Dartington & Totnes II 169 all out, Clyst St George 170 for 5.
Clyst St George (20 points) beat Dartington & Totnes (6 points), by 5 wickets.
Although D&T second XI started their 2017 campaign with defeat there were much to be encouraged about. After posting a total that was 20 to 30 runs short, D&T fought hard in the field before Clyst got home with just 2.4 overs to spare.
Light rain was forecast for much of the day and the chances of completing the game seemed low when D&T skipper Gavin Colegate won the toss and decided to bat. Colegate opened the batting with Cliff Lowe and the pair added 25 for the first wicket, partly thanks to Clyst’s pacey opening bowler, Harry Molins, sending down a stream of wides. Molins had Lowe caught at cover for 3 but Gavin was looking assured and hit three boundaries before Knight struck him on the pad and umpire Darren Colegate raised his finger to send his brother back to the pavilion with the score on 41. Worse was to follow as Molins dismissed Scott Colegate for a duck and then Knight trapped Josh Orrell lbw for 10. At 44 for 4 with the top four out- it wasn’t looking good.
Nikheel Jina and new man Keith Hodgins put on a very valuable 56 for the second wicket to get D&T back into the game. Nikheel was in commanding form, hitting 6 boundaries, which would have been more but for the damp outfield, whilst Keith displayed some nice wristy shots, despite not having played for several years. Nikheel looked set for at least a fifty but went for 34 when Molins took a good catch at the long-on boundary. Keith departed soon after caught for 17.
Glenn Colegate and James Hartridge rebuilt, putting on 52 for the seventh wicket with Glenn in particularly sparkling form. It looked like a 200 plus score was on the cards until Knight, 3 for 27, bowled James for 17 and Molins bowled Glenn for 33 as D&T quickly succumbed. Molins bowled Sam Tanner for 8 to finish with 4 for 30. Mick who has been biffing the ball in the nets, with the bat he’s got hold of from Neil, got carried away and tried to biff one he would normally have blocked and edged to slip, leaving Josh Bowhay undefeated.
In reply Clyst got off to a great start with youngsters Harry O’Dwyer and Freddie Creer putting on 77 for the first wicket. D&Ts opening bowlers Nikheel and Scott bowled well and kept a tight line but couldn’t get the breakthrough. Sam’s spin also failed to force them into an injudicious shot. Mick and Glenn bowled very tightly conceding 41 between them in 18 overs. Mick got the breakthrough when Nikheel managed to avoid Scott and caught Creer at cover for 27. D&T’s next breakthrough had a touch of good fortune: O’ Dwyer straight drove Glenn who managed to deflect the ball onto the stumps leaving Coe well out of his ground. O’Dwyer’s fine innings came to an end for 64 when Glenn clipped his bails with a full toss, with Clyst needing 46 runs and eleven overs left. Josh Orrell bowled 5 overs but then had to depart for a job interview, leaving D&T a man short at a critical time.
Scott and Nikheel returned to the fray and Scott trapped Bennett-Hughes lbw for 7 with a full delivery. D&T sensed the game was far from over and fielded like demons, with Josh Bowhay showing his lightening pace in the deep. Nikheel bowled his heart out without any luck, with edges eluding fielders and reaching the boundary. Scott took his second wicket when Attwater launched the ball miles into the air and Glenn held his nerve to take a marvellous catch on the long on boundary. It was just too big an ask for D&T, as Read steered Clyst home with wickets to spare in what had been a sporting and enjoyable contest.