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The Sweep 26 Week 8: Challenging Weekend brings wins for Twos, Threes and Fours
- Cornwood Cricket club
- Jun 23
- 8 min read
Words: Simon Travers
Threes Match Photos: Ivor Thomas
Every Cornwood league team came into a packed weekend knowing that they each faced a difficult challenge. The Ones were at home against Exeter, who were looking to bounce back strongly after Exmouth dented their title aspirations last week. Exeter like to restrict teams and chase and their gameplan worked in the Oak Park mists for a comfortable 7 wicket victory.
The Ones were bowled out for 102, which was not enough against one of the stronger teams in the division. Seamer Josh Nott (3-29) got his lines right with the new ball, getting Mohsin Khan to edge one in the corridor as Cornwood slipped to 25-4. Matt Skeemer and Elliott Staddon stabilised the ship but struggled to kick on. When Elliott was removed by Sam Read, wickets started tumbling again. It was 67-7 and basically game over. Matt Skeemer continued to push hard, batting for 2 hours to reach 37 from 92 balls. He was the last of Cameron Fraser’s 3 wickets (3-17) as the innings closed on 102. Oliver Gribble (54 from 47) and Exeter captain Seb Linnitt (43 from 41) worked fast to ensure there was no chance of a comeback as the visitors romped home in 20.3 overs.
In the same fixture last year, Cornwood batted first and scored 280-9, but that came with a wonder innings from Ben Beaumont of 182*. No two games are exactly the same, but effectively Exeter’s bowlers delivered exactly the same performance on Saturday as they did last year without letting one talented batter get away. We expected that the Ones would have ups and downs with the bat this season having lost a first choice top three in the past two years. This week, that impact was increased by injuries and availability issues. However, the Ones remain remarkably consistent in the first half of the 2026. In 2024 they scored 229 points in the league and in 2025 they scored 230. If they maintain their current average points per game to the end of this season, they will score 229.5.
Elsewhere in the Premier Division, Exmouth remain unbeaten with a crushing win over Hatherleigh, Bradninch & Kentisbeare closed out Plymouth well, Sandford had enough to keep Sidmouth rooted to tenth spot and Paignton beat Tavistock in a low scoring game. The Ones are securely in Fourth, while Exmouth lead the pack by 10.
The Twos travelled to Mountwise not quite knowing what to expect from a match up with Plymouth 2XI where both teams faced availability issues. That meant that the game had something of a ‘First Teams of the future’ feel about it with 11 players across the two sides 18 years old or younger.
Alex Robinson won the toss and batted and the Twos looked reasonably comfortable in the early going with Ben Griffiths hitting 7 boundaries on the way to a crisp 35. They somewhat undid themselves by losing 3 wickets in nine balls to place the game in the balance at 85-4. Plymouth’s bowlers did not make it easy for Cornwood to score, but Aaron Richards (44 from 67) and Ayaan Chatterjee put in the hard yards to rebuild a platform. With 6.4 overs remaining, 200 looked distant at 156-5. However, the table had been set for the full Matt Puttock breakfast, and he tucked in for 64* in 28 balls with 3 fours and 7 sixes. That rocketed the Twos to 231-7.
Matt’s innings altered the approach of the Plymouth top order. Cornwood had shown the value of caution and keeping wickets in hand. However, Plymouth’s batters attempted aggression from ball one. There were four balls and misfields on offer from the Twos but Plymouth’s batters routinely played a shot too many and dropped from 20-3 to 65-5. Charlie Cawardine was the key instigator of Plymouth’s demise. He got his rewards for line and length by removing the three most senior batters including Peter Evans (35 from 33). From there, the hosts continued to play positively without the firepower to shift the match momentum. There was a brace of wickets each for Charlie Martyn and Alex Robinson as Plymouth were bowled out for 162. That win bumps the Twos back into second place in C Division West, a point above next week’s opponents Kingsbridge.
Babbacombe arrived at Delamore Park for their match up with the Threes unbeaten and determined to make their first stay in E Division since 2013 a short one. However, the Threes are rolling and dominated the afternoon with a 7 wicket win. Put into bat by Adam Whiting, Babbacombe’s openers survived the new ball but lost wickets with the introduction of Andy Bees (9-4-10-3). Both Andy and Eoin Hewitt were supported by catches from Aviral Srivastava, who also claimed a run out and figures of 9-3-14-2 in a breakout performance. Steve Broad (35) and Nathan Snape (31) looked to counter but Jack Lane came back into the attack to claim a couple of wickets. The Threes bowled out Babbacombe for 156. Babbacombe’s bowling attack has been outstanding over the first half of the year, but the Threes again proved to have the edge in reply. Once again, it was Aviral Srivastava who was the difference maker. His 75* from 104 balls with 12 fours and a six guided the Threes home to victory with 5.3 overs to spare. That win puts the Threes into second in E Division West as Kenn stumbled to Maynard senior and junior at Lewdown.
