

Excellent fielding limited Paignton to 75-3 at the half-way stage. Nathan Prout had beaten Kirkup for pace and had the experienced Woodcock caught behind on his way to an excellent 2-16 off 9 overs.

Medlock (58) anchored the middle order as the overs ticked by. He and Ward (23) put on 46 for the sixth wicket before Ward launched Mackenzie (2-28) high in the sky to be well held by Potts in the deep. Royce-Rogers returned to the attack picking up his second wicket. Paignton finishing on 179-9.

Although Whitchurch lost two early wickets, Freedman and Hodge held firm and put on 65 to put the home side in the driving seat. At 79-2 all looked good. Whitchurch will probably want to forget the final 90 minutes of the game and remember their excellent bowling and fielding.

Roberts (2-41) switched ends; he and Ward (3-28) proceeded to work their way through the Whitchurch middle order.

With Hodge and Freedman back in the pavilion, Whitchurch on 100-4 still had 19 overs in hand. Kerswell contributed 15 but no other batsman managed double figures as the home side fell away to 137 all out.

This weekend, Whitchurch travel to Plympton 2nd XI.

Meanwhile, Whitchurch Wayfarers 2nd XI travelled to Ivybridge for a rare Sunday league fixture. Ivybridge won the toss and elected to field.

At 21-5, it looked very much like the correct call!

Ivybridge’s Worth doing the damage, Whitchurch were very much on the back foot. Steve Payne held the lower order together with a patient 56 and a useful contribution from Gibbs.

Extras also made a significant contribution, Whitchurch finishing all out for 145 after just 30 of the allotted 40 overs.

Ivybridge then found the conditions equally difficult. Whitchurch’s bowling and fielding proved superior.

Woodcock, Griffith and Hall each picked up two wickets while captain Webber snaffled three. Charlie Goodfellow exemplified the fielding with two run outs and a catch.

From looking down and out at 21-5, Whitchurch managed to come away with a confidence boosting win. Ivybridge fell short of the target by 32 runs.

Next up, Whitchurch host Cornwood 4th XI.