Newton Poppleford's first home match of the season saw Captain Clay lose another toss and be asked to field at a bright, but deceptively chilly, recreation ground.

Newton Poppleford's first home match of the season saw Captain Clay lose another toss and be asked to field at a bright, but deceptively chilly, recreation ground.With so many bowlers to choose from, Clay opted for the economy of Thomas and Matt Raistrick at the start, and Broadclyst's batsmen were content to follow the script, crawling along at a run an over for the first 12 overs. But, with just the one wicket down, courtesy of Thomas, and knowing the visitors had to get a move on, it was time to unleash the young guns in the guise of Chaplin and Alex Raistrick. These two made the batsmen play a bit more but, with just Chaplin taking another wicket, it was the tight fielding that kept the score at 44 for 2 after 20 overs, keeping the lid on Broadclyst's desires.Clay decided wickets were needed and turned to the nagging efficiency of Marsh and the decidedly unpredictability of Coombs to see what could materialise. Marsh, in his first game of the season, sent down the occasional easy leg-side boundary-ball but soon reaped dividends, and it is no surprise that his figures of 3 for 23 were all clean bowled with each being unplayable deliveries. Coombs, not to be outdone, also sent down the odd wide one, troubling first slip more than anyone, but forced the batsmen into playing shots they regretted later. Two smart catches by Alex Raistrick gave Coombs figures of 3 for 21 and, when Thomas came back on, he wrapped up the innings with figures of 2 for 2. Broadclyst were all out for 109.After a sumptuous tea in 'Monty's caravan' courtesy of chez Raistrick, Clay sent out Tom Chaplin and Alex Raistrick to open the batting. Unfortunately, thoughts of a ten-wicket win went out of the window when Chaplin (0) soon returned, followed swiftly by Alex Raistrick (8) and it was left to the stable heads of Morison and Stott to settle in and bide their time. These two picked off the bad balls, always mindful of keeping the total within easy reach and the only concern was who was going to reach their half century first. In the end, neither did, with Morison finishing slightly ahead on 47 not out and Stott 42 not out to give Newton Poppleford a well deserved eight-wicket victory.