Topsham St James CC vs. Bridestowe CC - 5/07/14

Having won the toss we stuck Topsham in and immediately had them one down. In the first over of the match Dan trapped Harper in front as he tried to turn the ball to leg and he was out LBW. Our good start continued as Tom and Dan both got into their rhythms and troubled the batsmen. Tom got rid of opener Jewles (17) bowling him all ends up. Tomlinson was sticking around but Dan (7-2-17-2) did for him in his final over clean bowling him for 12. At last Dan had some wickets to show for his recent bowling form. Tom (9-31-2) remained patient at the other end and got the wicket of Goodfellow who sliced one straight to James at gully. A great start meant that we were firmly on top with the score at 35-4. Barry and Jopling were the first change bowlers and both started economically as Topsham looked to rebuild. Treleaven and Crew began to do this as they played themselves in and struck anything lose to the boundary. Treleaven began to strike the ball well through the leg side, he lost his partner though when Barry (8-4-23-1) bowled a low full toss and gratefully took the return catch. James came to the crease and gave Treleaven the support he needed as Topsham moved towards 100. The batsmen looked comfortable against Jopling and he was replaced by Boother, with Sam taking over from Barry at the other end. It was Boother though who got the all important wicket of Treleaven (43), He eyed up a full ball but got a big edge sending the ball high ans spinning behind square, it looked for all the world that it would land in the gap but Butler sprinted after it and somehow managed to get two hands to the ball as it came over him, claiming a brilliant and vital catch. This brought skipper Penn to the crease with the score at 107-6. Sam was bowling consistently good areas outside the off-stump and neither batsmen could get him away. A bit of spice was then added to the game as Penn appeared to edge Sam behind, everyone in the ring was sure of it apart for the umpire, Penn refused to walk claiming he didn't touch it and remained at the crease to our dismay. An accidental collision between Penn and Mark Fog a few balls later added to the tension. Going into the last 10 overs Topsham were looking to up the rate but neither batsmen could find the fence. Boother then bowled James (18) as we looked to clean up the tail. Penn still tried to accelerate but this was his downfall as he skied a ball off Boother and was safely caught by Jopling at mid-off leaving the score at 133-8. The Boother-show continued thanks to some sharp glove-work from Mark Fog, stumping McShane to give Boother his fourth. The next ball was an absolute jaffer bowling Beachamp giving Boother (6-26-5) his five wicket hall and finishing the innings. We had bowled Topsham out for 138, on a pitch that had flattened out and with relatively short boundaries we fancied our chances.

Tom and Sam opened up knowing that if we batted anywhere near the overs we would chase down the total. The pair began well, respecting the good balls and sending the loose ones to the boundary. Sam had most of the strike for the opening overs and was on 20 in no time. Treleaven wasn't causing as many problems with the ball as we had expected and Sam creamed him for consecutive boundaries through extra cover. Harper started with two good overs but after swapping ends he lost his rhythm and Tom began to catch up with Sam. Skipper Penn brought himself on in an attempt to change the game but he twice dropped the ball short and was dispatched to the boundary, 14 from the over meant we had flown onto 73 from just 10 overs. Treleaven continued but appeared to be tiring as he also began to leak numerous boundaries. The 100 partnership that Tom and Sam had been threatening in recent weeks came up and for once we were not watching nervously. There was to be no classic Bridestowe collapse this week as first Sam and then Tom reached their half centuries. Sam sent Harper to the boundary once more to secure a convincing and particularly satisfying victory. Great stuff from Tom and Sam who knocked off the runs in only 16 overs meaning we got the full 22 points. Next week we welcome Kenn to the Milaton ground looking to make up for our poor performance against them earlier in the season. Now into the second half of the season we are top of the table by two points though there are still only a few points in it!

P W L T A Pts

Bridestowe 10 6 2 0 2 144

Kilmington 10 6 2 0 2 142

Kentisbeare 10 5 3 0 2 138

Countess Wear 10 5 3 0 2 126

Whimple 10 5 4 0 1 124

Kenn 10 5 4 0 1 122

Halberton & SP 10 4 5 0 1 109

Cullompton 10 3 5 0 2 97

Kingskerswell 10 3 5 0 2 95

Topsham 10 0 8 0 2 39