Devon Cricket League 1st XI A division

Brixham 248 for 9,

Cornwood 253 for 9;

Brixham (nine points) lost to Cornwood (19 points) by one wicket

Last weekend saw Cornwood involved in another tight game, this time against league leaders Brixham.

The visitors again managed to keep their cool and come out on top, emerging as victors for the second week in a row by just one wicket.

This was a brilliant game of cricket, with both teams going hard at it.

Skipper Jason Hall said: 'We knew at the start on a good deck and quick outfield that anything under 280 would be a great effort.

'All the bowlers stuck to the task and some of the fielding was back to where we wanted it to be, supporting the bowlers and hunting everything down.

'Even when the Brixham overseas player was set and going well, all the lads stuck to the task.

'With the bat, it was a case of doing exactly what we had set out to do. Jackson Thompson (68) got us off to a good start, playing really well, supported right the way through with contributions all the way down the order.

'Having Craig Harris (37 not out) back from injury gives us further depth and he carried on where he had left off, cool and calm to eventually help see us home, with Adam Goodliffe hitting the winning runs batting at 11.

'A brilliant team effort and plenty of positives that we can take forward into the next game.'

The win moves Cornwood to within one point of second-placed side Budleigh Salterton, and closed the gap by 10 points on division leaders Brix­ham.

It also created a 31-point gap between Corn­wood and fourth-placed side Hather­leigh, so it does look like the top three sides are starting to break away from the pack at the mid point of the season.

Cornwood seconds struggled to post a competitive target, finishing on 181 all out at home against a strong Plymouth 2nd XI side with Craig James top scoring on 51.

Despite making it difficult for the Ply­mouth batsmen, they managed to reach the target with seven wickets down.

Alex Hill top scored for Plymouth with 71 runs, while Andrew Bees was pick of the Cornwood bowl­ers, taking 4-18 off his spell.

A remarkable win for Cornwood third XI kept them in the promotion race in the 2nd XI B division west.

South Devon second XI (boasting a few regular 1st teamers who couldn't travel to Braunton) batted positively on a very quick outfield and finished on 249-6 off their 45 overs.

In reply, no-one had bargained for a spectacular innings from 17-year-old James Rich­ardson, who opened the batting and batted right through the innings to achieve his best-ever score of 146 not out.

He made it look effortless with 90 runs coming in boundaries which would have demonstrated a very impressive wagon wheel.

Other Cornwood batsmen batted around him, building some healthy partnerships along the way, which enabled Cornwood to secure victory with four overs to spare.

This result moved Cornwood up to fourth in the table with a tough encounter at home to leaders Tor­quay second XI on Saturday.

Cornwood fourths continued their miserable run of defeats, being beaten comfortably at home against Babbacombe second XI, but with more availability appearing on the horizon, there is hope this disappointing trend can soon be averted.