North Devon still waiting for slip up

NORTH DEVON have waited two months for Sidmouth to slip up, but the sure-footed champions are now just two steps from retaining their title.

While North Devon got the thin end of a draw at Plymouth on Saturday, Sidmouth earned a sixth successive win, by nine wickets against Paignton, to stretch their lead in the Francis Clark Devon League premier division to 19 points.

Only a major loss of form in one or both of their last two matches will give North Devon a chance to snatch the crown.

Mike Hedden, the North Devon captain, said: “With all the pressure we have put them under, they still haven’t buckled and I suppose that’s why they are champions.

“But there are 40 points to play for and stranger things have happened. We have to get 20 points (against Exeter on Saturday) to take it to the last game and hope they slip up. We’re not out of it.”

The season has already finished for the injured Matt Nobes, Max Curtis and Paul Heard, and with Neil Bettiss, best man at a wedding, and Matt Dart, working, also unavailable, Hedden was already short of options at Plymouth when Jamie Overton could only manage one and a half overs because of his troublesome ankle.

In the end, North Devon needed Ollie Hunt and Mark Overton, making a rare first-team appearance, to bat out the last nine overs and ensure they took nine points from a draw.

“We had a weakened side but we were disappointed, as a group, with how we bowled,” said Hedden.

“Two hundred was a good score, too many for us to chase.The wicket was deteriorating all the time and we got a little bit behind the rate, tried to force it and lost wickets. You had to grind the runs out on that wicket.”

Rob Ayre, the former captain, has been in fine form for the second XI this summer and he maintained that in his first appearance for the first XI. Having been drafted in to keep wicket in Nobes’s absence, Ayre scored 40 and put on 71 for the second wicket with Dan Bowser (34).

But Matt Hooper trapped Bowser lbw and had Ayre stumped and North Devon were soon 81 for four.

A brief recovery took them into three figures, but as they tried to increase the run rate wickets fell again, with spin bowler Nick Reed taking four for 22, and it was time to lower their sights to a draw, closing on 146 for nine.

Callum Whittaker, the Plymouth captain, made 80 in his side’s 202 for nine and featured in the game’s decisive stand, putting on 104 for the third wicket with George Stephenson (45).

Whittaker was eventually caught by Dan Pickard off Craig Overton, who took three for 45. Overton’s new-ball partner, Matt Westaway, had three for 38.

Braunton will be keen for North Devon to keep their title hopes alive by winning at Exeter on Saturday because that would do them a favour in their own battle.

Defeat for Exeter could set up a tense final day of the season at both ends of the table on August 28 — but only if Braunton win at third from bottom Paignton this weekend.

Braunton’s latest match, at Budleigh Salterton, was boiling up to an exciting finish when it was cut short by rain.

With Brady Saunders (20no) and Jason Hayes (34no) well set, Braunton needed 49 runs to win with four wickets in hand when the downpour came. The seventh-wicket pair had staged a recovery from 43 for six.

Budleigh had posted 152 for nine after struggling to cope with teenage off spinner Harry Booker. He ran through the middle order for figures of four for 39, with Budleigh slumping from 60 for two to 89 for seven.

Fellow spinner Jason Hayes took two for 30 and Alec Hodges, the left-arm seamer, two for 41.