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The Sweep 2026 Week 3: Under 11s too good for Plymst**k, Mohsin Khan just too good.
- Cornwood Cricket club
- May 19
- 7 min read
Words: Simon Travers
2XI Match Photos: Sophie Cawardine
Regular Sweep readers will remember a promise was made at the start of the year to give a headline and top story to the first team to beat Plymst**k. This week’s roundup starts with the Under 11s who descended into Dean Cross last Monday and came back with the big Tier 2 victory. Compared to other local teams of the same age, the Under 11s have not played a lot of hardball cricket together but they are learning fast. From Freddie’s first wicket taking ball of the match onwards, this young Cornwood side swarmed their opposition on Monday. They put in a solid team bowling and fielding performance to restrict Plymst**k to 72-6 in 20 overs. Only 13 of those runs came from the home team’s bats as Florence led the attack with a miserly spell of 3-1-5-1. Samuel and Sam also took wickets while Ellie bowled a maiden. Needing a net score of 43 for victory, our Under 11s stepped up to post 135-4. The team passed the winning post with a crunching boundary from Harriet in the 11th over that underlined their superiority in all aspects of the match. Captain Sam top scored with 12 but every batter contributed in an impressive team performance.
Saturday arrived with dark clouds confirming bad news from whichever weather app you trust. It looked hopeless all around. The club barbeque was postponed to next week, tea was downgraded to pasties. It was bad enough that both the Threes and Fours had to cancel before bowling a ball. However, there was a break in the weather around 2pm which allowed for the Ones to face Sandford in a reduced thirty over match at Oak Park.
What happened next, across two hours fifteen minutes that rewrote the Cornwood record books, turned the impossible into the implausible, unbelievable, incredible. Having won the toss, Sandford captain Adam Small made the obvious call to bowl. He would not know that nobody has scored 200 batting first at Oak Park on the third weekend of May since 2018, but he didn’t need to. It was damp, it was dreary, it was Dartmoor.
Whatever standard of cricket you play, part of the skill of batting is playing each unique set of pitch and weather conditions as much as you play the bowlers. Mohsin Khan walked out to bat his first competitive innings at Oak Park with the score at 33-2. 105 minutes and 93 balls later, he headed to the dressing room an instant Cornwood legend. Mohsin dismantled a creditable Sandford attack to the tune of 203* with 15 fours and 17 sixes. With precision timing and placement, Mohsin was miles ahead of the best ball the opposition could deliver. James Theedom, who had taken a 3-fer for Somerset 2XI and watched Tom Banton and Thomas Rew put on 181* the day before, was stargazing again as Mohsin clipped him past point before twice flicking him behind square. The Sandford spinners repeatedly were reaching for the rag to dry the ball because the ball kept ending up in the long grass by the sightscreens. 50 was reached in 28 balls, the ton was passed in 54, 150 was reached in 71 balls and the first league double ton recorded by a Cornwood player came in 90 balls.
At the other end, it was pull day at the Oak Park gym for Ryan Rickard as the Sandford seam attack were repeatedly punished for errors in length. Once Mohsin was firing, Ryan fitted into the support role but, such was the astonishing nature of the innings, the support role saw him reach 50 in 44 balls and end on 76 from 69 with 9 fours and a six. Together, Ryan and Mohsin put on 274 for the third wicket. That is a new all-time partnership record for the Firsts that more than doubles the team’s previous record for the Third wicket. The Cornwood innings ended on 312-3 after 30 overs. That is first time a Cornwood 1XI have scored 300 in a league match at Oak Park and it is the third highest team score of all time.
For those new to Devon Cricket League matches, rain affected must contain a minimum of 20 overs for each side to be considered a conclusive result. Out in the field, Cornwood rattled through their work, delivering the required 20 overs in 66 minutes. They would have been faster except for 8 Sandford batters had been dismissed by that point as the clouds drew closer again.
Such was the surrealness of the day that it feels appropriate to invent a new informal club award for the occasion. Congratulations, then, to Elliott Staddon who inherits the newly minted Staddon-Garland Non-Memorial Award for an honours board performance that is utterly eclipsed by a teammate. Elliot took 6-24 in six overs and the most important thing about the spell is that he did it on the day Mohsin Khan hit 203*. Staddon was channelling his off-spinning youth; working off a short run up, cramping the Sandford batsmen and drawing false shots. This was Elliott’s third league six-fer for the Ones, which puts him in a club of six Cornwood players who have taken 6 or more wickets in an innings three or more times. The other five players are Dave Matthews (14 times), Dave Petherbridge (12 times), Aizaz Cheema (7 times), Fran Adams (5 times) and Steve Wherry (4 times). Of course, those other five bowlers all played in the years before 10 over limits per bowler.
