Bovey power to victory in T20 play-off

BOVEY Tracey are through to the knockout stages of the Jail Ale Devon T20 Cup thanks to a 57-run win over South Devon in the final of the Teignbridge tourney.

The winners of the regional tournaments go into a hat shortly to find out who gets a bye and who has to play an eliminator to reach finals day at North Devon in August.

Already in the hat are Plympton and Alphington. The winners from Torbay, West Devon and Mid-Devon have yet to be decided.

Bovey were in the awkward position of having to put two teams out in finals on the same night as their 2nd XI were playing Abbotskerswell in the Aaron Printers Narracott Cup.

Bovey officials prioritised the Teignbridge final, which meant dual-eligible players such as Gupreet Singh and Aren deYoung, who had featured in the Narracott side as well, were on 1st XI duty.

Bovey clattered along to 170 for four in their 20 overs, a total which owed a lot to a stand of exactly 100 for the third wicket between Ben Ayres and Farhaan Behardien.

South Devon had Bovey 11 for two after Dave Knowles and Carl Huyser claimed a wicket each, but that was as good as it got for them.

Ayres hit seven fours in his 43 before Mark Preece had him caught by Phil Blackmore.

Behardien went on to reach 66 with five fours and three sixes before running down the track to Paul Hooper and carrying on past the ball!

With Pete Bradley chipping in with 27, Bovey must have thought they had enough. When South Devon were 67 for none after eight overs there might have been a different view in the Bovey camp.

Preee (26) was going along at a fair clop and Huyser (32) was doing the same at the other end.

The partnership was broken when Preece was stumped Bovey keeper Ayres.

Dave Baldock came and went for six, then Huyser departed to the sort of dramatic cricket spectators hope to see in T20 cricket.

Keeper Ayres pelted round to square-leg to hurl the ball in and affected a run-out with a direct hit from sideways on.

From 67 for none South Devon were now 78 for three and in do-or-die territory. At 86 for six it was all over and they batted out time to reach 113 for nine when their overs ran out.

Ayres was named man of the match for a sparking contribution of 43 runs, five stumpings and a run-out.

RESULT

Bovey Tracey 170-4 (B Ayres 43, G Behardien 66, P Bradley 27), South Devon 113-9 (C Huyser 32, M Preece 26; P Bradley 3-21). Bovey Tracey bt South Devon by 57 runs.