C West round-up - week nine: First league win of the season for South Devon after eight defeats in a row | Price (pictured) sees it through with unbeaten half-century | 'We batted maturely and put in a good display all round' – SDCC skipper James Allen

Liam Price, who steered South Devon to a first league win of the season

SOUTH Devon had something to celebrate at last after a season of setbacks after defeating Stoke Gabriel by five wickets.

It was South Devon’s first win of the league season and offers some hope that they might yet scramble away form the relegation zone… again

South Devon may be 17 points adrift of Paignton and Kingsbridge at the bottom of the table, but they do have ‘previous’ for dodging the relegation reaper.

At the same stage last season South Devon were 18 points away from safety, but they stayed up by fractions of an average point ahead of Brixham.

Stoke were bowled out for 166 in the last of their 45 overs, which was more than they looked like making when they were 82 for six with Dan Bullock (220 ands Mike Meech (25) among the casualties.

Chris Harrison (27) and Kyle Lardner (50) put on 75 to rescue the situation for Stoke.

Wickets went to two at a time to Dillip Salinda, John Barlow, Noah Rider and Lahiru Samaradivakara, whose full figures were two for 12 from nine miserly overs.

South Devon could not have had a worse start as James Allen and Noah Rider were in and out before double figures went on the scoreboard.

Mark Andrews (48) and Liam Price turned things round during a stand of 108 and the momentum then generated took South Devon all the way.

Price was still there at the end on 56 not out when the game was won in the 37th over. Jack Tolley (2-18) was the lone Stoke bowler with more than one wicket.

James Allen, the South Devon captain, said: “It was a big improvement on previous weeks.

“We batted maturely and put in a good display all round.”

South Devon are at home to runaway leaders Plymstock this Saturday, which will be a stiff test of South Devon’s new-found form.

“We are all looking forward to the challenge,” said Allen.

YELVERTON ended a three-game losing streak by inflicting a four-wicket defeat on Teignmouth & Shaldon.

Ruben Minnaar (48) and skipper Carl Woolnough (42) were the main run makers for T&S in their all-out total of 176.Ben Grove – wickets for Yelverton

Jonathan Malan and Mike Lemmings accounted for the first five wickets one way or the other then Ben Grove (3-30) and Hadleigh Scott-Kirk worked through the bottom half of the order.

Kirk’s figures took a battering in his final over to Woolnough, a nine-baller, which cost 17 runs.

Yelverton did not have it all their own way at first as Minnaar sent back Andy Birkett and Rob Grove before the score reached 10.

From then on it was a controlled pursuit of the runs with Malan pulling the levers on is way to 94 not out. Ben Grove made 35 – he and Malan put on 99 – and there was little Woolnough or T&S could do to slow the chase.

CORNWOOD 2nd XI eased up to third in the C West table after dodging the showers to win by 67 runs at Ashburton.

Noah Carlisle top scored with a patient 60 not out in Cornwood’s 45-over total of 208 for eight.

Ben Griffiths (21) and captain Rob Dart (20) got the Corns past 50, James Richards edged the running total up to 94 then Carlisle batted the rest of the way.

A key partnership for Cornwood was the 49 added for the seven with between Noah and brother Ethan (20) that took the score up to 178.

There were two wickets each for Ashburton bowlers Steve Edmonds, Chris Yeo, Aditya More and Will Coon.

Time lost to bad weather meant Ashburton’s had 42 overs to bat in and a target of 195 to win. After stumbling to 63 for five in reply under pressure from Andy Bees (3-12) and others, the odds always favoured Cornwood.

No Ashburton batter reached 20 – Lloyd White’s 19 was as good as it got – and had Cornwood bowled straighter the total would have been less. Wides (27) outscored runs from the bat.

Wickets were shared between seven bowlers with Bees and Josh Goodliffe (2-13) the only most effective. Jason Hall, making his first appearance for the club since 2017, was among the wicket takers.

It was Cornwood’s third win on the trot and puts the team on course for a promotion push in the second half of the season.

“It is nice to hit the halfway stage back closer to where we need to be and carrying some momentum into the next few weeks to, hopefully, avenge early season losses,” said Dart.

“Our plan was to bat our overs and get a competitive total to defend.

“I would've taken 160, but Noah batted amazingly and showed grit and determination to carry us over 200 with the rest of the middle and lower order all chipping in here and there.”

Dart said he was wary of an Ashburton side with a record of hitting 200-plus in most games.

“We knew we had to be bang on it from ball one and it felt like one of our better bowling displays despite bowling 39 extras.”

TABLE-topping Plymstock bounced back from their defeat by Teignmouth & Shaldon with a crushing nine-wicket romp over Plymouth 2nd XI.

Paceman Rob Cunningham showed how much he had been missed in the defeat by Teignmouth & Shaldon by reducing T&S to 15 for five on his way to a six-wicket haul.Six of the best! Plymstock's Rob Cunningham

Dave Burke, the Plymouth captain, marshalled the lower-order batters as well as he could to make a top score of 33 in a final total of 106 all out.

Cunningham finished with six for 21 and there were two wickets for George Barnicott at mopping-up time.

Plymstock needed just 20 overs to knock off the runs. They lost Josh Sumner early, but skipper James Nicholls (38no) and Josh Hocken (54no) sealed win number seven with the minimum of fuss.

Plymstock are 32 points ahead of Teignmouth & Shaldon at the top of the table going into the second half of the season, which starts away to table-proppers South Devon this Saturday.

KINGSBRIDGE made Paignton 2nd XI work every inch of the way for a two-wicket win in the basement battle at the Butts.

Adi Maxwell’s knock of 89 was the stand-out innings in Kingsbridge’s 37-over  total of 191 for nine.

By the time Maxwell was removed by Sam Robbins (3-52) he had taken the score from seven for two to 145 for five. Next best on 25 was Ed Church.

Paignton’s wicket-taking bowlers were Robbins, Myles Price Moor (2-16), Max Pedley (2-7) and Jack Harman.

Paignton were indebted to a patient knock of 53 from Rory Medlock for keeping them in contention.

Sam Simcox was the only other batter in the top seven to make double figures in a running total of 139 for seven when Medlock departed to Maxwell (2-34).

Paignton had to see of the accurate Neal Peach (3-31) before they could resume the chase properly.

Double-figure scores from batters down the order, including 20 not out from Pedley, got Paignton over the line with three balls to spare.

Paignton (93pts) remain in the bottom two for at least one more week, but have dragged Kingsbridge down level on points with them.