The Sweep 25 Week 17: When I grow up, I want to bowl like Lennon Way
- Cornwood Cricket club
- Aug 26
- 7 min read
Words: Simon Travers
Match Photos: Ivor Thomas
Cornwood’s season rose to the boil this bank holiday weekend with the Twos, Threes and Fours playing in must win matches. We start with the Twos who travelled to Ashburton four points ahead at the top of the C Division West table. With one team able to secure promotion to the county-wide B Division, the highest level of cricket in Devon it is possible for a second XI to play, the match at Varwell Field had the air of a cup final. Both teams knew that if they won, they would only need bonus points from the last game of the season.
Robin Dart won the toss and elected to bat and he and Harry Woolway looked energetic scoring 30 in the first 6.5 overs. Robin was then dismissed, adjudged caught behind by a leg side strangle. It was a marginal decision that may have gone another way another day, but such is cricket.
The wicket changed the momentum of the match because, at the worst time, it exposed the Twos solitary weakness this year, top middle order consistency. In the first six games of the season, the top middle order fired by averaging 52.2 for the second wicket, 36.5 for the third, and 26.25 for the fourth. In those 6 games, there were four 50 partnerships for the second, third of fourth wicket. In the last 10 games, the Twos top middle order averaged 12.5 for the second wicket, 17.2 for the third and 25.44 for the fourth with no 50 partnerships across these wickets. Through the season, there have been 3 times where the team has put on less than 10 runs for the second and third wicket, and another 4 times where those wickets combined have been worth between 10 and 30. That caught up with the team on Saturday.
30-1 became 36-3, then 60-4 as Jack Warren (9-0-43-4) drew false strokes while Charlie Towers (9-2-19-0) kept things tight at the other end. During the season, the Twos batters have dug deep to enable an explosive lower middle order the platform to shine. On Saturday, they found little traction as Matt Churchill (9-1-28-2) and Steve Edmonds (6-1-19-3) turned the ball and turned the screws. Will Sharp top scored with 29 and Jason Hall fought through injury for 44 balls but the Twos ended all out for 142.
Defending a low total, the Twos needed early wickets without leaking runs. An early edge for James Richardson brought hope, but Steve Edmonds took the game away with 10 fours and 2 sixes on the way to 63 from 62. That is his seventh score above 50 this year. George Yabsley neutralised Cornwood’s attack with a solid 28 before Nick Martin ended proceedings with a six ball 19*. The disappointment was etched across the Twos faces as they lost by 6 wickets to drop 11 points behind Ashburton. The team gave their all and it wasn’t their day. Mathematically, the Twos are not out of promotion contention yet but Ashburton proved they deserve their first season in B Division since 1998.
The Ones hosted Paignton hoping a win would keep them in with an outside shot of third place in the table. Elliott Staddon won the toss and elected to field and the match turned into a fast and furious shoot-out. Two early wickets for Matt Skeemer gave the Ones the advantage but a savage innings from Neil Hancock tilted the match towards Paignton. Hancock scored 73 in 42 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes before being caught by Ben Privett off Lee Baker. Assisted by 36 from Luke Medlock, Paignton had raced to 131-4 in 16.3 overs. The Ones were bolstered by Ben Privett being fit to bowl. Ben delivered the best figures of 4-41 while Elliott Staddon took 3 or more wickets for the fifth time this season with 3-69. Paignton continued to go all guns blazing as Mark Gilmour hit 31 in 35 balls. Although the Ones bowled them out in 40.4 overs, the visitors finished on an above par total of 242.
The Ones looked positive in the chase while Ben Privett was at the crease. He scored 58 from 59 balls with 10 fours on the way to his fourth fifty of the year. Ben fell victim to Ayabulela Gqamana (4-43), who now has 54 Premier Division wickets on the year. That is the first 50 wicket season for any Premier Division bowler since 2011, when Glenn Querl took 60 for North Devon and Ali Imran Pasha took 58 for Plympton. Gqamana has dominated the league’s batters with pace and seam movement that cuts back towards the stumps. The Ones found that they could not sustain the momentum needed to get close to Paignton’s total and were all out for 159 in 34.5 overs.
Elsewhere in the Premier Division, experience told in the title decider. Exmouth batted first and were rolled for 130 before Bradninch & Kentisbeare chased them down with 8 wickets remaining. Bradninch & Kentisbeare are 16 points clear and need only bowl out Exeter next week to clinch the title. At the bottom of the table, Plymouth secured safety by beating North Devon while Sidmouth booked their Premier Division spot for 2026 winning against Sandford. Heathcoat are 9 points behind Sandford in the dropzone after losing to an extraordinary chase by Exeter. The Ones are in fifth.
