WHITCHURCH Wayfarers 1st XI travelled to take on fourth-placed Stoke Gabriel 2nd XI in the E Division West.

The visitors won the toss in the South Hams and elected to field.

Initially, all went well; against accurate bowling and athletic fielding, Stoke struggled to go at much more than two runs an over. Prout (1-33) and Williams (1-18) causing the problems.

With half the overs used Stoke were 50-3. At the second drinks break things weren’t much better, 76-5.

Stoke captain Bullock, 16 runs to his name, was joined by Horsburgh and the tempo switched. Horsburgh hit a quick fire, run a ball 23 before being bowled by Royce-Rogers (3-50).

Bullock kept strike, sheltering the lower order batsmen, as he launched into a flurry of boundaries including 6 sixes and several lost balls. Stoke recovered to an innings total of 185.

Whitchurch’s reply set off like a rocket. Powell and, in particular Hall, hit out freely and the score raced to 50 within the first 10 overs.

A hard, fast outfield and a mere three runs an over to maintain the advantage all looked good for Whitchurch. Harrison (6-15) had other ideas.

From a comfortable position, Whitchurch faltered and slowly fell apart. Goodfellow (14) and Swabey (24) managed to keep the scoreboard moving forward but the progression of wickets began to tell.

Stoke started to smell victory. A 17-run partnership between Prout and Kerswell was the best of the lower order as Whitchurch melted away, falling short by 44 runs leaving 11 unused overs.

This result puts Whitchurch into relegation contention with just four games to play. With 11 points covering the lower five teams, there is still a lot to play for.

The Wayfarers’ next game sees them welcome Stokeinteignhead, who are ahead of them by two places and five points, to Whitchurch House.

Whitchurch Wayfarers 2nd XI 2026
Whitchurch Wayfarers 2nd XI 2026 (Contributed)

WHITCHURCH Wayfarers 2nd XI’s first and only win to date was against a lowly Dartington & Totnes and they looked to do the double this weekend on home turf.

The hosts elected to bowl first, but Darts made good progress, until Allenbrook was caught by Powell off Hall for 16.

Woodcock (3-35) was the pick of the Whitchurch bowling, aided by a stunning one-handed slip catch from Roberts.

Contributions from Carter (23), Sudhamni (43) and Perkin (43no), together with 28 wides allowed Darts to post a respectable 212-5.

The Whitchurch reply was dominated by Woodcock. He feasted on the friendly bowling and made his first century for the club. Roberts (47) played the supporting role, as 168 was added for the first wicket.

Woodcock's unbeaten innings of 141 contained 24 fours and 5 sixes.

Whitchurch romped home to win by nine wickets with 16 overs to spare.

Next up, the Wayfarers 2nd XI will make the trip to face Plympton 3rd XI.