ONLY one game survived in the Tolchards DCL B Division – and what a game it was! Seaton won by just one run at Plymstock in a real nail-chewer of a match.

Plymstock got down to the last two overs needing 17 to win with eight wickets intact. Five wickets fell in a dramatic finish that concluded in a one-run win for Seaton.

Opener Kai Croft looked good for Seaton in the opening overs and steered them to 49 for one. Losing four wickets getting to 59 for five – Croft (39) one of them – was a setback.

Sam Goodier (41) and Ben Morgan (12) tipped and ran-up a stand of 55 for the sixth wicket that took Seaton to 131 for eight.

Caretaker captain Adam Frost (3-18), deputising for the injured Tom Mitch, and Archie Hall (3-19) took three wickets each. Rob Cunningham (1-22) was hard to score off.

Chris Davies top scored for Plymstock with a seven-boundary 58 in their 29-over total of 130 for seven.

Davies and Max Castledine (37) got Plymstock off to a 94-run start after 22 over before James Doulton (3-13) split them up., Sixteen from Chester Oldfield topped up the total.

In a foretaste of what was to come, Plymstock lost four wickets in six balls in the dash for runs at the end – and a fifth two balls later! Sam Dormer (3-13) profited with three for five in the last over.

Tim Doulton, the Seaton captain, said: “It was a great game to be part of – and a valuable win over an intelligent cricket side in Plymstock. 

“Being asked to bat first in conditions that clearly favoured bowlers was far from ideal, although credit must go to the Plymstock lads for the hard work they put into preparing the pitch.

“Sam Goodier and Kai Croft both made valuable contributions with the bat, helping us post a total that gave us something to defend.

“I was particularly pleased with the way our young side approached the challenge of defending that score.”

Although Davies and Castledine got Plymstock off to an encouraging start, captain Doulton felt Seaton were ‘always in the contest’. And when it mattered most, the bowlers delivered the goods.

“James Doulton and Sam Dormer applied pressure consistently at the death and played a key role in keeping us there until the end,” added Doulton.

Mitch, Plymstock’s sidelined captain, saw the game in a slightly different light fron the other side of the boundary rope.

“It was a game that ebbed and flowed throughout the day,” said Mitch.

“A top effort from both sides for being patient and willing to get the game on.

“It felt like we were the better team for almost the whole game and found a way to lose!

“Lots of positives to take though, good bowling performance and Chris was quality up the top with the bat.”