The Threes got a repechage after last week’s heavy loss as they travelled to third place Stokeinteignhead knowing that Tavistock needed a win at runaway leaders Abbotskerswell 2XI. If the results fell the right way, the Threes could leapfrog back into second place. That hope looked dubious early on as Stokeinteignhead’s opening bowlers Anuj Tiwary (3-32) and Shinto Kunnathara Kuriakose dropped the team to 52-5. Charlie Farmer hung tough for an hour and fifty one minutes to help right the boat with a score of 45 from 82. Charlie put on 52 for the sixth wicket with Mike Hodge, but when he was finally out, Stokeinteignhead were still ahead of the game at 129-7. It took a powerful 48* from 47 from Jack Lane to change the course of the match. Jack put on 78 for the 9th wicket with Charlie Cawardine as the Threes closed on 212-9. The Threes then capitalised as Ethan Carlisle (3-33) ensured the first 5 Stokeinteignhead wickets fell at 20 run intervals. Jack Lane delivered the lethal blow again by claiming the wicket of Hugo Longrigg (45) before clearing the tail for figures of 3.4-1-10-4. Even with a 77 run win, not everything went the Threes way as Tavistock 2XI beat Abbotskerswell 2XI by 13 runs. The Threes remain eight points behind their neighbours in the E Division West table.
The Fours needed 15 points at Delamore Park against Whitchurch Wayfarers 2XI to secure their position in G Division West. They started brightly after being put into bat. Ollie Offer made 35 from 27 as the team reached 79-2 in the first 10 overs. However, the team found ways to bring Whitchurch back into the game, including three run outs. Simon Garland showed fighting spirit with the lower order to make 21 from 51 ensuring the Fours got 4 batting points with a total of 161. Steven Payne took 4-33 for the visitors. Early wickets from Dave Stubbs and Eoin Hewitt put the Fours ahead of the game as Whitchurch stumbled to 28-4. Neil Tamblin (34*) and Nathan Endean (36) then assembled a stand of 68 before Endean was trapped LBW by Simon Garland at 96-5.
Whitchurch looked to have the resources to get home but did not count on getting hypnotised by Lennon Way’s whirling windmills of slow left-arm wrist-spin. First ball of the 25th over, Lennon struck immediately removing Matthew Sleep with a catch to Simon Garland. Captain Jason Webber blocked his first ball but edged his second to keeper Max Daniels. Next ball, Corin Russell was trapped LBW. On the Hattrick ball, Silas Lovejoy cut straight to Ollie Offer at gulley and Lennon was racing like Imran Tahir. He claimed four wickets in five balls, a hattrick, the match ball and the best figures for a Fours bowler in 2025. That was the match as Whitchurch ended all out for 122. The Fours took 19 points and can start to plan for greater things next year.
The Fives pulled double duty this weekend with matches on Friday night and Sunday. On Friday, it was one more trip to Wembury as a late substitute for a cancelled T20 fixture. Cornwood’s bowlers suffered as Wembury peppered the boundary 30 times on the way to 181-1. The Fives made a decent reply and were up with the run rate at the halfway point of their innings. There were retirement 25s for Rocky Travers, Tino Machaka and Ayaan Chatterjee. The chase faded with the dying of the light, but Ned Chambers stood up to bowlers twice his height and scored more runs than his dad, which is what matters in the end.
On Sunday, Pearse Brothers accumulated a £600 bar tab during their match, which goes some way to explaining why the Fives beat them by 205 runs. Batting first, Tino Machaka dropped anchor for 30*, Edmund Goodwin dashed to 50* in 28 balls and Eoin Hewitt also powered to 50* in 42. Marriott became the second Way brother of the weekend with a four-fer as he took 4-27. This time, it was dad Jon Way on duty at gully with a worldie. Credit too for Dan Joynes, still recovering from Saturday’s Cornfest, who was roped into the side and ended up bowling his first overs in a Cornwood shirt.
Earlier in the week, the Under 17s struggled to click against a strong Ivybridge team. Greg Thomas made 32 out of a round 100, which the hosts chased comfortably to win by 8 wickets.
The Cornwood Oaks Ladies softball squad rounded out their season on Tuesday night with an impressive win against the Buckland Moorland Maidens. Batting first, the Oaks scored 89-3. Buckland were able to get 96, but the Oaks took 9 wickets to win by 23 on net score. That win was special for both Ladies softball squads as it meant the Delamores win the Tamar Division by 1 point from Buckland. The Delamores now progress to the quarters of the Devon Women’s Softball finals against Holsworthy.
Next week, the Devon Cricket League wraps up for 2025. The Ones travel across county to face a Heathcoat side needing a win for any hope of avoiding relegation. The Twos end the year with home comforts against Teignmouth & Shaldon. The Threes need to beat Whitchurch and hope that the Torre Valley gremlins play up for Tavistock 2XI. The Fours take the short hop to Yelverton Bohemians 2XI. On Sunday, the Women’s Firsts face a tough challenge at the end of a long drive against North Devon. Back at Delamore Park, the Fives do it once more with feeling with a fixture against the South Asian Society
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