Tipton entertained Yarcombe and Stockland on Sunday in a match rearranged because of bad weather, writes skipper David Birch.

Birch lost the toss and was not too disappointed to be asked to bat on what looked like a flat, reasonably dry wicket. The recent heavy rains had taken their toll, however, and batsmen throughout the innings struggled with uneven bounce.

After Phil Tolley was trapped lbw aiming to leg, Dave Jessop and Robin Pickering dug in and weathered the first 10 overs with a cautious approach which yielded only 18 runs.

This strategy appeared to have paid dividends as the pair then accelerated to 60-1 by the halfway point in the innings.

The need to press on more quickly undid both batsmen, however, and they were both out in quick succession after a stand of 75, Pickering for 21 and Jessop for 43. Thereafter, only John Rodgers looked remotely comfortable as his brisk 30 guided Tipton to a total of 128-7.

Had the wicket continued to play erratically, this might have been a challenging total, but a warm sun and drying breeze removed the inconsistencies from the wicket and Yarcombe breezed to victory with 11 overs spare, thanks to a confident second wicket partnership between Mitcham (60) and Fuller (52), which was ended when Nitin Purandare bowled Fuller to claim his first wicket for Tipton.

There were few highlights in the field after Adam Gibbins’ brilliant direct hit from the covers claimed the first wicket; the bowling lacked penetration, although Birch bowled tightly and Pickering and Gibbins extracted some turn from the drying pitch. Two defeats in the first two matches mean that Tipton will need to raise their game for the visit of Ottery next Sunday