A superb innings by Jono Colegate ablely supported by the two Alex’s of Winch and Hartridge helped lead Dartington and Totnes First Eleven to a comfortable 100 run victory over visiting Brixham in the third week of the shortened season.
At a scorching Foxhole, it was Brixham who elected to bowl first on an unpredictable pitch and this decision looked a good one when with the score on 15 Josh Orrall was adjudged LBW to Brad McKee for 7. Surviving opener Alex Winch alongside Jim Lowden set about relaunching the D&T innings and had taken the score to 59 when with one ball until the drinks break Lowden lobbed up a catch to mid-off to be dismissed by Matt Parsons for 18.
The following partnership was the largest of the match. Colegate joined Winch and together the pair added 79 in 14 overs. The partnership was eventually broken when Winch, who had been the more cautious of the pair was trapped in front by Richard Ward for a patient 40. One run later and D&T found themselves 139-4 when Joe Parker was caught by Aaron Wilson off Michael Baron for a duck.
The evergreen Chris Cook joined Colegate at the crease and looked to play with intent from the off. The score had moved onto 179 when Cook was caught for 19 by McKee to give Barron his second wicket. What followed next was carnage!
Alex Hartridge alongside Colegate dismantled the tiring Brixham bowlers adding 68 in under 6 overs. Both batsmen found the boundary with ease as the D&T score racked up. At the end of the innings, the home side had made 247-5 with Colegate finishing on 93 off 78 balls and Hartridge 44 off of only 23 deliveries. The Brixham bowlers had struggled in the middle with the pick off the bowlers being Parsons who finished with 2/56.
The Brixham opening pair of Michael Barron and Ward began positively before the later played one big shot too many and was caught by Cook running back off Nick Dennis for 15. A second wicket fell soon after when Wilson was superbly caught down low by Nick Dennis off his own bowling for a duck.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when the third wicket fell with the score on 23, Barron edging Hartridge through to ‘keeper Winch for 4. Brixham captain Tom Hopper and Matt Edwards set about rebuilding the Brixham innings and together the pair took the score to 47 when Tyler Walton had Edwards caught in the deep by Hartridge for 13.
Another 30 runs were added before D&T took their fifth wicket, that of dangerman Hopper caught by a diving Dennis at cover off Walton to fall for 23. Despite a mini recovery the game slipped further away from Brixham with the fall of their sixth wicket. Lee Upham giving Dennis his third catch of the game and Cook his first wicket when he was dismissed for 21.
The previous wicket was the start of a terminal collapse for the visitors which saw their final 5 wickets fall for only 27 runs. Cook picked up another two quick wickets when he bowled McKee for 6 and had Dalton Sanders LBW sweeping a full ball without troubling the scorers. D&T reintroduced Hartridge into the attack and he duly delivered the ninth wicket, a superb Yorker castling Tom Stephenson for the third duck of the innings.
It was now a case of wrapping up the victory for D&T and despite a 16 run last-wicket stand, Dennis picked up the final wicket, Parsons caught by Andy Bligh for 16 to seal a 100 run victory for D&T. Cook and Dennis had been the pick of the bowlers picking up three wickets each with Hartridge and Walton picking up two each.
It had been a clinical performance all round, taking D&T’s unbeaten league streak to 19 games and they look to carry it on next week when they visit Chudleigh. Many thanks go out to the match ball sponsor The Tamarind Tree Totnes for their support of the club.