A DIVISION

 A big local derby towards the bottom of the A Division between Seaton and Kilmington on Saturday. Kilmington shot themselves in the foot, or perhaps ankle, when Rob Crabb injured himself in the warm up playing football. Dan Fuzzard was summoned from the 2nd XI, writes Martin Huscroft.

Oscar Oborn-Corby (2-21) and Ben Fuzzard (1-25) bowled very tidy opening spells, nipping out Matt Hewer and keeping it very tight. Ollie Reed's pulled hamstring ended his contribution after two overs and Damien Baxter (32) and Max Johnson (38) took Seaton to a comfortable 72-1 but at that point, spinners Joel Seward (3-29) and Josh Short (3-41) started to work their way through the Seaton middle order. Oborn-Corby finished off the tail for a total of 147.

Seaton skippers past and present, Ben Morgan and Joe Berry, bowled testing opening spells that the Kilmington openers were lucky to survive, before Josh Cann (23) was out at 45. Short (58) and Seward (17) guided Kilmington to a comfortable looking 127-3 with overs to spare but Kilmington never make it easy for themselves or their supporters. An excellent, aggressive spell from Skipper Berry (3-26), who deserved more reward, saw Kilmington slump to 143-7, only for Ben Fuzzard and Oborn-Corby to crawl them over the line, not without scares for both batsmen. An important win for Kilmington, although it cost them a few casualties on the way.

Seaton 1st XI 147 all out (44.2 overs) Damien Baxter 32, Max Johnson 38, Joel Seward 3-29, Josh Short 3-41, Oscar Oborn-Corby 2-21. Kilmington 1st XI 151-7 (45.4 overs) Josh Short 58, Josh Cann 23, Joe Berry 3-26

Saturday, June 4th- Kilmington 2nd XI v Cheriton FitzPaine 1st XI G Division East

A difficult day for Kilmington 2nd XI started by losing a player to the 1st XI an hour before the game. Young Louis Cook stepped into a much changed team from the previous week.

Cheriton batted first, and after a parsimonious spell from Mike Summers (1-17) and wickets for Dean Wills (3-39) and Ash Cook (2-26), Kilmington would have been happy to see the opposition at 114-7 with nine overs to go. Unfortunately, Cheriton dominated those overs and finished on 208-7.

Despite missing Alex Rockett, the highest scorer in the whole country last week, Kilmington set about their work with runs from the Cook brothers, Hal (37), Ralph (22) and Ash (22). Whilst skipper Giles Dixon (48) and Adam Culley (46*) were at the wicket, Kilmington were probably favourites, but after Dixon's unlucky dismissal, the 16 runs needed off the last over were a bridge too far. A good effort by the team on a tricky day against a team who will be near the top of the division at the end of the season.

Cheriton FitzPaine 1st XI 208-7 (40 overs) Colin White 49*, Jacob Cole 36*, Dean Wills 3-39, Ash Cook 2-26. Kilmington 2nd XI 199-5 (40 overs) Giles Dixon 48, Adam Culley 46*, Hal Cook 37, Dan Saunders 2-35, Colin White 2-40.

 Devon Senior Cup

Sunday, June 5 - Tiverton Heathcoat 1st XI v Kilmington 1st XI Devon Senior Cup.

Kilmington faced the reigning Devon Premier League Champions in the Devon Senior Cup at Knightshayes, a beautiful setting for the game even if the weather was somewhat inclement.

Heathcoat batted first and racked up 209-7 in their 20 overs, with skipper Peter Randerson smashing 97 from 47 balls with support from Rob Pryke and Ed Butler (both 26). Kilmington bowled pretty well but their collective fielding was not at its usual very high standard with several chances spilled.

I think Heathcoat might have been shocked by the violence of Kilmington's response. Josh Short (29) smashed four sixes and a four to have Kilmington up with the run rate at 50 off the first five overs. However, Heathcoat had plenty of pace to call on in the shape of overseas pro Malcolm Cloete, Pryke and Butler. 

 Kilmington started to fall behind the required run rate but none of our supporters who were there will forget the successive hooks for massive sixes by Matt Rockett off the very rapid Cloete. All the batsmen battled to the end, but the weather and Duckworth/Lewis intervened and Kilmington ended 41 short of their revised target.

This was a great experience for the village team against such a powerful outfit and they certainly did not let themselves down.

Tiverton Heathcoat 1st XI 209-7 (20 overs) Peter Randerson 97, Rob Pryke 26. Ed Butler 26*, Matt Reed 2-42, Josh Short 2-43. Kilmington 1st XI 147-8 (18 overs) Josh Short 29, Joel Seward 27, Matt Rockett 25, Malcolm Cloete 3-19, Finn Stoneman 2-24, Rob Pryke 2-35.