Words: Simon Travers
Match Photos: Ivor Thomas
Both the First and Second Elevens were embroiled in weather impacted nailbiters this weekend. Elsewhere, life proved a lot easier on a generally positive weekend for the club.
The Ones entertained a Sidmouth team to Oak Park on Saturday that Captain Luke Bess assessed ‘in transition’ at start of the season. Possibly smarting from two games on the trot they could have won, possibly feeling the shift in dynamic between the two sides as The Ones had won their past 3 encounters, Sidmouth came to win points, not friends.
The visitors made a positive start after being put in by the Ones. Like last week at Plympton, there were no early inroads for the Cornwood seamers and Sidmouth were 89-1 after 24 overs. A share of quick wickets between Elliott Staddon and James Richardson started to turn things around as opener Sam Elstone nicked off for 67. That score was Elstone’s third 50 in 3 matches to currently top the Premier Division run scorer’s table. In nine overs, Sidmouth had dropped to an always satisfying 123 for 5. Two further wickets for Captain Staddon meant he ended on 9-0-20-4 and Sidmouth were 147-7 with 9 overs remaining. Wicketkeeper Jamie Baird (46 from 46) and Scott Barlow put on 64 for the 8th wicket before 3 wickets in an over for Ben Privett (8.5-0-45-4) closed the visitors’ innings on 211.
The Ones also looked comfortable in the early going. Ben Privett made 31 from a 56 first wicket partnership and that total had progressed to 99-2 by the 20th over. The Ones’ momentum hit the skids as Sidmouth seamer Ben Way got the ball talking. A triple wicket maiden saw Matt Skeemer deeply unlucky to dig out a yorker only for it to balloon to close catcher Luke Beaufort. Four overs later, two more wickets in two balls for Way put the Ones on 115-7. He would finish with exceptional figures of 10-1-41-6.
With the clouds darkening and the barometer of pressure on the park rising, Max Finzel produced a classically dogged innings that played the situation perfectly. Max blended stout defence with an ability keep the scoreboard ticking as he worked towards 79* from 104. James Richardson provided support to put on 45 for the 8th wicket. Josiah Caunter helped Max keep up the momentum with 28 for the 9th wicket before he was trapped in front sweeping with the score on 187. That proved to be the final twist as the umpires called the match for bad light at the end of the 38th over. The score was 192-9 but Max still batting and the Ones were 13 short on the Duckworth Lewis.
Credit to Sam Elstone and Ben Way for exceptional individual performances. The Ones get to spend the week dwelling on a few costly mistakes and rubs of the green that did not go in their favour. If ever there is a modern club game that was an old-fashioned draw, it’s a match where Sidmouth achieved 90% of their target of taking 10 wickets while Cornwood achieved 91% of their target of reaching 212, but Sidmouth take the points this time.
Elsewhere, Sandford completed their fourth successful chase of the season as Plympton won the toss and batted. There were also wins for Exmouth, Bradninch & Kentisbeare, and Exeter. The Ones are third in the table, but already 21 points behind Sandford.
At Varwell Field, the Twos showed their durability by pulling back a losing situation against Ashburton four times over. Robin Dart (31) and Chris Parker (30) made batting look comfortable early on to reach 87-1. The hosts found the right bowling combination in Vaibhav Sheth and Matt Churchill to produce a seven over spell with no runs from the bat as the Twos slumped to 88-5. Jason Hall and Harry Woolway patiently put on 49 for the 6th wicket, but then two wickets fell in two balls and the Seconds were clearly behind again at 141-8. Jason Hall led the counter-charge to reach an impressive 73 from 79 including 4 big sixes. Andy Bees was hitting out at the other end too with a significant 25* from 23. Jason and Andy’s 73 run 9th wicket partnership got the Twos to a competitive 214-9 with a run rate of 4.76. Matt Coon ended up with the most wickets for Ashburton as he chipped away for 3-50.
