Devon Cricket League
1st XI A division
Hatherleigh 212 all out,
Cornwood 213-9;
Hatherleigh (eight points) lost to Cornwood (19) by one wicket
After snatching victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday against Hatherleigh, Cornwood CC 1st XI beat Barton CC on Sunday to reach the final of the Devon Senior Cup for the first time in the club’s history.
On Saturday all seemed dead and buried when, chasing 213 to win, the Corns found themselves languishing at 36-6.
The engines were starting up ready for the silent journey home when an amazing rearguard action saw Cornwood scrape over the finish line with one wicket remaining.
Inspired batting from Craig Harris (74 not out) led the way, with Elliott Staddon playing his normal game contributing with a positive 52 from 43 balls. When Staddon got out caught on the boundary the score had improved to 105-7.
Next it was Matt Butterworth’s turn to build a partnership with Harris, adding another 65 runs to the total for the eighth wicket, before getting caught on 29 runs.
Next Kiwi Craig James came in and added a few runs before getting bowled with the score on 179. At this time Cornwood were nine wickets down, still needing another 34 runs for victory.
Last man Adam Goodliffe kept his calm and ably supported Harris, under great pressure they chipped away, until they got to the last over needing just one run for victory – job done.
This was a stunning turnaround in a season, where on at least three other occasions, it’s gone down to the last wicket before securing victory.
The Cornwood supporters (and the home supporters) at Hatherleigh were left somewhat shell-shocked from the experience – but the win has kept Cornwood in a strong second place in the A division heading into the last three league fixtures of the season.
Credit should also go to the Cornwood bowling attack, who plugged away, keeping the Hatherleigh runs down. The slow bowlers returned the best figures on the day, with Jackson Thompson 4-30 and Jason Hall 3-39 having best figures.
Combine this with wins for both the second XI (who beat second XI premier leaders Sidmouth) and the thirds, who by convincingly beating Abbotskerswell, jumped above them into third spot of B division west and it’s apparent that the weekend yielded some fantastic results for Cornwood.
Unfortunately the fourths could not make it four out of four, but they put in a spirited performance against a more experienced Shaldon second XI.
Disappointingly a combination of injuries, holidays and other unavailability meant Cornwood ladies were unable to raise a side for the match at North Devon yesterday and had to concede the fixture.
Sunday, by comparison, was a relatively easier challenge for the first XI in the Devon Cup semi-final. Barton were put into bat and never really got a grip on the Cornwood bowling, finishing on 107 all out in 32 overs, that man Harris again, this time with the ball, returning best figures of 4-16 off 7.3 overs.
The Cornwood batsmen set about the target with their normal levels of positivity, reaching the target with five wickets down inside 16 overs, Jackson Thompson top scoring with 55.
It was left with skipper Hall and Harris to get over the line and set up a thrilling final on August 23 at Heathcoat CC’s picturesque ground against Plymouth CC, who beat reigning cup holders Sidmouth in the other semi-final.