THE second half of the Francis Clark Devon Cricket League sees Sidmouth travelling to Plympton tomorrow perched at the top of the Premier Division, 36 points clear of second-placed side Bovey Tracey.

THE second half of the Francis Clark Devon Cricket League sees Sidmouth travelling to Plympton tomorrow perched at the top of the Premier Division, 36 points clear of second-placed side Bovey Tracey.The side has been denied victory only twice in the first half, once by weather and once by a stubborn Bovey side and, if this trend continues, a record points haul could be likely.Plympton were among the pre-season tips to be among title contenders, but their defeat by Bovey last week has effectively ended their challenge, and they rest in third place, 46 points adrift of Sidmouth.They will be keen to exorcise the memory of a 180-run drubbing by Sidmouth in the second game of the season when they were dismissed for 58.Sidmouth keep the same team which dealt clinically with Exeter last Saturday, apart from wicketkeeper Marc Jenkins who is away for the weekend.Sidmouth' seam battery, backed up by Matt Cooke's spin, saw Exeter restricted to 166-8, only Marshall Hood, James Parkin and Mike Wilkinson, with 42, 40 and 22 not out respectively, making an impression. Parkin scored relatively freely, while Hood and Wilkinson gathered their runs in more painstaking fashion.Murray took his regulation four wickets at a cost of 37 runs to return to the top of the wicket-taking table with 26 victims. Cooke took 3-29, two of his victims stumped by Jenkins.Reaching the victory target was no cakewalk for Sidmouth, especially when Adam Gribble reeled off 15 overs, eight of them maidens, for 15 runs. Chris Williams and Neil Hancock played him watchfully and his only wicket was generously provided by Josh Bess who, having just failed to offer a catch with a sweep from one ball, successfully found the fielder with the next. Still, the opening stand with Anthony Griffiths was worth 55 and, although the latter was to follow at 63, Williams and Hancock studiously avoided any collapse.When the time came to push on, Hancock was run out and Sam Richardson joined Williams to finish the job.When Gribble's spell was finished, Williams opened out and 17 came off one over from Tschepo Legodi. Williams hit the winning runs with four overs to go to finish 49 not out, with Richardson unbeaten on 22. Sidmouth took 19 points from the seven-wicket win.l Sidmouth have been drawn away to Barton in the quarter finals of the Devon Senior Cup, the match due to be played on Sunday, July 12.