By OLLIE SMITH

EXWICK 2^nd XI bagged their first win of the season in sensational fashion after chasing 221 against South Devon’s 3^rd XI at Manaton, with only 10, and at times nine, players.

Exwick won the toss and chose to bowl, but South Devon were keen to put the pressure on early. Ian Shepherd (50) and Harry Hughes (56) kept the scoreboard ticking over. The middle order of South Devon didn’t have the same success rate, as numbers five to eight all failed to make it out of single figures. 

Jack Tuttle helped the score to north of 200 with 27 from 29, and a generous 41 extras saw South Devon reach 220 for eight from their 40 overs. 

Rishi Mishra was expensive but destructive, his four wickets came at a cost of 65 runs. Sherzad Sherzadullah was next best with two for 27. 

Exwick, who had only 10 players at the start of the game, had to field for significant periods with nine players after one of their bowlers suffered an ankle injury.

Dan Groves and Balakrishnan Bhaskaran opened the innings for Exwick, and quietly went on their way. 

A 50 partnership soon turned into 100 runs, and both players were able to raise their bat. It took until the 32^ndover for a wicket to fall, Bhaskaran was caught Gary Tuttle, bowled Grace Flay for 67. The partnership had reached 195 at that point.

Groves kept going, and was thankful for a large number of South Devon extras, 63 in total. Scores were tied after the first ball of the 37^th over, and the next ball saw Groves score a single to secure the win, finishing unbeaten on 82.

Groves was well aware of his side’s batting fragility, and admitted winning wasn’t in his thoughts until the end, “Batting in the last two years has easily been our Achilles heel; we've been lacking regular top order batters to build a platform and loosen the pressure on the lower order.”

“Even at halfway, being 105 without loss, I still wasn’t thinking about winning. I just wanted to stay focused on the bowling yet to come.”

“Admittedly, extras were very present on both sides, but we still put on over 100 without them.”

“It was great to see Balakrishnan rolling back the years. He re-joined us at the start of the year after three years at Kenn.”

Groves was also pleased to get his maiden DCL half-century, but was candid in the time it took, “it’s been coming for a while now, my self-confidence has been growing, but I still needed that extra bit of grit to get me over the line.”

“Fielding with ten, sometimes nine players, made the win more meaningful, proving even if you are short of a full team, anything can happen. Hopefully it gives us some confidence going forward.”