TAIL-enders Paul Butson and Muhammad Ali steered Plymouth Civil Service & Roborough to a one-wicket win over Abbotskerswell 2nd XI in the Tolchards DCL D Division West.
Civil seemed to have done the hard bit by bowling out Abbots for 149. There were two wickets each for skipper Matt Trevorrow (2-11), Usman Tariq (2-324) and Jonny Keiller (2-5).
Abbots only got past a hundred thanks to eighth-wicket pair Tom Askew (50) and Gary Caunter (33).
Civil looked to be cruising at 53 for none as openers Keiller (25) and Abraham Thomas (28) were on top of the bowling. Then it all went pear-shaped!
Alfie Harrison (3-26) and Kyle Rich (5-25) caused a complete collapse that saw four wickets fall on 60 en-route to 66 for six.
And when Civil were on the ropes at 79 for seven, with Jasim Ismail just out to Rich, it looked all over.
Skipper Trevorrow (22) and Butson did not see it that way and there stand of 46 for the eighth wicket put Civil back in the game.
Butson and G R Venkatasubramanyan went from 125 for eight to 147 for nine before the latter was dispatched by Rich.
Civil’s alternatives were three to win or one wicket to lose. Butson settled it by hitting Harrison Vickery for four.
IPPLEPEN 2nd XI defeated Babbacombe by six wickets to knock the Walls Hill side off the top of the D West table.
The new leaders are Plymstock 2nd XI, whose one-wicket win over Hatherleigh 2nd XI propelled them five points ahead of Babbacombe at the top.
Babbacombe made their now customary solid start through Marcus and Josh Thompson, who scored 32 and 28 respectively.
Harry Stubbs made 32 and Seb Loram 22, but there was only small change from the rest in an all-out tally of 140.
Ipplepen’s Warrick Green (pictured left), whose dad Marcus was acting captain for the game claimed five Babbacombe wickets for 11 runs given away. It was his maiden five-wicket return for the team. Steve Bowden and Jack Edworthy took two wickets each.
Ipplepen knocked-off the runs with more than nine overs to spare. Chris Needham made 51 and Tobias Alsop 33 in a 63-run stand that effectively determined the outcome.
Josh Thompson (1-14) and Dave Stubbs (1-17) made Pens work for their runs for nine overs each while there was shine on the ball.
PLYMSTOCK 2nd XI are the new leaders in the D Division West after defeating Hatherleigh by one wicket.
Hatherleigh got to 156 for four with Greg Solkin (71), Danny Forrester (45) and Zak Spears (26) among the run getters.
Wickets tumbled in the dash for runs in the final six overs as Hatherleigh declined from 182 for five to 192 all out.
Anthony Mustica (3-32) and Dave Ling (3-4) were the bowlers who put the skids under Hatherleigh.
Plymstock appeared on course for victory at 155 for six thanks largely to the efforts of Teddy Richards (36), in-form Jamie Palfreyman (31), Connor Porter (38) and Chris Oke. Then it was their turn to lose wickets.
Oke (20no) stayed cool under pressre and with support from Mustica (13) and last man George Barnicott (4) the line was crossed with 24 balls to go.
Babbacombe’s defeat at Ipplepen allowed Plymstock to go past them at the top.
IVYBRIDGE 2nd XI slipped to a three-wicket defeat against Kenn at Fillham Park when the could not defend a total of 229 for six.
Sam Kidd (51) and Sam Northmore (71) gave the Bridge a 127-run start – and there were more to come from third man in Simon Kidd (31).
James Mason (3-33) put the brake on and the Bridge slowed against tight bowling from Alfie Mason and Evan Conway.
There were no real dramas in the Kenn reply as wickets fell at well-spaced intervals from start to finish.
Conway (36) and Ben Chaloner (40) got early runs; James Gosling and Shane Bowler shored-up the middle of the chase and Pete Chislett (25) and Alfie Mason (24no_went most of the rest of the way.
Pick of the bowlers by a distance for Ivybridge with four for 38 was Sam Kidd.
JUSTIN Osborne helped himself to a century for Dartington & Totnes in their 15-run win away to Barton 2nd XI.
Osborne hjt 10 fours and two sixes on the way to making 104 in D&T’s 45-over total of 226 for four.
Opening partner Jono Lloyd made 58 – five fours and a six – and put on 125 for the first wicket with Osborne.
Barton skipper Chris Stubbs tried six bowlers in search of breakthroughs. None took more than one wicket. Tom Porter (1-32) was the least expensive – and his figures included nine wides.
Osborne completed a man-of-the-match performance for D&T with a three-for-189 bowling return that helped dismiss Barton for 211. Lloyd (3-42) also had a good day with bat and ball.
Matt Needham top scored for Barton with 38 and was aided and abetted during the pursuit by Ollie Shelton (22), Stubbs (24), Devanshu Sinha (26), Louis Hargreaves (18) and Arunkrishna Radhakrishnan (20).
Victory moves Dartington & Totnes off the bottom of the D West table. Winless Barton have replaced them.
