BIDEFORD remain hot on the heels of leaders Heathcoat in Division One of the Blights Motors North Devon League after winning by 67 runs at Westleigh.
Bideford, who batted first, scored 329 for nine from their 40 overs. James Greenleaf opened with 48 and shared a 113-run partnership with the in-form Josh King, who hit a quickfire 100, an innings in which 88 came in boundaries.
James Ford, returning to his old Merchants Park stomping ground, hit 65 off 49 balls. Selwyn Fisher and Steffan James both took three wickets for Westleigh.
Westleigh certainly gave it a go! Kyle Faber bludgeoned 57 up top, and Selwyn Fisher hit 91 not out, and there were 42 extras. Ultimately, Westleigh were all out for 262 with 11 overs left
Marcus Bulled claimed three victims, and there were two each for Jack Ford and Woody Moseby
Ten-man Hatherleigh travelled to Belstone, to play Bridestowe & Belstone in the West Devon derby, where they won by 51 runs
There were runs throughout the card as Hatherleigh racked up 266 for eight. Kirt Forgham top scored with 41, and Hatherleigh were indebted to Niall Leahy, and Shrey Ghosh, who put on an unbroken 80 for the last wicket. Will Bancroft, and Joseph Woolnough both took a couple of wickets for B&B
Bridestowe & Belstone’s reply was dominated by century-maker James Ewen. Although he hit 101 at just under a run-a-ball rate, wickets fell regularly at the other end. Noah Metherell helped with 32, and there was a late flurry from Richard Drake 26, but the rest of the team struggled against the Hatherleigh bowling, as they were all out for 215. Aiden Spinney took three wickets, and there were two each for Ghosh, Forgham, and Ryan Brock
More than 600 runs scored in the Sandhills at Instow, where North Devon beat Sandford by 21 runs.
Richard Screech, making his first NDL appearance for North Devon this century, took the honour of captaincy. He started well by winning the toss, and chose to bat on a flat one.
North Devon amassed a 40-over total of 323 for seven.
Jack Moore hit 78, Definate Mawadzi 71, and Richard Clarke an unbeaten 52. Extras contributed 51! Seb Gibbs and Will Hopkins were the pick of the bowlers, taking a couple of poles each.
Sandford were always in the fight and reached a 40-over total of 302 for six. The last 21 runs proved to be a step too far. Andrew Fry top scored with 87, Tanbir Hayder hit 60 and Joseph Saunders 50. Screech tried to stem the flow by using 10 bowlers. He took two himself as did Mawadzi. Jack Moore showed that his off-spin can be put on hold for a few years!
Nomansland & Newton Tracey both lost their 100 per cent records in Division Two. Newton hosted Barnstaple & Pilton and lost a last-over thriller by three wickets
Rakesh Nair top scored with 40, Baveshkumar Patel hit 36, and Connor Robson scored 34 in Newton Tracey’s 156 all out.
Barnstaple & Pilton skipper Ali Poll marshalled his bowlers effectively. Matt Newton and Dominic Chugg took three wickets each and Matt Clarke claimed a couple.
The Barnstaple & Pilton chase was led by Jamie Sutton, who dropped anchor for 66. He was given a life when home skipper Dom Robson withdrew an appeal for a catch behind. Newton hit a breezy 20, and Dom Chugg a patient 28.
At 147 for two and with five overs in hand things looked simple for Barnstaple & Pilton. Jon Whormsley then bowled a triple-wicket maiden as the visitors lost four for five and panic set in. Ruben Chugg hit the winning runs in the last over, which made the ‘warm down’ team talk from skipper Poll much easier!
Nomansland lost by 63 runs at Exford, who amassed 293 for seven thanks mainly to Breden Taylorit (89) Oli Ahern (72) and James Griffiths (66). Greg Cole was the pick of the seven bowlers used, with three wickets
Taylor then starred with the ball, taking four for 40 off his eight overs. There was support from Ryan Jones with three wickets, that helped bowl-out Nomansland for 230. William White top scored with 57, Elliot Butterfield opened with 41, and there were chip-ins from Will Martin (33) and Greg Cole (31) before they were all out with four overs remaining
Travel Chapter T20 KO Cup
Braunton 116-9 (C Mitchell 50), Bideford 120-4 (James Ford 28no, J King 32).
Bideford (2pts) bt Braunton (0) by 6 wkts.
Bideford 197ao (James Hayter 68, J King 41, Julian Hayter 30; S M Moore 3-26, F Tucker 3-59), North Devon 128-7 (R Clarke 51). Bideford (2pts) bt North Devon (0) by 69 runs.
Holsworthy 144 for 8 (G Beagley 34 A Lovejoy 31 J Fisher 3 for 23), Westleigh 66 (D Lucas 3-14). Holsworthy (2pts) bt Westleigh (0) by 78 runs.
Barnstaple & Pilton (0pts) conceded against Hatherleigh (2).
