Devon C West

Bridestowe v Stoke Gabriel

BRIDESTOWE moved up to second in C West with a resounding 126 run win over Stoke Gabriel.

The home side won the toss and batted, but were in a bit of trouble at 80-4 after 16 overs.

Early wickets fell to Isaac Withington (2-57) and Dan Bullock (2-60). Gary Sizmur (151) and Chris Lavis (76no) then put on 239 for the fifth wicket — a new divisional record.

Both batsmen latched onto anything short and made use of the rapid outfield. Sizmur was caught off the final ball of the innings after an excellent knock, which was a considerable chunk of Bridestowe’s 319-5.

From the off, Stoke Gabriel were only looking for batting points rather than the win. They started solidly through Bullock (28) and Pandolfo (42) who put on 67 for the first wicket.

Dan Fogerty (1-48) and Matt Dennis (1-28) eventually removed the openers, but Stoke refused to roll over. Wickets were shared around but spinner Alex Jopling (2-10) was easily the pick of the home bowlers.

Jake Robinson thrashed a quick-fire 33 untill he was caught by Sizmur off Jopling. It took until the 39th over to bowl Stoke out, the last wicket falling on 193 through a run out by James Ewen.

The win pushes Bridestowe up to second in the table, and as the season approaches the half way stage they are beginning to look like title contenders.

Next week they face a tough trip to local rivals Chagford.