Bovey skipper Hammett always confident his side would play way out of trouble | 'A couple of games that we should and could have won to make it easier on ourselves would have had us looking up rather than down'

Bovey Tracey

By CONRAD SUTCLIFFE

BOVEY Tracey skipper Lewis Hammett has revealed he was always confident his side would move clear of the Devon League relegation zone before it was too late.

A 98-run win over Hatherleigh on Sunday banished lingering relegation fears once and for all as Bovey moved three places clear of the bottom two.

Bovey's Toby Codd bowling against HatherleighFixture disruption caused by bad weather and Covid alerts were partly responsible for Bovey being closer to the bottom than the top of the Tolchards DCL Premier table for much of the season.

Hammett knows his side has plenty of room for improvement – especially in the batting department – but always felt they were good enough to avoid being sucked into a relegation struggle.

“I was always confident we had enough over the season,” said Hammett. “A couple of games that we should and could have won to make it easier on ourselves would have had us looking up rather than down.

“We have a solid bowling attack and the best spin-bowling line-up in the league (Codd, Bradley, Christophers and Singappuli) which is a joy to watch.

“Chris Bradley is still the best spinner around and Will Christophers has really come on this year – you just have to look at his average and strike rate to see the quality. He is one to keep an eye on.

Ryan Bougourd has been great since coming back and Elliott Adams has been constantly improving since stepping up from A Division cricket with Abbotskerswell.”

What Hammett would like to see is Bovey’s front-end batters curbing their natural instincts to go after the bowling from ball one … and getting out early.

I think the biggest thing for us is not being 20 for four,” said Hammett. “We have players who happily strike at 120 but they need a platform.”

Hammett added: “Overall the club is in a great place with the second team (4th) doing well in the B Division. 

“I am really proud of where the club is and what we have to offer.”

Hatherleigh's Niall Leahy has just been bowled by Bovey's Will Christophers