CORNWOOD were made to work every step of the way for the two-wicket win over Bradninch & Kentisbeare that keeps them third in the Tolchards DCL Premier Division table.

It appeared the Wood had done the hard part by dismissing the defending champions for 138, but appearances can be deceptive.

Cornwood had a fight on their hands at 113 for eight in reply and grateful to ninth-wicket pair Alex Shutt and Adam Goodliffe for seeing them over the line. 

An unchanged top three reads Exmouth (81pts), Exeter (76) then Cornwood on 74.

Goodliffe (3-14) and Lee Baker (3-32) , who would have been last man in, restricted  Bradninch & Kentisbeare to a running total of 106 for five at the 37-over mark. Losing three wickets getting from 64 for one to 69 for four didn’t help.

Jon Triner (25) and last-man out Muhammad Ismail (21) wrung what they could out of the lower order.

The end came quickly with Cornwood skipper Matt Skeemer (4-37) claiming three wickets in four balls – Ankit Badwall denied him a hat-trick – and Baker taking another in the next over.

Opener Ryan Rickard (47) played the anchorman role for Cornwood, which was just as well. No one else in the top eight got past 14. Spin proved the Wood’s undoing with five wickets at one end for Josh Farley and a mean 10 overs at the other from Gary Chappell (1-18).

Shutt (16no) and man-of-the-match nominee Goodliffe (13no) ensured there was no danger of confirmed tail-ender Baker having to bat.

Skeemer, the Cornwood skipper, confessed it was a mixed-bag of a performance, but a satisfying one.

“It was a weird day,” said Skeemer. “Our bowling and ground fielding were brilliant and considering we dropped five catches we were very happy to keep them to that score. 

“Bradninch’s bowlers were brilliant as well and apart from Ryan, who really applied himself, they made things very difficult for us. 

“Adam and Alex showed real composure at the end and it was great to get a win against a good side.”

Defeat left B&K three off the bottom of the table, which isn’t a position the back-to-back Premier champions are accustomed to.

Gary Chappell, the B&K captain, knows where the problems lie and is confident they can be ironed out.

“We are not batting well enough,” said Chappell. "Credit to Cornwood, who bowled well and made scoring runs hard work. 

“We battled hard in the field and nearly won another game where we were well below our best. 

“The positive is we are competing even when miles off it, and haven't been far off winning all four of our games. 

“Ultimately, we need to improve our batting to make life a bit easier for the bowlers and win games.”