Ashburton first team entertained Cornwood second team in a 2nd versus 4th clash.
Ashburton skipper Ashley Berry won the toss and had little hesitation in batting first on a red hot day. The innings was based around a majestic innings from opener Lloyd White. He added 39 with opening partner Jake Pascoe (19) and 59 with Berry (14) to leave Ashes well placed at 98 for 2. Dan Coles (28) and White then took Ashes to 192 for 3 with ten overs remaining. White eventually fell for a magnificent 130 which prompted a mini collapse to 226 for 7 as James Richardson (4 for 38) picked up wickets. Chris Pascoe (23no) and Will Coon (11no) ensure no further mishaps as a final total for 253 for 7 was reached in the 45 overs.
The Cornwood reply started badly as Steve Edmonds (2 for 35) and Arun Karthick (2 for 45) reduced them to 21 for 3. Craig Harris (49), Nathaniel Bell (23) and skipper Ben Griffiths fought back to take Corns to 145 for 5 before Will Coon (2 for 51) looked to have ended the contest with two quick wickets. Griffiths had other ideas with some hard hitting the required rate was always kept under 6 an over. Wickets continued to fall though and with the Corns last man at the crease 45 runs were still required. Lee Baker (8no) stuck around and Griffiths continued to find the boundaries to keep the game alive. Just when it looked like the game had slipped away from Ashes with 8 runs required to win from 14 balls, Chris Yeo (2 for 44) snuck one through Griffiths defences to bowl him for a superb 85 as Ashes ended up 7 run victors.
After the game skipper Berry said "Great to see Lloyd playing in the manner we know he's capable of, which set up a really good game. Both teams were guilty of some loose bowling, and credit to Ben (Griffiths) for taking advantage and getting that close. Despite this, I was very proud of the guys for sticking together like that and we did not give up until it was done.".
Ashburton first team
Back Row left to right: Vernon Coon (Umpire) - Will Coon, Matt Churchill, Dan Coles, Arun Chelvan, Chris Pascoe & Steve Edmonds Front Row left to right: George Marshall, Lloyd White, Ash Berry (Club Captain), Jake Pascoe, Chris Yeo.
Ashburton second team travelled to play Stoke Gabriel second team looking to return to winning ways. After losing the toss and being asked to bat, an opening partnership of 120 between Marcus West (50) and Tom Rush (48) set the foundation for a big total. However runs became hard to come by in the second half of the innings with Russ Lacey (21) the only other player to make double figures as Ashes finished their 40 overs on 184 for 8.
Stoke started positively in reply with their opening pair putting on 61 in ten overs before West (1 for 10) made the breakthrough. Russ Lacey (3 wickets for 1 run) then spun the rest of top order out to swing the game back Ashes way. Quality fielding and tight bowling from all the chargers bowlers increased the pressure on Stoke and the runs dried up. 2 run outs and wickets from Rob Wall (2 for 14) Jerry Crouch (1 for 19) and AJ West (1 for 22) saw Stoke finish 139 all out as Ashes won by 45 runs.