Twos reach Brockman Cup Final with stunning win at Torquay

Brockman Cup Semi Final

Dartington & Totnes II 146 for 4,  Ipplepen II 106 for 9

D&T won by 40 runs

Dartington & Totnes’ second eleven progressed to the Brockman Cup Final with a stunning victory over local rivals Ipplepen. After being put in to bat D&T posted a challenging total on a good batting surface at Torquay CC.  Man of the match, in an outstanding team performance, was all-rounder Scott Colegate who scored 67 not out and took 2 for 11 in four overs.

D&T got off to a shaky start against good Ipplepen bowling on a fast track.  Mike Jarvis steered the first ball off the match for 4 to third man but the dismissal of in-form Liam Bligh in the third over was a blow.  Jack Wylie and John Sewell were bowling very well for Pens and runs were hard to find.  Jarvis was joined by Scott Colegate and things slowly began to brighten up. The score reached 36 before Jarvis was bowled for 20 trying to wallop Boon for another six.  James Nicholls (7) hit a trademark six but played sensibly before steering a delivery from Peters to point.  D&T had only 56 on the board at the halfway stage and needed to push on.

Tom Petherick joined Colegate and was soon playing some wonderfully stylish and fluent shots from delicate leg glances to late cuts.  Colegate was also batting beautifully and the second fifty came up in 5 overs as the pair accelerated.  By the time Peters (2 for 27) bowled Petherick for 23 the pair had added 72 runs for the fourth wicket and Colegate had passed his fifty.  Matt Haw (7 not out) and Colegate took 13 off the last over to cheer up their supporters.  Colegate had batted for the best part of 18 overs and scored 7 fours in his valuable knock.

So far so good- but would 146 be enough against a strong Ipplepen unit, who obviously backed their batsmen?

D&T unleashed their pacey opening attack of Andy Bligh and Alex Hartridge and they did not disappoint.  Both tore in and bowled a good line and length from the outset.  Hartridge got D&T off to a fine start, striking with his first delivery.  Quartley struck the ball wide of Glenn Colegate at mid-on but Colegate astounded his teammates by taking a marvellous one handed catch at full stretch.  Hartridge produced another beauty to bowl Wylie for 1, with the first ball of his next over and things got even better for D&T when Bligh had Ashley Tuckett caught behind by keeper Nicholls with Pens on the back foot at 13 for 3 after 5 overs.  Ipplepen skipper Adam Peters showed aggression, supported by Jeff Heath, but the introduction of Scott Colegate into the attack added to the pressure as he gave nothing away and bowled with good variation.

Mike Jarvis had assumed the skipper’s mantle and encouraged by the success of the pacemen, decided to give Matt Haw a bowl.  Peters advanced down the track and helped himself to a couple of boundaries from Haw.  Colegate bowled Heath for 13 and Jarvis, seeing the error of his ways, replaced Haw with Mick Rusling’s slow swing.  Rusling struck in his first over when danger man Peters, on 22, again advanced down the track but was deceived by the flight of the ball and Nicholls whipped off the bails.  D&T were jubilant with Pens on 55 for 5.  It got even better for D&T when new batsman, Boon, hit a ferocious shot off Colegate which soared into the sky and Andy Bligh held his nerve to take a fine catch on the long off boundary.  Tom Crocker, on 17, edged Rusling to gully where Haw took a simple catch. Sewell put a slight dent in Colegate’s figures by hitting him out of the ground over mid-wicket but the required run rate was creeping up higher and higher increasing the pressure on the batsmen.  Sewell hit an identical six off Rusling (3 for 15) who soon had his revenge as the batsman top-edged him to Gareth Havard at cover.

Ipplepen were needing a miracle by this stage and their batsmen now had nothing to lose.  Havard (1 for 26) bowled four overs at the end and initially went for a few runs but came back well bowling Price for 5.  Ipplepen closed on 106 for 9 and D&T advanced to the final against Abbotskerswell on 4th July, also at Torquay.

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