Beating Babbacombe made two wins in the week as the Threes overcame Ivybridge 3XI in the Tidball T20 Cup on Thursday. Ivybridge put the Threes into bat on a wicket that batters needed patience to get in on and their bowlers dominated the powerplay. When Aviral Srivastava (34 from 29) sent a skier to mid on with the score on 66-2 from 12, Ivybridge felt ahead of the game. However, Rocky Travers found a way to work through the gears. It took him 33 balls to find the boundary, but once he did, he connected with 4 booming sixes in 12 deliveries to make 53 from 47. That innings was enough to reach an about par total of 137-5 with the light fading. Batting proved as tough for Ivybridge, with Charlie Cawardine taking 2-15 and a catch to put the hosts at 35-4 off 8. Duncan Wilmot counter attacked against Andy Bees and made 46 from 34. He was supported by Jimmy Haffenden (45* from 54), but quality death bowling from Jack Lane (2-24) and Aviral Srivastava sealed the 13 run win.
The Fours headed to Plymouth Civil Service & Roborough 2XI knowing that they had never registered an away win against this team. Put into bat by PCS&R captain Phil White, the Fours openers Rocky Travers and Charles Knight played it old school, digging in for 26.1 overs in a 93 run opening stand. Rocky made 42 from 91 while Charles scored 44 from 74. The value of that stand was emphasised as wickets tumbled afterwards. Spin was dominant all afternoon and Vikhat Rajaraman took 4-20 as the Fours made 160-7. Cornwood’s new ball pairing of Tommy Burrows and Sam Gibbs made life difficult for the PCS&R openers. Adrian Vickery made 35 but it was time for the Cornwood’s King of Strim Simon Garland to take over. Simon took 5-37 in his 8 overs for a first ever league five-fer. Lennon Way also took the opportunity to plunder claiming 4-36. Both bowlers were grateful to a strong performance in the field by the senior wing, with catches for Charles Knight, Simon Garland, Julian Burrows and Steve Martyn. The Fours left Manadon winners by 57 runs and are now seventh in the G Division West table.
Simon Garland’s five-fer puts him in an exclusive club of Cornwood players with both a century and a five-fer in league matches across the club’s five league sides. Sadly, with plenty of gaps across the record, it’s impossible to create a complete list of players who have achieved this feat. If you are not on this list and think you should be, please shout. Simon Garland joins Richard Conn, Robin Dart, Adnan Farooq, Ewan Grewal, Craig Harris, Farooq Hassan, Charles Knight, Evie Privett, James Richardson, Ryan Rickard, Matt Skeemer, Dave Tall, and Kevin Willcock. Special shout out to Farooq Hassan who is the only player to achieve both feats on the same day. He hit 104 and took 5-17 in a 201 run crushing of Plymst**k 3XI in 2013.
On Sunday, the Women’s Firsts headed to the seaside for their return match against Paignton. After the best of starts with Keira De Villiers claiming a wicket without score after 2.5 overs, Cornwood were made to suffer in the sun. A 163 run partnership followed between Ella Gill (107 in 113) and Ellie Bishop (71 from 75). That combined with 44* from 23 from Jemima Vereker, continuing the form that earned her a double century for Devon last month, overpowered the Oak Park Sisterhood for a total of 276-5 in 40 overs. Gemma Lancaster showed the way in response with an unbeaten 54* in 90 balls, her first 50 in just over a calendar year. The rest of the team focussed on the goal of batting their overs and were only 3 balls short of that target before being bowled out for 116.
The P&D team got through fog and security protocols to record a 21 run win over HMS Drake on Tuesday. Charlie Farmer (69* from 50) and Charles Knight (71* from 55) put on 162 unbeaten for the second wicket. HMS Drake fought to the end with 60 from 37 for Scott Mansfield and 50 from 31 for Ben Wood. Sam Gibbs and Toby Nix both deserved their brace of wickets and I got one with an arm ball that cannoned into leg stump.
A very young Fives side had a very civilised Father’s Day outing at Wembury. The 124 run loss was predictable but, as ever, there were plenty of positives. Noah Knapman (3 for 29) took 3 wicket in 4 balls, Neel Shivane looked sharp in his first game of the year, and Jamie Cudmore worked hard for his red inker 6* from 43.
It was an important week too in the Colts section. The biggest performance was the Under 15s defeating South Devon by 27 runs to reach the ECB Cup Devon final. In a low scoring match, the Under 15s played disciplined cricket in the field and had bowling depth. The Tier 1 Under 13s had an easier time beating Teignmouth & Shaldon by 133 runs. Alfie and Tarun set the tone with 50s and there were two wickets each for Ned, Tarun and Yasser. The win was watched by Australian legend Merv Hughes who took the time to compliment the team post-match. He particularly appreciated Yasser’s classic bouncer then full ball wicket taking combination. The Under 11s came up against Plymouth again and lost by 69 runs. Harriet had a good night with the bat while Micah was the most economical of the wicket takers.
Next Saturday, the Ones are rocking on the A386 to face relegation threatened Hatherleigh. The Twos are at home against Kingsbridge. The Threes are away at Stoke Gabriel and the Fours look to keep rolling at Delamore against Dartington & Totnes. On Sunday, the Women’s Firsts look to upset Exeter, while the Fives travel to Modbury.
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