Sidmouth’s Neil Hancock hits quickfire 208

SIDMOUTH’S Neil Hancock crashed a whirlwind double hundred in a Twenty20 run fest against Axminster.

The Wednesday night game on Sidmouth’s sea-front ground was part of the McKinley White T20 tournament, which reaches a crescendo with finals day on the Exeter County Ground next month.

The finalists will have to go some to beat Devon captain Hancock’s exploits against Axminster.

CRASH: Hancock reached his 50 in 31 balls, raced to his century 15 balls later, went from 100 to 150 in 11 balls and 150 to 200 in 10 deliveries.

BANG: Having not scored a run from the first ball he faced, Hancock slogged 22 sixes and 12 fours.

WALLOP: The bowlers were made to suffer as Hancock cut loose. In one over, from Alex Rockett, Hancock five sixes and a four – a total of 34 runs. Sean Perry also took a battering, He didn’t come back for more after going for 30 in one over. Hancock finished on 208 not out from 74 balls in a Sidmouth total of 264 for four.

Axminster’s 140 for eight in reply looked rather inadequate in comparison!

Said Hancock: “I started slowly, but once I started to swing, it was coming out of the middle nicely so I kept on doing it.

“It was a lot easier after I lost the new ball on the beach and they had to bowl with an old one. I have scored double hundeds before, but never in 70-odd balls and certainly not in a Twenty20 game.

“I did feel a bit sorry for the lad who went for 34 in one over – that shouldn’t happen really – but the feeling soon passed.”

Umpire Graham Munday said he had never seen hitting like it.

“We put someone on the beach to throw the balls back – but three of them just vanished,” said Munday.

Until Hancock arrived, Sidmouth had been struggling up to a point.

Robbie Prior had picked off openers Anthony Griffiths and Nick Gingell for 10 runs between them.

Perry, with two for 19 in four overs, was easily the pick of the Axminster bowlers. Perry bowled three overs for 22 runs before Hancock hit him for 30 in the last one.