ASHBURTON were spun to a 21-run defeat at Bideford, where last five wickets tumbled in a hurry

Left-armer Martin Stewart, wicketless in a first spell that ended when Lloyd White (53) hit him out of the attack, came back for a second spell and took, two poles in his first five balls.

Stewart finished with four for 27 overall – four for 10 second spell – as Ashburton caved-in  from 155 for six to 173 all out. Fellow spinners Jack Ford (2-9), Fawaaz Gallie (2-22) and Elliot Curry (0-35) kept the pressure on.

“We were miles off of our standards in the first 25 overs of our fielding innings, and made it a lot harder than we should have,” said skipper Ford. “But from drinks onwards was almost as good as I’ve seen us bowl and field.

“Our spin quartet bowled excellently throughout the middle overs and slowly dragged it back into our hands.”

Having started their chase positively with runs from Steve Edmonds (38), Jack Brown (20) and skipper White, it was a disappointing way for Ashburton to lose.

Bideford had a lot to thank Ollie Hannam for as without his batting input they might have struggled to set a total of 194 for nine.

Ashes’ bowlers Chris McKee (2-21), Jack Warren (0-25) and Jack Brown (2-27) offered little to hit when the ball was new. There were wickets later on for Chris Yeo (3-35) and Matt Churchill (2-44).

“That spell of bowling was one of the best I’ve seen in my 10 years at the club,” said White.

“To hold Bideford to below 100 with 20 overs remaining was a real testament to the discipline, lines and lengths we bowled as a unit.”

Hannam batted through for nearly two hours, taking Bideford from 22 for two to 156 for seven for his 79. Alex Hannam (28no) topped-up the tally.

“Oliver Hannam’s knock of 79 was brilliant and probably would have been worth 100-plus on an easier batting day,” said Ford.

“Alex Hannam closing the innings out with a very important 28 shouldn’t go under the radar either.”

Said White: “A few key decisions didn’t go our way, but that’s cricket. Ultimately, we needed one batter to kick-on, like Ollie Hannam did for them.

“There’s been plenty learned over the first two weeks of the season, and we’ll be looking to take those lessons into this week’s game against Plympton.”