Sandford were ready to go home and put in a claim to the insurers when they were bowled out for 94. It was the fourth time, but the first in 12 years, that they have come to Oak Park and been bowled out for under 100. On a damp May Saturday, the Ones not only proved a point, and not only claimed 20 points when 8 for a cancellation seemed nailed on, they broke the team record for the largest win by runs, winning by 218. All things are possible.
Elsewhere in the Premier Division, Bradninch & Kentisbeare found a way to beat Paignton, Exeter demolished Plymouth, Exmouth looked impressive before the rain won at Sidmouth, while Tavistock had wickets in hand against Hatherleigh before the rain came in 18 overs into their innings. The Ones leap to Third place, four points behind leaders Exmouth.
The Twos hike to Hatherleigh that had looked as though it would peter out into rainwatching blossomed into a highly productive afternoon for the team. Starting just before 2pm with 37 overs a side agreed, Hatherleigh 2XI looked purposeful in the early overs. Greg Solkin exploited the short boundary for 29 in a first wicket partnership of 48. The game shifted rapidly towards the Twos with the introduction of spin. There was significant turn and bounce available from both ends and Hatherleigh’s batters were pinned down and gunned out in succession. Jason Hall (8-1-16-3) and Alex Robinson (8-0-29-3) both provided a consistent threat and Cornwood were sharp in the field. Matt Dennis was removed by a deft bit of footwork from keeper Chris Parker who flicked the ball up for Robin Dart to catch at slip. Hatherleigh collapsed to 136 and the Twos ticked off the chase in 20 overs. Alex Robinson (44 from 56) and Robin Dart (62* from 50) put on 115 for the first wicket. The Twos claimed 20 points to go second in the C Division West table with the 9 wicket victory, but of course because it was Hatherleigh, the real winner was the stilton and broccoli quiche.
The Threes proceeded to the second round of the Tidball Insurance T20 Cup after Plymouth 3XI could not raise a team. This was perhaps a rare example of a generous ‘win one, get one free’ offer after last year’s comprehensive thrashing in the same competition.
On Sunday, Plymouth’s Women's 1XI turned up to Oak Park as the latest challenge facing the Oak Park Sisterhood. The visitors won the toss and elected to bat in a rain affected, reduced overs situation. Plymouth did not have it all their own way from the start. Cornwood opening bowler Keira De Villiers removed both openers cheaply to finish with impressive figures of 6-2-23-2. That was where our Women’s Firsts progress was halted. Lily Innes made 54* from 53 and Australian Melissa Banks hit a stately 100* from 57 balls as Plymouth finished on 183-2 in 22 overs. Rain came again and caused an abandonment 4.3 overs into the Cornwood innings. The team’s focus for the next few weeks now changes to the new T20 plate competition, where our team are grouped with Plymouth 2XI, Plympton and Hatherleigh.
The Fives managed not only to get a game in amidst the weather interruptions against Modbury and field a side with three sets of dad and lads, they also recorded their first win of the year. The youth wing impressed in the field with Rehaan Chatterjee taking a wicket first ball and Marriott Way, Toby Nix and Eoin Hewitt all delivering strong spells. Modbury reached 108-4 as opener Guy Speed rocketed to 42. The Fives lost early wickets, but two middle order contributions changed the game. Harvey Smith (28 from 11) and Noah Garland (21 from 18) combined for a useful 5th wicket partnership that enabled the team to get home with three wickets in hand.
In the rest of the Colts section this week, the Under 13s Tier 1 team had all the drama on Sunday in a tied match with Teignmouth & Shaldon. Marriott hit 36 as Cornwood scored 116. An incredible bowling effort saw four-fers for Rehaan (4-14) and Freddie (4-13). Freddie took a wicket with the last ball of the match against a player on 50 to secure the tied result. Charlotte led the attack well with a four over spell as the Under 15s girls lost by 47 runs to Bovey Tracey on Thursday. On Sunday, they pushed Teignmouth & Shaldon hard with Ojasvie scoring 31. Sunday also saw the Under 15s Tier 1 team face South Devon as Charlie hit 39 and Tommy took 3-23 in a six wicket loss.
The club was also represented at the Plymouth running festival on the Hoe on Sunday. Andy Bees (1 hour 39:26) Craig Harris (1 hour 41) and Rocky Travers (2 hours 12) completed the half marathon, while Charles Knight finished the 10k in 69 minutes.
Next week, the Ones head to Mountwise to face Plymouth in a derby. The Twos are at Oak Park against Abbotskerswell. The Threes make the trip to Whitchurch while the Fours are at Delamore Park against Chagford 2XI. On Sunday, the Women’s Firsts will also be at Mountwise in a T20 match against Plymouth 2XI. The barbeque will be firing at Oak Park on Saturday night so come down for the social.
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