C West News: Logjam at the bottom were three teams are jockeying to get away from second relegation berth | T&S beat Brixham to widen gap | South Devon facing mission impossible | and more

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CONRAD SUTCLIFFE REPORTING

TEIGNMOUTH & Shaldon moved in sight of C West survival with a 42-run win over Brixham.

Opener Seamus McKenna was the only one of the top six to miss out at T&S made 187 all out.

Pride of place in the batting summary went to Karl Blackburn (43). The chippers-in were Seb Linnett (28), Todd Ballman (36) and skipper Carl Woolnough.Ross Abraham bowling down the hill for Teignmouth & Shaldon in the win over Brixham

Spinners Mike Barron (2-12) and Abdul Muzammil (4-40) led Brixham’s bowling effort.

Brixham’s top-order batting looked a little ragged against T&S seamers Woolnough (2-26) and Ross Abraham (2-26), who soon had the visitors wobbling at 43 for four.

Muzammil made a patient 80 not out in an attempt to stay in the game which, with clouds gathering all around the ground, looked like being decided on run rate.

Brixham were 128 for five in the 33rd over when play was halted, which was just a handful of runs shy of being enough to win the game on run rate.

SOUTH Devon are faced with a mission impossible against Teignmouth & Shaldon this Saturday if they are to avoid relegation from the C Division West.

Hatherleigh are already dead and buried, but one of South Devon (9.60pts), Brixham (10.69) or Teignmouth & Shaldon (11.33) will occupy the second place on relegation row.

South Devon have to beat Teignmouth & Shaldon to get past Brixham, which won’t be easy as T&S have an outside chance of going down if they lose heavily and Brixham win well.

If Brixham beat Ashburton it is almost certainly game over for South Devon irrespective of their result against T&S. The maximum average South Devon can obtain is 10.55. Brixham’s minimum average would be 9.93 if they take no points off Ashburton. Nine points from a defeat would be enough to save them.

Teignmouth & Shaldon only need three points against South Devon to dodge the drop.

South Devon have struggled for runs all season and it was the same old story for them at Bridestowe as the three Toms – Fogerty (2-4), Boother (1-16) and Pengelly – scythed through their top order.

Alex Bridgeman (43) and Paul Hooper (21) joined forces at 33 for for and their stand 54 staved off total collapse.

Brixham's Abdul Muzammil on the way to 80 not out at TeignmouthHooper went first to the returning Pengelly (2-33), and with Bridgeman largely a spectator at the other end South Devon collapsed from 103 for five to 110 all out.

Dan Fogerty (3-27) mopped-up the tail-end Charlies. The last four did not score a run between them.

Bridestowe were 18 without loss when rain stopped play.

STOKE Gabriel’s hopes of a points boost in the promotion race with a win over doomed Hatherleigh 2nd XI were thwarted by the weather.

Hatherleigh have been resigned to relegation for some time, but Stoke and Bridestowe have been involved in a private battle among themselves for the solitary promotion place out of level four.

A rained-off game made no difference to Hatherleigh, but was a nuisance for Stoke (15.11pts), who had hoped to gain some fractions of average points on Bridestowe (15.82). When margins are measured in tenths and hundredths of a point, every wicket taken and run scored is important.

As there are no points being handed out for abandoned games this season, Hatherleigh 136 and Stoke’s four wickets are meaningless.Brixham captain Matt Parsons gets forward to T&S seamer Carl Woolnough

For the record… Harry Arden and Sam Clark both made half-centuries for Hatherleigh. Stoke spinner Dan Bullock claimed three of the four wickets to fall.

ASHBURTON’S game against Cornwood 2nd XI did not last long enough for run rate to be used to calculate a winner.

Ashley Berry made 51 and Chris Yeo 32 in a hurry for Ashes, who were 160 for eight in the 41st over when rain forced the players off. Jack Brown had three of their wickets for 19 runs and there were two each for Andy Bees and Joe Davies.

Robin Dart with 31 in even time top scored for the Corns, who were 102 for four when the terminal downpour arrived in the 19th over – eight balls before the point at which the result would have counted.

ALEX Hill and Aditya Sanapala both made half-centuries for Plymouth 2ndXI in a 64-run C West win over Paignton.

Hill (69) and Sanapala (51) were the main run getters in Plymouth’s 33-over total of 194 for seven. Callum Cload chipped in with 31.

Jack Harman (3-22) was the lone Paignton bowler to take more than one wicket. 

Openers Sam Robbins (35) and Charlie Ward (22) got the chase up and running. Brenton Pedley (32) made middle-order runs but the supporting knocks to get over the line did not materialise and Paignton were 130 for nine when rain stopped play, giving Plymouth victory on run rate.