Devon D West

Yelverton v Exwick

A DOMINANT batting display saw Yelverton get their second win in as many weeks against Exwick, comfortably defeating them by 107 runs.

Geoff Brain (100) was the star of the show again for Yelverton, along with Hadleigh Scott-Kirk (54*).

Yelverton won the toss and chose to bat first. This was no surprise with the pitch in fine condition and scorching hot temperatures at Langton Park. Brain and Luke Julyan opened the batting and got Yelverton off to a strong start.

Brain, who scored 93 the previous week, looked in ominous form right from the start. At the other end Julyan (5) was trapped LBW in the ninth over off L Cox (1-53). A few overs later Rich Townsend (1) was also out, caught at slip off Harding (1-71).

Yelverton quickly struck back with new batsman Christiaan Van Niekerk (39) finding the boundary with ease as Brain pressed on past his half-century. The pair put on a 93-run partnership for the 3rd wicket in just twelve overs before Van Niekerk was bowled and caught by Rehann Caryl.

Brain continued to dominate and completed his century in the 28th over, before being bowled by Ross Pascoe (1-34) just a few deliveries after reaching three figures.

Brain’s dismissal sparked a mini-collapse for Yelverton as Chris Vinson (6), Gilles Beauchomp (20) and Daniel Cooper (7) all fell in reasonably quick succession. This left Yelverton at 196-7 with 8 overs left.

Caryl (3-37) picked up two further wickets in this spell of play.

Scott-Kirk and Dan Keylock (7) managed to steady the ship, putting on 24 runs before Keylock was bowled. James Casey joined Scott-Kirk at the crease and the pair managed to put on 52 runs for the 9th wicket in the last four overs of the innings.

Casey (15*) played the supporting role, as Scott-Kirk (54*) found the boundary ball after ball, bringing up his half-century in just 19 deliveries. This flurry of late runs meant that Yelverton finished on an impressive 272-8 off their 45 overs.

Exwick were determined to at least try and chase down this big total. The opening batsman of Rose (28) and Calderhead (25) played in an aggressive manner right from the start.

However, Keylock (2-28) was able to make the crucial first break through for Yelverton, trapping Rose LBW. Then, just a few balls later, Keylock picked up another wicket as he dismissed Pascoe (0) also LBW.

Things got even worse for Exwick when Calderhead was caught off the bowling of Van Niekerk in the very next over. In just eight balls they had stuttered from 56-0 to 56-3.

Exwick managed to recover thanks to contributions from Grunsell (16) and Murphy (26). After Murphy was bowled by Casey (2-29), they collapsed again, falling from 121-5 to 132-9.

Van Niekerk (4-28) was the main cause of this collapse, picking up three more wickets. There was some resistance from the final wicket partnership of Cox (9*) and A. Rowe (19), but Exwick were eventually bowled out for 165, ending 107 runs short.

Yelverton take second place in the league table and have a crucial local derby next week against Whitchurch, who sit just two points behind them.