The covers came on at tea as the weather started to deteriorate, but no overs were lost initially. Vaibhav Sheth looked to have got Ashburton away to a flyer with 45 from 34 before he was well caught at slip by Chris Parker off Alex Shutt. Sheth’s contribution put Ashburton massively ahead of the run rate at 63-1 after 8 overs. Cornwood’s bowlers plugged away to work that run rate down, but three boundaries in an over just before the rain put Ashburton ahead at 111-3 after 21. At that point, the game was legal and in Ashburton’s hands, but the rain relented and the players were able to get back out. Chasing a reduced target of 186, Jacob Caunter made life very difficult for the host’s middle order with figures of 3-24. While Ashburton captain Lloyd White was there though, the hosts still had the time and resources to be considered favourites. His wicket fell as Harry Woolway put his body on the line for a catch at long on from the bowling of Andy Bees. Andy had earlier gone for 31 from his first four overs. In the clutch, he finished with figures of 7.5-1-34-4 as the Twos celebrated a 14 run win.
On Sunday in the Ivor Dewdney Corinthian T20 Cup, the Twos delivered a routine victory against PCS&R. The Twos restricted the visitors to 92-8 in their 20 after winning the toss. Harry Woolway and Josh Goodliffe both took 2 wickets cheaply. Charlie Martyn didn’t look overawed on adult debut with 1 for 24 and 17 dot balls. Ewan Grewal hit one into the horses’ field as he charged to 33 from 14. Finn Torley comfortably rounded up the chase with 33 from 28 as the Twos won by 8 wickets with 57 balls spare.
For the second week running, The Threes created their own bowling storm to claim full points before the bad weather hit. Visiting Kingsbridge 2s, Josh Cumberland and Sam Ford made early inroads with the new ball. Rakesh Gheravada provided some resistance for 42 before Duncan Cumberland took over. Cornwood’s own resident 6Music Dad found his rhythm bowling wicket to wicket. Duncan’s spell of 6-4-2-6 saw Kingsbridge tumble down the hill from 75-3 to 89 all out. Sam Griffiths with 31 from 28 and Tom West both showed they had learnt the Two’s visit to Kingsbridge with positive innings that brought the Threes home by 6 wickets. That third win on the trot gives the Threes sole ownership of second place in F Division West.
The Fours lifted themselves out of the relegation places in G Division West with an emphatic 183 run victory over Plympton 3rds. That is the Fours highest score since they put 287/4 over Lewdown 2s in August 2021 and their largest win since Passman’s match when they beat Lewdown 2s by 229 runs in June 2021. Josh Wood firmly stamped his name on the honours board with his third Cornwood ton in his first game of the season, scoring a career best 117 in 107 balls. Josh put on 160 for the 5th Wicket with Marc Whaley, who also made an impressive 77 in 62. Plympton registered 92 in response as Lee Baker led the attack with 4 for 16 and Malik Wasim took 3 for 12 and claimed a run out.
It was a profitable day on Sunday for the Women’s Firsts as they claimed 2 wins to go top of their group in the Super 8s. The win against Plympton was a concesssion, but Cornwood beat a newly formed Stoke Gabriel side by 94 runs. Batting first, Kat Frost reached a retirement 30 in 25 balls as the team scored 155-4 in their 16 overs. Sadie Goodliffe was also in form with 23*. Kat Frost also proved too much for Stoke Gabriel with ball in hand taking 4 for 4 in 2 overs as Stoke Gabriel scored 61.
In the colts, there were some great individual performances across the U11s, U13s and U15s this week. Seb and Greg both registered 50s at the top of the order for the U15s against Launceston. Tom got a 3-fer for the U13s as they beat Plympton in the WDYL cup. Marriott took 3-9 and Rehaan went one better with 4-6 against Plymouth for the U11s. On Friday night, trainers of the week were Oscar, Isla, Joseph and Ted. Keep up the great work, ladies and gents.
Keep an eye out this Wednesday night for a rescheduled T20 game between the Ones and Plymouth. It’s a 6pm start. Next weekend, The Ones are home to newly promoted Exeter, the Twos have a local derby at Plymouth, the Threes travel to Stoke Gabriel and the Fours host PCS&R seconds. There’s no Sunday match for the Women’s Firsts or Fifth XI this week, but most Colts sides are in action across the week.
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