LEWDOWN CC 1st XI got off to a slow start in the Tolchard’s Devon Cricket League F Division West.

They hosted Chudleigh 2nd XI, who won the toss and put Lewdown into bat first. Through 40 overs, a total of 197 runs was reached for eight wickets, a solid score but one that Chudleigh will have felt they could reach.

And reach it they did, hitting the 198 mark with the first ball of the 34th over, shipping four wickets in the process.

T Shaw was the top scorer for Lewdown with the bat, hitting 70 runs off of 61 balls before being bowled out by Chudleigh’s M Heather. 31 was the next best, courtesy of M Maynard, whilst there were a number of scores in the low teens and single figures, not to mention a duck from wicket-keeper J Knight.

With ball in hand, S Haywood, H Windsor Horne, A Robinson, M Heather and B Cowling all bowled eight overs a piece. Haywood was the only one not to take a wicket with the other four taking two each, Windsor Horne boasting the best stats at 28 runs given and one maiden over.

Lewdown are in eighth in the table, tied on six points with Ashburton 2nds, whilst Bovey Tracey 3rds and South Devon 2nds are below them. The win for Chudleigh has them in second, on 19 points, behind only Stoke Gabriel 2nds.

Lewdown 2nd XI are on -10 points in H Division West, having to concede their clash with Bovey Tracey 4th XI unfortunately.

They are one of two teams with a negative tally, Stoke Gabriel 3rd XI suffering a similar fate, showing that raising a side and getting games played isn’t always easy in the lower reaches of the league system.