C Division East round-up – week 11: Hensor and Tuohey steer Exeter to valuable win | 'Our spinners were the difference' – Graham White

Greg Marks – four-wicket haul for Exmouth 2nd XI in win over Upottery

EXETER 2nd XI won at nail-biter at Uplyme by two wickets to avoid being cast adrift in the bottom two.

Victory keeps third-bottom Exmouth in sight and for skipper Graham White is a sign the team is on the up.

“We made hard work for ourselves with the bat on a slightly tricky pitch, but stuck at it to get over the line in a good game,” said White

“Ours is a very different team from what we were able to field in the first half of the season.”

Anand Abhishek top scored for Uplyme with 81 and other than 38 extras there was no score greater than 17 in a total of 177 for nine.

“We bowled well other than wides, but it was swinging a fair bit,” said White.

“Our spinners Dom Touhey (4-28) and Mark Gribble (2-14) were the difference with the ball.”

Exeter took the scenic route to victory as they went via none for one, 88 for three, 122 for seven and 138 for eight.

Tom Richardson made 32, White had 2, Aashay Dube 26 and Pete Hensor 29 not out at the end.

Hensor and Dom Tuohey (14no) put on 42 unbroken for the ninth wicket to to win it.

BRAUNTON’S promotion prospects in the C Division East suffered a setback when they went down by nine wickets to leaders Alphington & Countess Wear.

In a division where only the champion club gains promotion, there is no consolation prize for finishing second.

This was Braunton’s chance to do something about the 11-point gap between them and the leaders – and they blew it. The gap is now 29 points.

Luan Liebenberg, A&CW’S in-form South African paceman, followed his five for 31 against Upottery seven days earlier with a six for 24 return as Braunton were bundled out for 98. He has now taken 28 league wickets this season.

Braunton were 37 for seven after an early going over from Liebenberg and only got to 98 thanks to Dan Brierley (17), Jamie Lathwell (19) and Ed Holmes (15) sticking around in the bottom half of the order.

Brierley bowled A&CW opener Joe Satt when the score was on 56, which was the only Braunton success with the ball.

Mark Halse (49no) and Andy Fairbairn (29no) had the rest of the runs knocked off before the end of the 18th over.

HEATHCOAT 2nd XI came up short on the chase at Ottery St Mary where a target of 275 to win was too many.

George Mutter (54) and Jack Malden (85) were Ottery’s main run makers in a 45-over total of 274 for eight.

Heathcoat were 230 for nine when their time ran out, which handed Ottery victory by 44 runs.

Heathcoat’s fourth league defeat of the season means they are 31 point behind leaders Alphington & Countess Wear in a division with only one promotion place. Anything other than a win against Exmouth 2nd XI this Saturday will probably rule out an immediate return to B Division cricket following relegation last summer.

Mutter and Maldon put on 112 for Ottery’s third wicket before Fardin Kabria (2-41) split them up.

Bits and pieces kept the board ticking over then Rhys Norman whacked seven fours in a rapid 39 as he and Matt Jeacock (15no) added 47 for the seventh wicket.

Lee Dixon with three for 20 was easily the most effective of the Heathcoat bowlers.

Graham Flower (32) and Guy Bucknell (22) got Heathcoat’s reply up to 69 without loss. Three wickets went for nine runs added as Ottery got into the game.

Will Bucknell – son of Guy – batted through for an unbeaten 74 and put on 58 with Dixon (29) for the fifth wicket.

Lewis Fountain’s brisk 23 at number 10 came too late to change the outcome.

Ottery shared the wickets around with two each for Jody Clements, Sam O’Nyons, Dan Alford and Malden.

SANDFORD 2nd XI remain fourth in the C East table despite suffering a 107-run defeat at Sidmouth.

The gap between Sandford and leaders Alphington has widened to 22 points, which could change dramatically in either direction this Saturday as the two sides meet at Creedy Park.

Sandford were batted out of the game by Sidmouth openers Jash Patidar (132) and Charles Brock (87), whose 230-run partnership laid the foundations for an eventual total of 367 for five.

Anthony Griffiths (63no) and Tom Chaplin (22no) piled up a few more runs.

Shaun Fryett (2-65) was the only one of the eight bowlers Sandford deployed to take more than one wicket. Chris Jelley (4.67) was the only one to go for less than eight an over!

Sandford’s reply of 260 for nine was respectable, but it was clear a long way out they were unlikely to get within sight of winning. With 20 overs to go they were 136 for four and looking at 12-an-over to stay in touch.

Tom Williams took 91 off the Sidmouth attack and Archie Osborne made 77 at a fraction over run-a-ball rate. Both fell to Sidmouth spinner Charlie Miles (5-23).

There were two wickets each for Tom Hodgson (2-28) and Ollie Pugsley (2-61).

EXMOUTH 2nd XI defeated Upottery by 21 runs to keep a respectable distance between themselves and the C East relegation zone.

Even though second-bottom Exeter won by two wickets at Uplyme, this win preserves a 19-point gap between them and Exmouth on the next rung of the ladder.

Ed Maynard, who batted first wicket down for Exmouth, was involved in stands of 174 on his way to a top score of 82 in a total of 210 for eight. Codie Strydom made 38 and Josh Austin 23.

Upottery opening bowler Ben Kidson did his reputation no harm with figures of two for 27 from nine overs.

Jack Larcombe opened up with 72 for Upottery, but while he was going along nicely wickets were falling at the other end. Upottery were 64 for six before Jack Smith provided the support Larcombe was looking for.

A seventh-wicket stand of 109 put the game back in the melting pot and Smith went on to make 67 before Greg Marks spun him out.

The end was not long coming after that as Marks (4-39) mopped up the stragglers to dismiss Upottery for 189.